Page 40 of September (New Orleans #9)

“B uster!”

Buster ran after Carly, who was going through the gate between the two backyards with more speed than Gwen had ever seen her use. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

“I think they love each other,” Elisa said.

“Boyfriend, girlfriend?” Gwen asked.

“Maybe we should plan a dog wedding for next year.”

“I think yours to Myra should probably happen first,” Gwen teased.

“Oh, God. I love her, but I’m not ready for all that.

” Elisa laughed. “I think we’ll just keep working on the house until eventually, she just doesn’t go back to this one.

” Elisa turned her head and nodded to Myra’s house behind them.

“We’d move in here, but my place has the second floor.

Did I tell you that she’s thinking of connecting the houses one day? ”

“What? No,” she replied.

“It’s crazy, but they’re not that far apart from one another, and if we do get married, it could make sense. Even if there’s no ceremony or anything, we own both lots. Might as well make use of them.”

“You could rent Myra’s place for extra money,” Gwen suggested.

“We could, but she brought up a good point about how the twins will probably have kids of their own one day. Not tomorrow. It better not be tomorrow.”

“Well, with Adele being in love with Wendy, you don’t have to worry about it happening accidentally with them. It’s just AJ.”

“I’ve had so many safe sex conversations with both of them and tried to talk about shared responsibility and how it’s not just a physical thing in the moment but should be an emotional thing between consenting adults.

I only hope one of them sticks. Your brother got them both a box of condoms. Did I tell you that? ”

“What? No,” Gwen said.

“He wasn’t there to drop them off at college, but he had his assistant order a gift basket thing and included a box of condoms for both of them.”

“God, he really is an asshole, isn’t he?”

“AJ didn’t say anything to me about it. Adele did. You should’ve heard her telling me how aloof he was, not to even remember that she was dating Wendy and that she wasn’t ever going to cheat on her with some guy.”

“It’s sweet. They’re cute,” Gwen noted.

“They are. I get to see her soon. She’s bringing Wendy here for the weekend.”

“Here? With her girlfriend?”

“I told her it was okay.”

“They’re going to want to share the bed in her room. You know that, right?”

“Yes. And it’s not like I don’t know what they do when they’re on their own.

I feel like I need to be a mature mother about this.

And I’ve known Wendy since she was a kid.

She’s respectful and loves my daughter. Adele loves her.

If I say no now, Adele will feel like she can’t bring Wendy home when she wants to, and if they don’t work out and she falls in love with someone else one day, I want her to know that she can always come home. ”

“How’s AJ?” Gwen asked, admiring Elisa’s parenting style.

“He’s good. His soccer is going well. He’s starting and playing full nineties whenever he doesn’t need to rest. The coach has been singing his praises and is going to work with him since AJ told him that his goal is to try to transfer to a Division-I school.

He told me his grades are fine, too, but it’s still early.

It’s weird not getting report cards and updates from their teachers like I used to, but they both promise me they’re working hard in classes.

I never worry about Adele because she’s Adele, but we’ll see how AJ does come midterms, with soccer taking up a lot of his time.

He seems to love it there, though, and he’s working hard. That’s all I can ask.”

“That’s great,” Gwen replied. “And how are you ?”

“I’m great.” Elisa smiled widely. “I’ve got an amazing girlfriend I see a future with, a happy dog currently chasing his own girlfriend around the yard, happy kids, and well, a new job.”

“What?” Gwen asked, turning to her.

“I got a job yesterday.”

“Where? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to work with Asher.”

“Asher? You’re going to plan weddings?”

“More assistant duties than anything. It’s just her and Linden there since she joined, and they need help with everything.

They’re starting to get a few big clients, and it’s impossible for them to do it all themselves and not miss anything.

It’s about thirty hours a week to start out, and we’ll see how it goes, but Asher said it can become full-time with benefits whenever I’m ready.

She even has a real office now and isn’t working out of her apartment.

It’s small, with just some space for her office and Linden’s and a little showroom of some wedding stuff, but there’s a desk in the front for me, and that’s more than I have now.

