Page 15 of September (New Orleans #9)

I t had been a long day of driving for her, with two stops at stores along the way.

She had met with a couple of managers to introduce herself as Jordana’s sort-of-replacement and talked to them about their hiring needs and schedule, making notes of everything because she would have to find room in October and beyond to train everyone they planned to hire.

Juliet wasn’t sure how they would cover everything, being one trainer down, and with the reorganization, they wouldn’t be hiring a replacement to handle her original workload, so that meant they would be doing more with fewer people.

With food service being a high-turnover industry, even though Southern Roastery was a good company to work for, with good benefits and flexible schedules, they didn’t always keep the good talent for long.

A lot of college students picked up jobs for the summer and left when school started back up, or thought they could stay, but when their classes resumed, they would realize that they could no longer handle being at work by six in the morning if they intended on getting all their schoolwork and requisite partying done.

After her two stops, she arrived at the store she would be training for the next few days just to check in with everyone and let them know that she’d be there the following day.

They were all nice and welcoming, but Juliet was exhausted and more than ready to get to her hotel, which wasn’t fancy, but it at least had a bed and a shower.

Having checked in, she got up to her floor and followed the hotel’s awful patterned carpet that did a good job at hiding all the stains people undoubtedly covered it in.

When she found her room, she rolled her bag inside, wondering why all hotel doors were so hard to keep open when people needed to bring in all of their stuff.

She let it slam shut, which was rude to everyone else, but she hadn’t had an extra hand to keep it from closing.

Her purse was heavier than it had been when she’d left that morning, now filled with paperwork she’d been handed by the managers of the stores she had visited.

Her backpack was dropped onto the desk with the lamp no one ever used, and her roller was picked up and placed on the luggage rack, which she’d found stored in the tiny closet.

She’d worry about unpacking later. First, she needed to get out of these clothes and take a long, hot shower.

Juliet pulled her toiletry bag out of the suitcase, grabbed a pair of sweats, fresh underwear, and a shirt, and then turned on the water.

She waited for it to get hot, but it didn’t.

It got lukewarm instead. She thought about taking a shower in the morning, but the water temperature wouldn’t get any hotter after everyone else had taken their morning showers.

Juliet jumped in, cleaned up, and got out quickly, wrapping herself in a towel and returning to the bed, where she saw her phone light up with a notification.

She picked it up and saw that it was a message from Gwen.

Worried about Carly, she clicked into it right away.

Gwen Benedetti : I thought I could just text you instead of going through the app since you gave me your number last night. I hope that’s okay.

Juliet replied that it was fine and asked after Carly.

Gwen Benedetti : She’s fine. I actually have a surprise for you, but if you don’t want it, just say so, and it’s gone.

Juliet sat on the end of the bed, wondering at the surprise, and replied, asking Gwen what she was talking about.

Gwen Benedetti : Can you download an app for me and use the username and password I’m putting here?

Then, in Gwen’s next text message, there was a link to an app and a username and password listed that made Juliet laugh.

The username was Carlyisthebestestdog, and the password was Carlymisseshermommy.

It was easy to remember but very long. Juliet clicked on the link and realized what it was to.

It was to one of those pet camera apps. She quickly downloaded it and logged in.

Once she did, she saw the inside of her apartment, but a very specific part of it.

It was Carly lying on her bed, chewing on a bone.

Gwen Benedetti : Is it okay? I have two of them, but I just aimed one right at her so that nothing else in your apartment could be seen.

Juliet laughed and messaged her back.

Gwen Benedetti : Can I call you?

Juliet replied and waited once more.

“Hi. Where did you even get those? And how much do I owe you for this? I can–”

“Hold on there,” Gwen replied, interrupting her with laughter.

“You don’t owe me anything. I had them already.

And, honestly, you can keep them. I got them from the app I work for.

They get them from the manufacturer. I’m supposed to rep them when I talk to clients, and I do mention them sometimes, but I honestly didn’t think about it until I saw you with Carly at your car.

I get samples for stuff all the time because I’m one of the top walkers in the city.

These cameras were free, and the app is on a trial for thirty days.

