Page 19 of September (New Orleans #9)

S he looked frantically around her apartment.

It was fine. Yeah, it was fine. Then, Gwen turned and went back into her bedroom.

It wasn’t that she expected Juliet to go in there, but if she asked for the tour, Gwen wanted to be ready for that.

The bed had been made, and she’d placed the decorative pillows her mother had insisted on buying her in between the main pillows.

Were they even called main pillows? She didn’t know.

She normally slept with one under her head and the other between her legs to help with proper spine and hip alignment, which made her sound like an old person, and she silently chastised herself for that just as the doorbell rang.

Gwen turned toward the door in surprise as if she hadn’t been expecting a guest.

“Carly, is it a mess?” she asked, but Carly just tilted her head and gave her a confused expression. “Carly, your mom is here,” she whispered.

Carly’s tail did start to wag at the word ‘mom,’ which made Gwen smile before she took a deep breath and walked over to the door. There, she took another breath and opened it.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” Juliet replied with a wide smile.

“Um… Do you want to come in?”

“Yeah,” Juliet said with a laugh.

“She’s over there.”

“Who is?”

“Um… Carly, your dog,” Gwen replied with a laugh of her own.

“Oh, right,” Juliet said.

When Carly bounded over to them and jumped all over Juliet’s legs, Gwen stood back and let them reunite, smiling as she looked down at the two of them.

Juliet had positioned herself on the floor, and Carly was jumping in her lap.

Gwen leaned back against her sofa, crossed her arms over her chest, and took in the moment just as Juliet looked up at her with an even wider smile on her face.

“Hi, baby. Did you have fun hanging out with Gwen?”

“You’re so happy right now, aren’t you?” Gwen asked.

“Yes, I am. I missed her so much. I know it was only a few days, but she’s kind of the love of my life, you know? Not in a weird way.”

“I get it. I don’t know that Larry is the love of my life, but he’s a cool dude and important to me,” she said.

“Where is Larry? I want to meet him.”

“Oh, he’s hanging out up there.” Gwen nodded toward the top of the small refrigerator, where Larry’s tank was sitting. “Because of Carly’s ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” she explained.

“I’m sorry. Did she try to get him or something?” Juliet asked as she stood and turned around.

“No. She behaved,” Gwen replied. “I put him up there for safety. He likes being by himself anyway. He’s a good pet in that he really only needs that thing to be kept clean and to have food and water.”

“Oh, he’s cute,” Juliet said as she leaned over the fridge and into Larry’s tank. “He’s so tiny.”

“He’s about two inches long,” she replied and walked over to stand next to her.

“How are animals this tiny?” Juliet asked.

Gwen smiled at Juliet smiling at Larry while Carly kind of danced around them, still very excited that Juliet was back with her. In Gwen’s opinion, that was one of the best things about dogs: they loved their humans so much that their excitement made coming home to them so much better.

“Has she gone out?” Juliet asked.

“Yeah, but it’s been about an hour. You coming home probably has her tiny doggy bladder going crazy.”

“Do you want to walk with me as I walk her, or should we maybe get out of your hair?”

“You’re not in my hair,” Gwen said. “I was just about to order some dinner. If you want, we could do that together and then walk her. I don’t know if you need to get home or just want to be home after your first trip, so don’t feel like you have to say yes.”

“I’m okay. I stopped there to drop off my stuff before I came here.”

“Oh. Well, I could’ve taken Carly to you. I thought you came straight here.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t mind. It gave me a chance to see your place.” Juliet looked around the apartment for the first time since she had arrived. “It’s nice.”

“It’s small,” Gwen said.

“It doesn’t feel small. It’s a one-bedroom, and it’s just you, right? How many rooms do you really need when it’s just you?”

“I was almost tempted to get a studio to really piss off my mother.” Gwen chuckled. “She thinks I should live in a mansion or maybe a palace, so a one-bedroom is essentially a shack made of plywood to her. She’s very judgy.”

“You’ve mentioned her a few times. I take it, she’s unhappy with some of your life choices?”

“You could say that,” Gwen replied and handed Juliet Carly’s leash so that she could pull out her phone and order in. “In the mood for anything in particular?”

