Page 44 of September (New Orleans #9)

“S o, this is it,” Gwen said, motioning at the van’s interior.

“And you just bought it?” Logan asked.

“Not just . I got it checked out and everything first,” she said.

“You want it to be turned into a mobile dog grooming business?”

“Yes. I was hoping you would help with the plumbing and stuff like that. I’d pay you, obviously.”

“Just pay for the materials, and I’m good,” Logan told her. “I like putting stuff together and fixing things, too.” She then climbed into the back of the van and asked, “Is that a sock?”

Gwen’s eyes went wide when she saw Juliet’s white sock that they had finally taken off after having another round in the back of the van before heading up to Juliet’s apartment and spending the rest of the night in the bedroom.

“Mine. I was… moving things in the van, and it must have fallen out of the bag,” she lied.

“Are you moving?” Logan asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Um… You know how it is when you’re doing the back-and-forth with your girlfriend. Some of my stuff is at her place. Some of hers is at mine.”

“I’m so glad I’m done with that,” Logan shared. “Now that I’m living with Rory, I don’t have to do that back-and-forth thing again.”

“She’s the one, huh?” Gwen asked, climbing into the van with her.

“Yes. You know, earlier in the year, I was in a pretty bad place. I was going through some stuff – and still am, in some ways – but I knew I wanted more. I just didn’t think I’d ever get to have it.

Then, I got a job at Candace’s and met Rory, and everything changed for me after that.

I talked to my parents for the first time in a while, gave up the whole sleeping around thing to try to feel something that I wouldn’t ever actually feel, made up with my best friend, and I went back to work doing what I love while I still work at the bar where I met the love of my life and where I get to see my new friends.

” Logan smiled. “I’m buying her that ring one day, and I hope I always make her happy. ”

“I think I’m falling for Juliet,” Gwen confessed abruptly.

“Yeah?”

“She didn’t even really say much or do anything, but when we first met, it was like things started clicking for me.

Just meeting her and being with her made me revisit this old idea I had, and now, I’m making it happen.

She’s supportive, obviously, but not pushy or anything, and it feels like this was all supposed to happen this way. It’s weird, right?”

“Not really. I get it.” Logan shrugged a shoulder and sat down on the van floor where Gwen had been between Juliet’s legs not all that long ago, testing the whole going down on her in a van theory.

“Rory didn’t exactly say or do anything, either, but when I met her, I knew it was time for me to make changes in my life.

I haven’t told everyone in our ever-expanding friend group this yet, but I’m a gambling addict. ”

Gwen sat down across from her.

“I’m in the program and always will be, and I don’t want to tie my sobriety to Rory or anything because it’s important not to do that, but when I met her, I thought she was so cute and sweet and, honestly, a little innocent.

She seemed nervous around me all the time.

I’d been sleeping around at the time because I couldn’t gamble anymore, and I thought I’d find that adrenaline rush somewhere else, but sex with random women didn’t do anything for me.

Rory did,” Logan continued sharing and smiled again.

“Just having her there to talk to was enough. I have a best friend I used to be in a relationship with, but she couldn’t really help in that way.

Rory could, though, and did, and she supports me going to meetings.

She even goes with me sometimes. She never judges me or pressures me to do more, better, or differently.

I want to, though, because I want to always be good for her. ”

“That’s great, right? Having someone like that?”

“I think so,” Logan said. “Is Juliet that person for you?”

“Apparently.” Gwen looked around the van.

“I never thought I’d do this. I can walk dogs and pet sit for the rest of my life and probably be fine, but it’s enough money for me and not much left over for anything else I might want.

And I want someone to share my life with, and I want kids with that someone if I’m lucky enough.

One or two, not an army or anything, but I want to be able to take care of them.

So, if this works, I might be able to turn it into something greater than I ever imagined.

I know to some people it’s just a van that will clean dogs, but to me, it’s working with animals and trying to make them and their people feel a little bit better for a while.

It’s nothing special to some, but it’s very special to me. ”

“I think it’s awesome, and I’m here to help however you need,” Logan replied. “Rory can’t fix anything worth a damn, but I’m sure she’ll help however she can as well. Maybe we could double date with you and Juliet sometime, too. Could be fun.”

