Page 72 of Dear Adam
“What happened?” Concern lines his face. Instead of answering, I walk toward Adam’s room.
A million thoughts race through my mind. I can tell him I heard his confession to Adam, but that would be admitting to eavesdropping. Or, I could pretend like nothing ever happened, but then I would be doing exactly what Levi did to me with the texts. Karma has a real funny way of biting you in the butt.
I spin on my heel to face him. I take his face between my palms and look him straight in the eye. “I forgive you,” I tell him.
“Aly, I’m so sorry,” he starts.
“No, stop. I’m not done, I say, holding a hand up to shush him. “I love you, too.”
He reaches his hands up to mine and gently holds them there, tilting his head to lean in and kiss me. For three whole seconds, I forget I’m in a hospital, surrounded by the smell of ammonia and bleach, with my brother mere feet away.
Someone clears their throat right when Levi delivers a teasing bite to my lower lip. We peel back from each other to find Adam, arms crossed, looking every which way but the two of us. “Do you think you two could do that…somewhere else?”
I giggle, and my cheeks flush. “Are you sure you’re okay with me loving your best friend?” I ask him quietly.
“Yes, but please just…don’t do that in front of me,” he says. Pretzel pops her head out from under the covers beside Adam, as if she’s been hiding her eyes too.
Levi clears his throat and looks down, the tips of his ears red with embarrassment. “I guess it’s probably a bad time to talk to you about how Hank impregnated your dog then, too, huh?”
“No, probably not,” Adam says with a smile. “You’re not off the hook for that one yet.”
Epilogue
Thefirstpuppymakesher debut early on a Saturday morning. Pretzel is already exhausted, but I have a feeling it’s more from Glenda and my mom constantly obsessing over her than from giving birth.
“She needs water!” Glenda exclaims, then proceeds to bring her a bowl and set it next to the two Mom has already put beside her.
“Do you think she’s hungry?” Mom asks no one in particular.
“I think she’ll let us know if she needs anything,” Aly replies and strokes Pretzel’s ear. Pretzel gives her a soft lick of appreciation.
With Adam still recovering, Pretzel has been staying with Aly. I flash back to all the times she was a little terror for Aly and how far they’ve come since. Now, they’re two peas in a pod.
“Oh! Another one is coming!” Glenda says and scooches down beside us to get a front row seat. “Have you told them the news?” She asks us, glancing toward my mom, who’s making her way in with a bowl of food.
“What news?” I ask.
“We’re taking one of the puppies,” Mom says. “And we’re going to make him or her a mascot for our next business adventure.”
“Business adventure?” Aly asks hesitantly.
“Picture this,” Glenda says. “A food truck parked down by the waterfront. We sell nothing but the best hot dogs. Tourists will flock to us. I think it’s the greatest idea we’ve ever had, don’t you, Teen?”
“Yes!” Mom says, clapping her hands together excitedly. “But we haven’t even told them the best part. You want to tell them the best part, Glenda?”
“Oh! Right! Yes, the best part. We’re going to name it…” Glenda smacks a drumroll off her thighs and announces dramatically, “Gleenie’s Weenies!”
“Gleenie’s Weenies!” Mom echoes. “Isn’t that so cute? Because we put Glenda and Teenie together to make Gleenie, and then weenie rhymes with it?”
Aly is doubled over in hysterics at this revelation, and I’m so lost for words, I can only shake my head.
“Gleenie’s Weenies,” Aly chokes out, tears streaming down her face. “Only you two.”
After Pretzel gives birth to her last puppy, Glenda and my mom walk off to discuss business plans, leaving me and Levi alone with Pretzel and her four perfectly adorable puppies. They each have long bodies that match Pretzel’s, and broad heads and sharp muzzles like Hank’s. It’s too early to tell if they’ll have droopy ears like Pretzel or tall, pointy ones like Hank, but their markings are a mix of both their mother and father.
“Are you going to miss Pretzel?” I ask.
“Of course I’ll miss her,” Aly says. “But I know how excited she is to be back with Adam, and I really feel like this time we were forced to spend together did some good for us. Plus, I’m definitely taking a puppy.” She reaches over and strokes the smallest one. All four puppies are nursing, and Pretzel looks like she’s on the verge of falling asleep.
