Driving Fernanda home… and then going back home.

We had finally broken the ice. We had gone beyond the limits of talking about little more than work stuff and Fernanda had finally shared something deeply personal with me. That led us to being able to talk more freely about other stuff with each other.

…

That’s how I thought it was going to go, or at least hoped.

Fernanda accepted my offer to take her home, but the drive was about as silent as the workday had been. It was awkward and almost felt like we had lost whatever progress we had made in that little conversation about her drawings.

I feel the need to remind you that, while I’ve definitely gotten better at it, I’m still an introvert who needs to put conscious effort into making conversation, especially so with people I don’t know well. So after asking her if her parents were doing well and her answering that they were, we both went quiet and didn’t bring up any other topics. Fifteen minutes of silence never felt longer.

We did talk a bit more when we arrived at her house, but again, it was about work.

“Thank you for driving me,” she said meekly from outside the car and through the open door. “Y-You didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine. I just got this van and I’m looking for excuses to drive it around,” I told her with a small chuckle. “Ah, by the way… I won’t be going to work this Friday. Don’t be afraid to ask Maria for help and advice, alright?”

“Ah, it’s fine. Actually, I won’t be going to work on Friday, either.”

Oh? Man, that means Isabelle will be handling things on her own with Maria. On Saturday, too.

…

Eh, she’ll live. I did.

Didn’t feel right to pry on why she wouldn’t be going to work on Friday. She already seemed hesitant to talk about herself, so I didn’t want to be pushy.

“Alright then. Good luck with anything you have to do. Say hi to Mr. Carlos for me, okay?”

She nodded. “Y-Yes. Again, thank you.”

I raised my hand in a casual goodbye gesture and she closed the door. After that, I left with a short sigh of relief. Don’t know how I would’ve felt if she had thought to offer me to go inside to greet Mr. Carlos.

As I began to make my way back home, I realized more accurately where I was. This was a residential area in a pretty nice part of town. And by nice I mean higher class. Noelle’s and Alice’s houses weren’t too far from here.

I thought about dropping by to see either one of them, but ended up deciding against it for a few reasons. One was that I’d have to actually choose. Seeing one meant not seeing the other, and while I knew neither would get upset about it, I still didn’t like that idea. Another reason was that I was hungry and wanted to get home and eat dinner.

I drove straight home, parked the van and checked for gas. Still good but I’d have to fill it again tomorrow. Considering how much I’d been driving it, it was pretty efficient. I was still feeling pretty giddy at having it. I wasn’t lying to Fernanda when I said I was looking for excuses to drive.

I opened the door to my house, closed it behind me and immediately heard the small, familiar steps of Cake coming to greet me. Although… Were those faster than usual?

Cake came running from the living room and, without warning, jumped into my arms and then climbed all the way to my back. Needless to say I was confused. She had never done something like that before.

“What the hell?”

I understood the why of it soon enough.

Two tiny puppies came running (or more like stumbling) out of the living room, following Cake and letting out tiny, high-pitched barks.

“Oh, no. They’re here…” I muttered in sympathy for Cake.

Isabelle came out following the puppies, laughing with tears in her eyes. “God, you should’ve been here, brother. These two won’t leave her alone. She tries to run away but they follow her everywhere.”

“And she hasn’t tried to go to the second floor?” I asked, awkwardly repositioning my shoulders so as not to let Cake fall. Then again, I should’ve just let her fall.

“She did, but then I took the puppies up there,” Isabelle said with a proud grin.

“And then you ask why Cake doesn’t like you.”

“Screw you. She loves me.”

Cake, still standing on my shoulders, looked down at the two puppies that were now at my feet. She wasn’t hissing at them, at last, so that was a good sign. Isabelle did work on socializing Cake with the pets of her friends.

“So these are the pair of huskies, huh?” Really, they were puppies, seven weeks old now, if I remembered correctly. Just enough to finally leave their mother, if a little early.

“The lady couldn’t keep all the puppies anymore, so we had to take them early,” Isabelle said. “Oliver, meet Mint and Chip! Mint, Chip, this is your uncle Oliver.”

“Aww, you named them already?” I asked, disappointed. “I wanted to help name them, at least…”

“They’re seven weeks old, brother. They had names already. It just so happens that I love their names! Hahaha.”

I looked back at Cake. “They do kind of fit, don't they?”

The two puppies began to bite my shoes. I frowned and pushed them aside as gently as I could. “You better start reading on how to correct this sort of behavior or you’re gonna have a lot of problems in the future.”

“Aw, come on! It’s cute!”

“Sure, sure. Just don’t come crying to me when you have to buy new shoes every two days.”

“Ugh, you’re such a wet blanket!”

“You wanted dogs, Isabelle. Not plushies to stare at and squeeze.”

Still…

I kneeled down and let the two husky puppies smell my hand. Their wet noses poked my hand as they let curiosity win and sniffed me. Cake wasn’t very happy to be closer to them, so she climbed even higher. Meaning she had her front paws on my head now as she screamed at me.

“The one on the left is Mint. She’s a girl. Chip is a boy.”

“Two huskies… You do know what you’re getting into, right?”

Isabelle sighed. “Yes. I’ll… I’ll read up on how to train them. Even if it won’t all stick.”

“I’ll help when I can, but I’ll be going out this weekend, remember?”

“Yeah, going on vacation and leaving your family behind.” Isabelle stuck out her tongue. “I hope you trip and fall.”

“If I do trip and fall I’m leaving dog poop on your bed.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I’m hungry. Is dinner ready?”

“You wouldn’t, right Oliver?”

“Oh, that smells nice. What did you make today?”

“Oliver!”

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