Page 67 of As the Rain Falls
It’s actually all a lie: Pepé is growing severely underweight; the stress is getting to him. I think he just might be missing my sister too much to eat. It worries me a little, especially because I can tell I’m not making things easier for him. Unfortunately, I was never much of a dog person.
“You should come live with me, Pepé-the-dog,” Cassandra coos, scratching behind his ears. Pepé is absolutely delighted with all the attention. “I will feed you chicken and fruits, and let you try my favorite ice cream.”
I cross my arms over my chest, rolling my eyes with fondness.
“What flavor? Is it vanilla?” I ask curiously.
She smiles sweetly. “Um, litchi, actually.”
I grimace, imagining how sweet the ice cream must be, and Cassandra’s eyes narrow with suspicion.
“What? Do I look like a basic vanilla-ice-cream kind of girl to you?”
“Oh, come on,” I smile openly. “Vanilla is a solid choice.”
“It’s a fine flavor, Becky. But litchi is better,” she counters while giving Pepé another kiss right on the snout. “It’s sweeter and more refreshing. You should definitely try it. I just had some for dessert.”
“Sounds a bit too sweet for me. I’d rather not get a whole tub of something I’ll probably hate.”
Cassandra tilts her head back, taking in my words. It’s like she hadn’t considered that I might be a creature of habit, without an ounce of an adventurous spirit when it comes to food.
I’m about to ask her if she’d watch Pepé for me sometime, but she beats me to it.
Well, at least in some kind of way.
“Can you believe my dad never let me get a dog?” she whines, her voice getting high-pitched as she talks to Pepé again. “We tried when I was a kid, but the puppies got sick and passed away.It made me super sad. All I’ve ever wanted is a dog like you, Pepé. The world is so, so unfair, you see.”
I blurt out, “You can take him.”
“What?” she gasps dramatically, covering the dog’s ears, “Don’t listen to him, my sweetheart.”
I crouch down on the sidewalk, my own grin widening.
She’s too damn cute.
“Steal him. Sell him. Do whatever you want, really. Here’s the leash, princess.” I pretend to give her the leash. “Pepé is entirely yours.”
“Wow, thanks!” Cassandra deadpans, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s so generous of you!”
I nod proudly before saying, “Who am I if not the king of generosity?”
“That’s a little too cocky for me.” Her eyes darken, giving me the kind of look that tells me to behave and apologize for my wrongdoings. “And you shouldn’t go around giving him to random strangers like this.”
“Ouch.” I touch my chest, pretending that she just stabbed me. “And here I thought we were close friends.”
She rolls her eyes playfully and jokes, “Well, we’re not.”
“Oh, really?” I raise my eyebrows, leaning closer. “What is that thing you told me last time again? Didn’t you say, “I’m here for you if you ever want to talk”,that one time we hung out?”
Blood rushes to her face the more I speak, leaving her cheeks with traces of a beautiful summer glow.Cassandra blushes way too easily.It’s a problem. I’m pretty sure she knows it already.
“Stop! I don’t remember ever saying that!”
“Oh, yeah?” I pinch the bridge of her nose lightly, watching her skin become crimson red underneath my fingers. “But you most certainly did.”
“Enough!” She swats my hand away, her long hair falling forward, covering her chest.
She is wearing pink pajama pants covered in white dots printed, and her flip-flops are bunny-themed, with charms all over the straps. Her oversized pink t-shirt has a printed design of Betty Boop that is slightly worn out.