Plus, she’s supportive of me going to school part-time online to get a degree. ”

“You’re really doing that?”

“I think so. I want to work for a bit first to save up for tuition a little that way and adjust to one thing at a time, but yes. I don’t know what I want that degree in just yet. Maybe an associate’s degree in business or something, just to make work easier on me. We’ll see, but I’m excited.”

“Elisa, that’s great,” Gwen replied as Buster darted into the yard with Carly hot on his heels.

“How long is Juliet gone this time?” Elisa asked, nodding toward the running Carly.

“Oh, she’s not. She’s here. I just thought Carly would like to see Buster.”

“So, when is your wedding?” Elisa teased.

“Ha ha,” she said sarcastically. “It’s only been a couple of weeks. Chill out.”

“But you really like her, and if your texts to me the other day are any indication, you’re very compatible .”

Gwen lifted an eyebrow as she recalled just how compatible they really were and sighed.

“Yes, we are, but it’s more than that. She came home early from the trip to see me. Well, mainly Carly, probably, and there’s the whole hating work travel thing, but also me. She just showed up on my doorstep, didn’t even ask to take Carly home with her, and stayed over at my place.”

“She’s your girlfriend, so that makes sense.”

“Yes, but I know she wanted to go home. She probably wanted to sleep in her own bed.”

“Or, her home is with you. Well, you and Carly.” Elisa nodded toward the dog, who was now picking up random sticks, running with them in her mouth, and then dropping them just as Buster caught up with her. “She’s playing hard to get.” Elisa laughed at the dog’s antics.

Gwen smiled up at Carly, who pretended to stop so that Buster could grab the stick, and then faked him out and ran toward the other yard again.

“She’s a good dog. I’ve really liked having her stay with me. Larry’s fine, but–”

“Larry is a tiny terror. He tried to bite my finger off,” Elisa noted, holding up the finger in question.

“I told you that he does that,” she said, laughing. “And he’s fine, but he likes to be alone.”

“Maybe he just wants to be alone as a lizard because you’re a human, but he’d like a little gecko friend or partner.”

“Shit. You think he wants a girlfriend of his own?”

“Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Not sure,” Elisa replied, probably only half-joking.

“I could get another gecko. Cleaning the terrarium sucks, but it’s not a big deal, and it wouldn’t change much with a second one.”

“Maybe he’d be happier. I don’t know,” Elisa said. “Are geckos more solitary animals?”

“They’re generally pretty good on their own or in pairs. I could try the pair thing, and if it doesn’t work, I could just get a second terrarium for the other one.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Elisa replied with a nod. “So, what else for you?”

“Huh?”

“What else is going on? New girlfriend. Maybe a new lizard. Anything else going on?”

“I don’t know. Not really.” Gwen shrugged a shoulder. “I mean, I might decide to start my own business officially.”

Elisa turned to her then and asked, “What’s that mean?”

“Remember when I told you a few years ago that I was thinking about doing the dog grooming thing?”

“Yes. You’re pursuing that?”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” she said as she watched Carly, who was panting like crazy, walk slowly over to her water bowl for a drink.

“I think that’s great if that’s what you want,” Elisa said.

“It’s a lot. It’s a whole thing. I would have to use up my savings, though.”

“Still not touching that trust fund, huh?”

“Not if I can help it. I told her to take it back, but she said she wouldn’t. I suggested she donate to charity. She told me it was my money, and I could do what I wanted with it.”

“She did? That’s unlike her,” Elisa noted.

“I know. It was like she was defeated or something. She finally gave up on me being the daughter she’s always wanted and expected me to be and just told me to give it away if I wanted to.”

“Are you going to?”

“As tempted as I am, I know I should just keep it as an emergency fund. You never know what could happen. If I do start the business and it doesn’t work out, I’d have that to fall back on. Plus, it would be nice to have it for kids, assuming I get to have any.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I’m thirty-two, so I’d need to get started on that pretty soon, especially because I can’t just get pregnant. We’d have to plan it, and that can get expensive, no matter what we decide on, donor or adoption.”