“Anything that’s not a pre-wrapped sandwich is fine by me. Shit!” Juliet seemed to remember something. “I got you that coffee, but it’s in my bag, and I left that at my place.”

“It’s okay. I can always get it another time, right?” she asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, but it’s fresh from the roaster. I want you to try it as soon as possible. Can I get it to you tomorrow, maybe?”

“Whenever is fine by me, but you’ll have to show me how to take care of it and treat it right,” she joked. “How about something local? Cajun?”

“Sure,” Juliet said. “And I can show you how to make it, but we can’t use your coffeemaker.”

“Then, how will we make it?”

“Well, I thought it might be weird if I bought you a new, expensive espresso machine, even though I get a discount on the ones we sell, and the cheap ones wouldn’t do the coffee justice, so I was thinking French press. Ever used one?”

“The one where you push down on the thing?” Gwen asked and mimicked the action with the hand that wasn’t searching for a restaurant with her phone.

“Yes.” Juliet laughed as she put Carly’s leash on. “Let’s walk.”

Gwen placed their order as Juliet explained how the coffee would somehow taste magically better if they ground the beans a certain way and let them soak for a specific amount of time before pressing down and then pouring the coffee.

She listened, and she really tried to focus on what Juliet was saying, but she couldn’t stop picturing waking up next to her and Juliet making them both a cup of coffee, then bringing it back into the bedroom, and lying down next to Gwen to drink it while they watched something on TV on a lazy Sunday morning.

“So, I got you one.”

“Huh? Got me what?”

“A French press.”

“You got me a French press?”

“They’re not expensive, and I get a discount on top of it.

We sell them in every store, so I just grabbed one for you.

It’s with the bag of whole bean that I got you.

Well, I got you a couple of sample bags.

Okay, I might have gotten a few sample bags.

I grabbed a light roast, a medium roast, and the espresso because you said you wanted that one specifically.

I thought if you like any of them better than the others, I could get you a big bag next. ”

“Jules, you didn’t have to buy me a ton of coffee.”

“They’re just sample bags. Think stocking stuffer, not a giant bag of each.”

“How much did all that run you, though?”

“The samples were free, remember? And the French press wasn’t much with my discount. I promise, I didn’t spend a crazy amount of money on you, but you’re the one who just gifted me two pet cams.”

“I got them for free, too, remember?” Gwen winked at her and looked down at Carly, who was walking aimlessly now and seemed to have lost some energy since their walk had begun. “I think she might be done.”

“Who?” Juliet asked.

“Carly,” Gwen told her with a laugh and pointed at the dog, who turned back to her when she heard her name.

“Oh, right,” Juliet said and looked down at her watch. “We’ve been walking for thirty minutes.”

“What?” Gwen checked her phone. “Shit. The food got delivered. They left it at the door. I can’t believe you rambled about coffee for half an hour.” She laughed again.

“Sorry. Occupational hazard.” Juliet said as they turned around and started heading back toward Gwen’s building.

“Have you always been obsessed with coffee?”

“No. I drank it, but I didn’t know anything about it until I got this job.”

“And how was the job? Your first trip?”

“You talked to me every day. You already know,” Juliet replied.

“Sort of. We mostly talked about Carly and your nipples.”

“Oh, my God!” Juliet laughed hard. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“I can’t believe you wore a sweater tonight.”

“Gwen!”

Gwen laughed along with her and asked, “How did you do with the whole business hotel and long drive part of the week?”

“It was fine, I guess. I’m not a travel pro yet, so we’ll see, but the days are fine. I like training, even though I just sort of ended up in it.”

“What do you mean?”

“My degree is in HR administration. I thought I’d have Molly’s job.”

“But she got it first?”

“No, I wasn’t qualified at the time. Long story.

I think they also wanted to bring in someone from the outside.

Fresh set of eyes and all that. Anyway, the company is a place people tend to retire from.

I’m not sure about Molly specifically, but there are several people with her role supporting other teams, and most of them will retire from Southern, which means I’ll probably have a long time before the job I initially wanted becomes available, and I’d have to recertify. ”

“Certify?”