After that, you’d have to pay for the service if you want to keep it, but that’s up to you.

You can change the username and passwords, obviously.

I just watched you saying goodbye to her this morning, and I know you’re worried about her, so I thought this might help. ”

“It’s amazing. Thank you, Gwen.”

“There’s no audio on this model. Sorry.”

“No, don’t be. It’s great to just see her.”

“Do you want to talk to her, though? I still have to set up the second camera, and I can move this one if you want it to show more of the living room.”

“You’re there?”

“Yeah. I just got the camera set up and wanted to see if you were done for the day to check it out.”

“Can I talk to her?” she asked.

“Yeah. Hold on.”

Juliet waited for a second and heard her phone making a sound she wasn’t expecting.

“Are you trying to FaceTime me?”

“Yeah. This way, she can see you.”

Juliet looked down at the towel that was still covering her body.

“Oh. Um…” She stood, and the towel fell to the floor. “One second.”

Juliet grabbed at her sweats, leaving the underwear on the bed to add later, and slipped them on. The shirt went on next. Then, she lay back on the bed and tapped the screen.

“Okay.”

Gwen’s face appeared a second later, and she looked confused.

“What exactly were you doing there?”

“I just got out of the shower, so I was putting on my clothes.”

“Well, that explains the wet hair,” Gwen said.

“I just got here. Long day.”

“Want to see a puppy? It’ll make you feel better.”

“Yes, please,” she replied.

Gwen shifted the phone until it was aimed at Carly, who was still gnawing at her bone.

“Baby!”

Carly’s head lifted, and while she couldn’t understand at first that her mom was on the phone, she stood and left the bone on her bed, walking to Gwen and letting Gwen pet her.

“Mommy’s on the phone. Say hi,” Gwen encouraged.

Why did that sound so domestic to her? Like Gwen was her wife, at home with their dog, making sure Juliet and Carly got some time together while Juliet was on her work trip. She would have to unpack that one later.

Carly sniffed at the phone, which made her laugh, and she had really needed that laugh.

“She’s kind of licking my phone,” Gwen told her as she laughed as well. “I think that means she likes you.”

“I guess so. But now you have to clean your phone,” she replied with a laugh. “Thank you for this, Gwen. I really mean that.”

“Yeah, no problem. I was here anyway.”

“I meant for everything. And the camera thing? Thank you. I didn’t even think of that.”

“You’ve been a little busy with this new job,” Gwen said, turning the camera toward herself. “Carly’s going back to her bone now. Don’t take offense. It’s the good kind, so she’ll be working on that for hours.”

“I won’t,” Juliet said and settled into the bed a little.

“So, I should probably let you go, right?”

Gwen seemed to be asking, not telling, and Juliet wondered if she actually wanted to stay on the phone and keep talking, maybe not about Carly.

“Oh. Sure. If you have to go.”

“I don’t. I mean, I’m just going home. I’m done working for the day, but I can stay with her for a little while if you want me to make sure she’s okay for the night.”

“You’ve already done too much,” Juliet replied. “And I really can’t thank you enough.”

Gwen seemed to settle on Juliet’s sofa then and said, “Apparently, you’ll be thanking me with coffee that you’re going to ask me to treat well, so you’re giving me responsibilities with my gift.”

Juliet laughed and said, “It’s not a big responsibility. It’ll give you better coffee, I swear.”

“Well, I guess I should trust you. You are a professional, after all.”

“I am. They put you through a lot of training when you first join to be a trainer yourself. I worked in the roastery for a month and then spent two months in a store making the drinks for customers before I even started learning how to train.”

“That’s cool. They take it seriously, I guess.”

“They have to in order to remain competitive. They’re also a little cheaper than that other brand everyone knows.” Juliet smiled into the camera.

“Well, I’ll have to check them out again, then,” Gwen replied. “Do you want me to set up the other camera before I go?”

“Do you remember what you asked me this morning?”

“About?”

“Taking her home with you.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“If I can pay you after my first check, would you do it if you think she needs it? I don’t know if she does. You’d know better; you’ve been with her all day.”

