Page 78 of Mail Order Splash

“You know, Kleine, one way to look at this is you saved the rest of them and he is being loved until the end. Out in the ocean, it could have been brutal.” Charlie tried to comfort me as my tears flowed.

“Believe me, I know all of this. I’ve had to watch as many died, but not at the hands of evil because of me, because of this place that is supposed to be happy.”

No one could console me. Years of loss, years of fighting, all rushed in at once. I clung to the little guy, praying he knew he was loved too.

“Kleine, he’s moving!” Josh ran over. “He’s moving; look down.”

I’d thought the movement was my emotions, but it was Scrapper. His mother pushed forward, rubbing against him. I motioned for Josh to lower it more for the her.

“Don’t get him too low, he’s very weak.” Doc smiled. “I like it when I’m wrong in cases like this, but we have a long way to go.”

Doc raised the sling for me to get out to eat and stretch. He knew I wouldn’t go unless someone took my place holding him.

“You know, my body doesn’t fold the same as you,” He pulled his legs in under him instead of crossed over one another. “You better eat fast. Why haven’t you improved this for staying in here longer?”

“Because we don’t usually stay in it.” I bent over, stretching my back. “Woo, I feel so waterlogged. It’s been, like, three hours.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, kiddo. It’s actually been five hours.” Charlie pointed to the cot for me to lay down. “We have decided amongst ourselves that we will take shifts throughout the night.”

“That’s really sweet of you, but I insist on being in there.” I took the bowl of salad Bobby handed me. “Where did you get this salad? It’s so good.”

“Chef made it.” Dalton came in carrying more food and a duffel bag. “I figured we’re having another campout.”

“Thanks. Can we talk?” I stood, waving him to follow me.

“It’s been an emotional day and while I sat there holding Scrapper, I thought about your selfless act and how much you’ve done for me so far. I needed to thank you, like, really thank you.”

“It’s been my pleasure, Kleine. I was hooked that first day with Netty.” He looked around the small apartment. “You did a nice job fixing this up.”

“Thanks. I forgot you saw it before this. After this, I’ll stay wherever you think. I was being difficult and it wasn’t necessary.”

“You weren’t, not really.” He unfolded a chair from the wall. “I spoke to Kellan at length. he says we have a great fight that can’t possibly lose, especially now that the media is involved. I need you to be open-minded about his proposal that will be presented to the city.”

“Is he changing things drastically?”

“No. I told him about the parking garage with a tram, he added fountains and picnic tables, a whole green space for families right out front.”

“No complaints with that, but what about the animals?”

“With the social media attention, he has already had his team start posting, including the intrusion of the helicopter today with a slight insinuation to the city.”

“Okay. Do you think that prompted the attack?”

“Maybe, but not likely. He didn’t have them start until this afternoon. Now, I don’t want to get your hopes up too soon, but he feels confident we will win.”

“Do we still need to get married?”

“Yes, it hinges on you being married to a Hawthorne, even if it happens at the courthouse and we have the big wedding later. A marriage certificate must be signed before Monday.”

“What about the so-called ‘other buyers’?”

“He tells me they’re gone. They don’t want a fight for Hawthorne property.”

“You know, the marriage might have to be in the courtroom, or right here in this room if I have patients.”

“To be honest, I’m okay with that. The big wedding is for my you.”

“Not for me. Did you forget the white sweats?”

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