Page 10 of Keyoni & Sage
“She knows where her food is.” Cauvey took his seat, ignoring the scowl on Lanique’s face. “It ain’t moved in two years.”
The revelation caught me by surprise. Obviously they’d been together longer than I thought, even though I had only been introduced to Cauvey last week. The situation showed that me and Lanique weren’t as close as I thought. It showed me that I viewed our relationship differently. She was an important person in my life, the one who was my first call for everything. For her to keep such a big secret from me spoke volumes.
At one point, me and my cousin were as thick as thieves until life intervened, creating distance. I went to school, while Lanique ventured to Diamond Falls, but we found a way to stay in touch. Almost daily. As my ride or die, my cousin knew almost everything about me. I thought I knew everything about her too.
Until I realized I didn’t.
I loved my cousin, but our living arrangement wasn’t panning out how I planned. We saw each other in passing and didn’t spend a lot of time together. It had a lot to do with Lanique’s neediness and her fight to stay glued to Cauvey’s hip. Anytime he was around me, she was right there. Anytime he left the apartment, she wanted to go too.
I joined Lanique and Cauvey at the table. They were damn near done when I got started, since I stopped to make sure all the pets were good before sitting down. We pretty much ate in silence, scrolling on our phones, until I started laughing, causing two heads to lift.
“What’s so funny?” Lanique quizzed.
I passed her my phone, showing her the message that had me cackling. She did the same, dropping her fork onto her plate to slide her finger up and down the screen. Her animated facetwisted in different ways as she scanned the group chat I had with my siblings.
They were wild.
“Ay, Sage.” Cauvey chewed with his mouth open. “Do y’all give discounts at the clinic?” I shook my head, planning to follow up with an explanation, but Cauvey spoke first. “Damn. I told my sister y’all did.”
I didn’t know he had a sister.
“We got programs that help with financial assistance. She would have to qualify though?—”
“That’s gonna take too long.”
“What’s wrong?”
Anything dealing with animals instantly piqued my curiosity.
“She thinks her dog’s in labor.”
“Okay?” I waited for something more urgent. Cauvey made it seem like time was of the essence. “Is it not progressing? Is it?—”
“I don’t know.” He threw the last bite of burrito into his mouth, chewing ferociously before adding, “You gotta ask her.” I sat there dumbfounded as he looked over his shoulder at the stove. “Is there any more?”
“Yeah, but you gotta put it together yourself.”
Slowly, he turned to Lanique. Without a word, she lifted from her seat, obliging his silent request.
After noticing the time, I took my plate with me to my room. I still had a job to go to and would be late if I didn’t start getting ready. I wasn’t finished eating though, so I took bites between showering and dressing. By the time I got to my hair, I put in minimal time, brushing everything to the back, including the edges, for a low ponytail.
The kitchen was empty when I placed my plate in the sink, and when I started to leave, the note left behind on the table caught my eye. My name was scrawled across the top in dark lettering, bigger than the message itself.
SAGE
Jami lives in #305.
Just knock. She’s home.
The note had to be from Cauvey. Lanique would have called or sent a text since she had my number. Cauvey didn’t have the same access to me and he wasn’t home when I searched the apartment. The coded language took a minute for me to decipher. I didn’t know who Jami was or what number three oh five meant. Then, after replaying our earlier conversation, it dawned on me. Cauvey’s sister with the pregnant dog.
After making sure all the animals that lived with us were good, I left a little early, stopping one floor down to knock on a stranger’s door. I heard scrambling on the other side before a feminine voice yelled from the other side, “Who is it?”
“Sage.”
“Who?”
“Sage,” I said again. “Dr. Sage Smith. I was told you were in need of vet—” The door opened. “Care.”
