Page 73 of August
“Gwen,” the woman introduced herself. “Elisa’s sister-in-law, but not really anymore.” She tilted her head. “I guess we’re just friends now. I met her when I was so young, she’s basically my actual sister, though.”
“She told you that I thought you two were on a date, didn’t she?” Myra asked as she walked over.
“Yeah. Was it that obvious?”
“I think you said the word ‘sister’ at least five times,” Myra said as she laughed. “Myra.” She held out her hand for Gwen to shake.
“Hey. And this is Buster,” Gwen said of the dog.
“And who does Buster belong to?”
“Elisa now. We just picked him up today,” Gwen said.
“She got a dog?” Myra asked.
“Yup. He’s seven years old as far as they know, and he’s a total mutt.” Gwen knelt down in front of him. “Aren’t you, Buster?” She ruffled his ears, and he shook his head a little. “They think he’s part Jack Russell and maybe a Yorkie. He’s adorable, though, and such a good boy.” Gwen ruffled him again.
The dog was small, maybe only fifteen or twenty pounds. He had light-brown hair on his face and most of his legs, but his back and most of his body were black. Hewasadorable. Myra had to give him that.
“I didn’t realize she was going to get one so soon,” she said.
“You’re not allergic, are you?” Gwen asked, standing up. “She said you weren’t.”
“No, I’m not. I just thought that she might wait, given what’s going on with the kids wanting to be at their dad’s and Elisa maybe staying there.”
Gwen nodded and said, “Ah.” She glanced at Buster, who was sniffing the front yard. “We should get back inside. He can play in the backyard. I just wanted to walk him around the neighborhood a bit so that he could get used to the sights and smells.”
“Where is Elisa?” Myra asked.
“Inside. She had some company call her about her application right when this guy needed to go outside, so I offered to take him,” Gwen replied. “Are you coming in?”
“I was going to start working early, but if she’s on the phone, I’ll just come by later.”
“What? No, come on in. She’s in her room. I doubt it will take long, and we were just going to hang out until you got here anyway. I’m making margaritas. Do you like margaritas?”
“I haven’t had one in a while,” Myra replied. “I’m more of a beer girl.”
“Then, you can have a beer, and we’ll have the margaritas,” Gwen suggested. “Come on, Busta Rhymes,” she added to Buster. “I’ve already decided that’s his nickname.”
Myra laughed and followed the pair inside the house, where she watched Gwen take Buster off the leash. He then sprinted to the sofa, jumped all over it, jumped down, ran back over to Myra, and proceeded to sniff her feet before he jumped on her, putting his front paws on her thighs.
“Buster, no,” Gwen told him. “No jumping, buddy.”
He got down and moved around Myra as he continued to sniff.
“Hey, you.”
Myra looked up and saw Elisa standing at the top of the stairs, smiling down at her.
“Hi. I’m early.”
“I see that. Did you get a chance to meet my new littleguy?” As if knowing Elisa was talking about him, Buster sped up the stairs to get to her. “Hey, Buster.” She knelt down and rubbed at his ears. “We just picked him up.”
“We met. He sniffed me. I think I passed the test.”
Elisa then began walking down the stairs toward Myra, and Buster, impatiently, sped ahead of her.
“That’s a terrier for you,” Gwen said.