“Yeah, that would be awesome. I don’t know when, just because of Juliet’s travel schedule for work, but I’ll ask her, and we’ll make something happen.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Who’s giving you a hard time about this?”

“What do you mean?” Gwen asked.

“I know it’s not your girlfriend or Elisa, but someone must be telling you that this isn’t special or something; the way you talk about it.”

“Oh. That?” Gwen laughed a little. “Yeah, I’ve got some family issues.

I come from one of those rich, pretentious families where the dad is always golfing and the mom is always wearing golfing clothes around the house, but if she goes to the country club, it’s only for lunch and the sauna.

I’ve got three successful siblings according to rich society’s rules for success, and then, there’s me, the dog walker. ”

“Got it,” Logan said with a nod.

“I had a pretty big fight with my mom recently. I have this trust fund that I got part of when I turned twenty-five, and she was mad that I hadn’t touched it for the things she deems important.

I get the rest if I’m married by thirty-five, which is right around the corner , in her mind, and I’m not even close to settling down. That is also in her mind.”

“She’s asking you about getting married?”

“More like asking if it’s even a possibility and asking me why I’m like this without asking me why I’m like this.”

“I get it. Parents are hard. In my case, I really screwed up, but it doesn’t sound like you have.”

“Depends on who you ask, really,” Gwen replied.

“My dad had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago.”

“What?” Gwen asked.

“It was mild, and thankfully, he’s fine.

He has to exercise more and change his diet, but he’s out of the hospital and at home now.

I guess my point is that same old cliché, which, I’m sure, you’ve heard before: life is short, and we only have our parents for so long.

I want my dad to be at my wedding. I’m hoping he’ll walk me down the aisle where I’ll wait for Rory, but I know Rory and I aren’t exactly ready to get married tomorrow.

I don’t want to rush into a wedding with her because my dad isn’t well, you know? ”

“I get it,” she said. “You want it to be perfect when it happens, and because you’re both ready for it to happen.”

“That’s the hope,” Logan replied. “And I’m not here to tell you what to do – I don’t know you that well yet, and I obviously don’t know your parents – but as someone who went a long time without talking to hers, I can just tell you that it’s hard but worth it to repair things if you can.”

Gwen thought about what Logan had said as she explained to her what she was thinking about for the van.

Logan made a list of things she would need from the hardware store and said she could get some of it at cost for her because of her job as a plumber.

Then, they planned the next steps, and Gwen went up to her apartment.

It was too early for Juliet to be off work, and Elisa was busy with Asher and Linden, talking about her new job, so she called the reptile store and told them that she was in search of a gecko friend for Larry.

They said they would have one for her in a week or two, and she sat down on her sofa when she hung up.

She had a business plan to write and a million other things to do, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what Logan had said.

“Gwen?”

“Hey, Mom,” she said.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Okay,” her mom said, sounding confused.

“I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Of course,” her mom replied.

“I don’t really know where to start.”

“Gwen, what’s wrong?”

“Honestly? Not much, Mom. Things are going really well for me.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. But, sometimes, it’s hard for me to feel like it’s a good thing.”

“Why?”

“Because you, Dad, and everyone else there think I’m missing something; like I have a broken part or something.

I’m not sure what that is, but I’ve always been the black sheep, and it’s hard to see anything I do as good when I’m thinking about what you and Dad would think or how Archie, Annabelle, and Grant are amazing, and I’m just me. ”

“You’re not just you,” her mom said.

“Mom, you hate what I do for a living. You think I lack ambition; that I’m not taking steps for my future.”

“That’s true, but not how you probably think.”

“Well, how do you think?”

“I think that when you came out of me, you screamed bloody murder.” Her mom laughed.

“Archie and Annabelle cried, but not nearly as loudly, and your little brother didn’t cry for the first minute, so they worried he wouldn’t make it at first, but when he finally did, it still wasn’t as loud as you.

I knew then that you’d be my challenging child. ”

“Jesus, Mom. I was, like, thirty seconds old.”