“True.”

“I also like the idea of having that money for college funds or world traveling, should they want that. Weddings, if they want those. My grandkids one day.”

“All of that is important, but, Gwen, you need to be happy, too. If this money could help you start your business off right, the other things will come. Besides, your parents will give you more money when you get married.”

“Only if I do that by thirty-five, and I don’t like the idea of them dictating when I get married. If I want to get married at forty or fifty or never, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Sure, and I agree, but if you fall in love with someone and you two decide to get married and it happens to fall within that window, there’s more money coming your way for those future kids and grandkids.

From what I understand, it’s even more than the first part of your trust fund. That’s what Archie said, at least.”

“It’s a lot more,” she replied. “But it’s not my money. I didn’t earn it, you know?”

“I would say you earned it by putting up with that crazy family of yours,” Elisa joked.

“By that definition, you should get a trust fund from my parents, too.” Gwen laughed. “They put you through some shit. Maybe I should just give you mine.”

“You keep it.” Elisa looked around at the house behind her and her own next door. “I’m good.”

“You are, aren’t you?” Gwen said, smiling at the woman who was more her sister than the one she shared blood with.

“Yes,” Elisa replied as her smile widened. “I love Myra. I love my kids. I love my house. I love my crazy dog. I think I’ll love this new job with Asher and Linden, and maybe even going back to school.”

“That’s amazing,” she said and looked at Carly, who was lying in the yard now.

Buster was lying down next to her, and Gwen pictured Juliet at her side, sitting in the chair and holding Gwen’s hand as they watched these dogs together.

Then, she allowed herself to picture more for them: kids playing in the backyard.

Their kids. It was silly, really. She’d only known Juliet for a few weeks, which wasn’t all that long in the grand scheme of things, but thinking about that shared future made Gwen’s heart race.

It made her long for that kind of life with someone, a real family.

She’d had a family, yes, and she’d had an upbringing where she wanted for no material things.

If she needed a new coat or pair of shoes, she got them, and usually long before she needed them, because her mom wouldn’t want anyone to think that her children actually needed anything.

She’d never felt that kind of love, though, which she’d been craving forever.

Her parents had been the type to buy things for them, but those things never felt like love, and her siblings hadn’t seemed like the kind of siblings other kids had when Gwen was young and in school, going to parties and sleepovers and seeing how older siblings had been with her friends.

Gwen’s older brother and sister had barely acknowledged her existence.

Her younger brother, Grant, had always been nice to her, yes, but while there might have been some love between them because they were biologically related, it didn’t go beyond that.

Gwen wanted what Elisa had seemingly found for herself. She wasn’t jealous, necessarily; Elisa had to go through hell to get here. But Gwen was ready for her own house, her backyard with kids and dogs playing, and a woman she loved by her side.

“Hi!” As if on cue, Juliet appeared at the side gate and waved at them. “I just walked around back. Hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” Elisa replied. “Come on in.”

Gwen smiled at the sight of her, stood up, and walked over to the gate that faced the street. Juliet walked through it and closed it behind herself.

“Hi,” Gwen said, leaning in for a kiss. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, me too.” Juliet smiled back and looked beyond Gwen. “Where’s Carly?”

Gwen turned and pointed to the dog, who had her eyes closed and appeared to be sound asleep next to Buster, who was doing the same.

“I wore her out, I think,” she said.

“I missed you today,” Juliet told her as she took her hand and rested her head on Gwen’s shoulder.

Gwen kissed the top of her head and said, “I missed you, too.”

“I had a bad day at work.”

“What happened?” Gwen asked, concerned.

“Can I tell you later? I’m starving. Want to get some dinner?”

“Yeah. We’ll just need to drop Carly off first,” Gwen said. “My place or yours?”

“Wherever you’re sleeping tonight.”

Juliet’s free hand moved around her middle, and Gwen wanted to smile because that sounded pretty good to her, but something was off with her girlfriend, and she needed to find out what before she allowed herself that kind of contentment.