“She seems fine, but she’s been glued to my hip a little, which is why I gave her the bone while I was setting up the camera: I almost tripped over her twice.” Gwen chuckled a little. “I can take her if you want, though.”

“I really don’t know what the right answer is. I can see her now, which is great, but she’s never been left alone for the night; at least, not since she was found and taken in by the shelter. I’m worried she might think I’m not coming home.”

“What about this? I’ll set up the other camera and take her with me for the night. We’ll see how she does, and if she seems like she’d be better off here, she’ll sleep here tomorrow night, and you’ll have the cameras to watch over her, at least. We can play it by ear after that.”

“Are you this good with all of your clients?”

“Probably not,” Gwen replied seriously. “But she’s just really that cute.”

When Gwen smiled at her, Juliet suspected she wasn’t just talking about her dog, so she blushed a little and smiled back.

“Thank you. I’ll put you on my emergency contact list so that you can get through even when my phone is on do-not-disturb. Please call me if you need anything. And I mean it. Don’t worry about waking me up. You’re doing me such a huge favor here.”

“Okay. I will. But I’m sure she’ll be okay. Hey, do you let her sleep in your bed, or does she sleep out here usually?”

“I let her on my bed. Why?”

“Just making sure. She might want to sleep next to me, but if you have a no-bed rule, I don’t want her to pick up bad habits.”

“Please, that dog rules my life. If she wants something, she pretty much gets it.”

“I can understand that. I give Larry everything he wants.”

“What exactly does a gecko want?”

“Me to leave him alone,” Gwen replied.

Juliet laughed and said, “Well, that’s easy enough.”

“It’ll be fun, introducing Carly to Larry. Think they will like each other?”

“I think she’ll try to eat him, so make sure you put him somewhere she can’t get to.”

“I will. I’m no rookie at this, Jules,” Gwen replied.

It was the first time Gwen had used her nickname, and there was something about how it so easily rolled off Gwen’s tongue. She’d probably heard Molly use it the other night at the bar, and it sounded really good to Juliet.

“She’s a curious dog,” she said after clearing her throat.

“She’ll be asleep. Larry will be fine. I can even FaceTime you in the morning when we get up, if you’re not already at work. You’ll be able to see Carly, and I’ll show you Larry so that you know he survived the night.”

“I’ll be at work by the time you get up. But maybe later?”

“What time do you start work?”

“Six on the days I’m in the stores to train.”

“What? Six in the morning? God. Why?”

“Because that’s when the customers start to want their morning coffee. We get rushes around seven, so we have to have everything ready.”

“Well, get to sleep, then. It’s late for you.”

“It’s nine o’clock.”

“Exactly. Have you eaten, at least?” Gwen asked.

“Yes, I had something at the store.”

“A pastry for dinner?”

“We have packaged sandwiches and chips, too. You really don’t go to Southern, do you?” Juliet asked with a smile.

“Not really. But I think I might need to start.”

“You should. If you go in with me one day, I’ll let you use my employee discount.”

“Well, now you’re just spoiling me.”

Juliet chuckled and asked, “Can I see her one more time before you let me go?”

“Yeah,” Gwen said and turned the phone to Carly, who was just happily chewing and paying them zero attention. “I’ll set the camera up and text you that it’s done, okay?”

“Thank you,” she replied, forever grateful that she had managed to find this woman to take care of Carly for her.

“No problem. Just give me twenty minutes for that, and then I’ll pack her stuff up, and we’ll hit the road.”

“She’s never been on a streetcar,” Juliet noted.

“Oh, I drove here. I kind of figured this might happen,” Gwen said and turned the phone back to herself. “So, she’ll get a fun car ride.”

“How did you know?” Juliet asked with a smile.

“I told you, I’m no rookie.”

Juliet smiled at her for what felt like a solid minute before she realized that she should probably say something.

“I’ll let you go, then, and finish getting dressed.”

“No, you’re good like that; wet hair and all,” Gwen said and then added, “Bye.”

The video was gone a second later, and Juliet laughed for a minute before she really thought about what Gwen had just said. They were definitely flirting with each other now.