Vacation over. We’re going back home.

Would you believe it if I said we had to go back to the resort 10 minutes after leaving because Mila realized she left her phone charging on her night stand? I wouldn’t, since sometimes it seems she values her phone more than her life, but that’s what happened.

Anyway, we left in the morning, at about 9:00 am. We didn’t have to hike back and left directly from the resort, so no issues with time there. Again, Diana was riding shotgun next to me while the rest of the girls were in the back. I quickly glanced at them through the mirror when I heard Alice let out a heavy sigh.

Mila, Grace and Sarah were glued to their phones the moment we got some decent signal out of the mountain, and Noelle was playing a game in her portable console.

“You’re all addicted,” Alice told them before she brought out a book from her backpack. The lack of a response sort of proved her point.

“We didn’t see Fernanda,” Diana said. “I wanted to say goodbye, at least.”

“She left even earlier than us,” Grace said. “I texted her before we left and she said she didn’t say anything because she thought we were still sleeping.”

“Wait, when did you exchange numbers with her?” Mila asked her.

“At breakfast the other day.”

Huh. Funny how I work with her yet Grace has her number and I don’t.

“Can you tell her I’ll drop by the coffee shop one of these days?” Diana asked.

“Sure.”

The ride was quiet for the most part. I know it’s weird to say we were tired after our vacation, but it happens. We played a lot, after all.

When we got back to the city, I drove the girls to their houses one by one, leaving Sarah’s house for last so I could stop by and thank Mr. and Mrs. West again. Mr. West wasn’t home, though. It was Monday, so I should’ve expected it.

“What did you think of the place?” Mrs. West asked me.

“It was amazing. I think I’m gonna miss the food, actually,” I told her as we talked in the kitchen.

“Haha. Funny you should say that. I used to work there, you know? And the cook there taught me a lot.”

“Oooh, I see. No wonder, then.”

“Will you stay and eat with us?” she offered. “There’s more than enough for you.”

I smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. My sister is alone at home and I promised I’d be back to eat with her.”

“Oh, then shoo! Go away!” she said, laughing heartily. “No good leaving family alone.”

I said goodbye to Sarah, Robert and Violet. Cole, however, was in his room.

Mrs. West sighed. “Please don’t take it personally. He’s at a difficult age.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I understand.”

“I’ll give him an earful later,” Sarah said.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Cut him some slack.”

“Fine.”

We shared an innocent little goodbye peck at which Violet went red in the face while Robert groaned in disgust. Their mother laughed.

“Sorry, sorry!” I said as I retreated. “Never again!”

I got a text from Sarah as I got back in my van.

-Sarah: What do you mean never again?

Sometimes you just can’t win, huh?

When I was finally back home, however, I did kind of win. Rather, I felt like a winner for what I got home to. I parked the van, went into the house, and before I could even say a word, Isabelle came out of the living room with a frown on her brow.

“W-What happened?” I asked her.

“She’s you!” she said.

“Huh?”

“Cake! She’s literally just you!”

“Sis, I’m gonna need some context.”

Isabelle wordlessly pointed her finger, and her whole arm, towards the living room. I peeked and saw Cake sitting on the floor, tail straight up and slowly wagging, and the two husky puppies sitting quietly in front of her, looking around. The moment one of them got tired of staying still and went at Cake with an open jaw, Cake retaliated by biting back, going for the neck and pinning the husky puppy down. The little thing cried in surprise, but Cake let go and stared down at it until it calmed down again.

Holy shit.

“You weren’t here to protect her, so she took matters into her own hands! Paws! In two days she’s got them more disciplined than mom and I ever could!”

“Cake!” I called.

My girl looked back, saw me and ran at me at sonic speeds, jumping into my arms in one go. I laughed and hugged her, kissing the top of her head and scratching around her neck.

“Holy shit, girl! I’m so proud of you! You’re amazing!”

Cake meowed loudly and rubbed her head against me while purring like a motorcycle. And really, I’m not kidding when I say I was proud. I left home worried that she’d have a hard time, but it turns out she rose to the task and took it like a champ.

“See? You really rubbed off on her. She’s been like this all weekend. She stops them from chewing furniture, hisses at them when they get aggressive, calms them down when they get too rough when playing…”

“Where did you even learn all this stuff?” I asked the cat.

“From you, obviously,” Isabelle said. “Look, here.”

She showed me a couple of videos of Cake doing just as she told me, stopping them from biting the sofa we gave mom for Christmas and hissing at them when one tried to bite Isabelle’s hand when she petted it when it was eating.

“When are you actually moving out? I think we’re gonna need Cake here for a while longer.”

Right. Moving out. “Two or three months, I think.”

Luke had sent me a text during the weekend, saying he wanted me to check out the progress on the house. The day was getting closer and closer.

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