“There are certain certifications for HR roles that companies generally either prefer or require. Southern requires them. It’s about law stuff, mostly, but making sure your ass is covered with someone who’s certified on the important stuff can help when it comes to reducing lawsuits.”

“I had no idea. I went to college but was pretty aimless. I just went because my parents wanted me to go more than anything.”

“So, you didn’t always want to do this?”

“I’ve always wanted to be around animals.

I don’t have the heart to become a vet, though, or anyone who works in a vet office, really.

I guess I thought about that at one time, but I couldn’t go through with it.

This way, I get to spend a ton of time around animals, and I never have to say goodbye to them.

Well, sometimes I do when clients move away, and obviously, animals pass away, so that’s always tough, but as a vet, I’d have to–” Gwen stopped.

“Yeah, I have total respect for vets. I don’t know how they do what they do. It’s got to be so hard.”

“My mother thought I’d go that route. We had horses growing up.

They were kept in stables, and I’m not really sure why we had them, because my dad never rode them, my mom did, but rarely, and you know all my siblings and their allergies.

So, it was really just me, but we had two horses, and I loved them both.

I think my mom assumed I’d have my own stables one day and maybe even race them or something, but when I didn’t seem to want to do that, she thought vet. I remain a constant disappointment.”

“I don’t see how,” Juliet said when they arrived back at Gwen’s building.

“Oh, you would if you met her or saw where I grew up.” She laughed it off.

“No, I mean, you’re so successful, Gwen.”

“I am?”

“Yes,” Juliet replied, and they walked up the stairs together. “Seriously, you don’t know, do you?”

“Know what, exactly?”

“Gwen, I was so worried about leaving my dog with a stranger that I was willing to pay all the money I make to find the best dog walker or pet sitter there was, and that’s you.”

“You’re saying I could’ve made more per hour?” Gwen joked.

“I’m serious.”

And Juliet did look serious. Somehow, their lighthearted conversation about coffee and French pressed had turned into a serious one about how Gwen had disappointed her parents.

“Gwen, you’re the top person on that app.”

“It’s a dog-walking app. It’s not like I was at the top of my class at Harvard Medical School.”

“You didn’t just take care of Carly; you loved her.

” Juliet turned to her, and they stopped walking just before they arrived at the apartment door.

“And you took care of me, too. You made sure that I knew what was going on every step of the way. You even put up cameras for me so that I wouldn’t be stressed out.

You took Carly home with you so that she wouldn’t be alone when you didn’t have to do any of that.

You could’ve just walked her a few times a day and made sure she had food and water, but you are kind and generous, and you seem to understand animals, and they seem to understand you.

Well, at least Carly does, but I read your reviews, and people rave about you like you’re Dr. Dolittle. ”

“At least I’d be a doctor.” She shrugged.

“I don’t know what’s up your mom’s butt when it comes to you, but you have a nice apartment in a safe part of the city.

You make enough money to take care of yourself.

You’re good at your job. You seem to have friends you love, and they seem to love you, too.

I think that makes you successful, for whatever that’s worth. ”

“It’s worth a lot, actually,” Gwen replied and swallowed hard.

“If you need me to talk to your mom and tell her that, I’d be happy to tell her to leave you the hell alone.”

“I’d love to see that ,” Gwen said as she moved to pick up the brown bag of food and unlock the door. “For now, let’s just eat and maybe watch something, if you want. Carly may or may not be obsessed with the animal YouTube channel I put on now.”

“She watches TV?” Juliet asked as she followed Gwen inside the apartment with Carly.

“Was she not supposed to?”

“I never thought to leave it on.”

“Some animals like the background noise when you’re gone and they’re alone. I put it on for her when I was cleaning earlier, and she seemed very interested in the meerkats.”

“Cleaning? Did she make a mess or something?”

“No, I did,” Gwen admitted. “And I didn’t want you to think I was a slob.”

“ Are you a slob?”

“Not really. But I’m no neat freak, either.”

Juliet let Carly off the leash, and they both watched the dog run into Gwen’s bedroom and jump all over her neatly made bed.

“Well, there go those decorative pillows.”