Page 56 of Dear Adam
“I added it at check out while you weren’t looking. I thought it might be a fun surprise and make us look extra touristy.”
“I didn’t even know they made those anymore,” I say.
Then, someone shouts, “Oh no!” and I look over to find a middle aged woman wheeling her arms, frantically grabbing at the air.
“My phone!” she screeches, her arms flailing knocking the chips from her husband’s hands.
“My snack,” he frowns. At the mention of the word “snack,” two sets of dog ears perk up.Oh no.
“Levi! Grab Hank—” But before I can finish the warning, Hank has his front paws on the railing, eyes trained on the bag of chips floating in the ocean.
“Don’t do it, Hank,” I plead. He turns and gives me a look, but right as I reach for his collar, he’s is in the water, swimming next to the dolphins and happily licking at the soggy bag of chips.
Wide eyed, I turn to Levi. “What do we do?” I ask, but his gaze is focused on my midsection—on my fanny pack.
My heart sinks to my stomach for the millionth time that day as my hands move to the fanny pack, knowing what I’ll find.
Pretzel is gone.
“Where did she go?” I cry, frantically scanning the area around us until I notice her a few rows back, front paws on the railing.
“Pretzel!” I shout. She turns, spares me what can only be described as a withering glance, then hops into the water after Hank. When Levi and I push past the crowd to the railing, it's in time to catch Pretzel climb onto Hank’s back.
“This is…not good,” Levi stammers. “Not good at all.”
An hour later, the four of us stand on the dock, soaking wet, watching as the boat takes off to finish the tour.
“You think he was serious about that restraining order?” Levi asks.
“I’m going to go with yes,” I mutter and turn to begin my walk of shame back to the Bronco.
“We said we wanted them to have the best day ever,” Levi says after we’ve loaded up. “And they look pretty happy to me.”
Once I climb behind the wheel, I peek into the back. The pups are curled up, fast asleep, with cute little puppy dog smiles plastered on their faces.
Chapter twenty-six
Aly
Afoghornjoltsmefrom my slumber. The space in bed beside me is empty, and my heart sinks in Levi’s absence. I slide my feet into some house slippers and shuffle into the kitchen.
The smell of rich coffee greets me; the sides of the pot are still warm, so he must’ve left recently. I pour myself a cup, and as I’m reaching for the creamer in the back of the fridge, a note on the counter catches my eye.
Wanted to get in a few last East Coast waves and didn’t want to wake you. I’ll be back around nine. - Levi
My heart catches on the wordlast,but I refuse to think about what it means. I have three hours before he’s supposed to be back. I could join him—after all, I love a good early morning surf session, too. But he must’ve wanted to go alone this morning, to clear his head before going back to California. Otherwise, he would have woken me.
Instead, I decide to shower and come up with a plan for us to enjoy our last few hours together.
After tidying the house and showering, I curl up on the unmade bed in my robe, my wet hair wrapped in a towel. Both dogs are sound asleep at my feet but when I pick up my phone, Pretzel stirs then lays her head on Hank’s back. Her eyes are heavy with sadness, like she can tell something is up.
I’m thinking we’ll start the day at my favorite brunch spot, then maybe squeeze in one last cheeseball tourist event, like a haunted ghost tour.
I pull up the text thread with my brother and start typing.
Today is Levi’s last day in town for a while, so we made the most of yesterday with a dolphin tour. Both Pretzel and Hank ended up in the water, and we were kicked off the boat, so keep that in mind for future reference. I’m pretty sure anyone with the last name Bloomington or Middleton is banned from there. Anyway, miss and love you!
I hit send, and that satisfying tri-tone fills the silence. Across the room, a phone beeps with an incoming message, and I realize Levi must’ve forgotten his phone when he went surfing.
