When night had set in and our empty bowls laid beside the kitchen bench, my resting place was on the couch by the cold fireplace.
Stew was already asleep at the end of Missy's bed while waiting for her to return. The cold air and biting wind was far too hostile to sit out in to wait either. Missy already knew we could reach the key she deliberately put higher on the windowsill.
I didn't join her just yet. I wanted to make sure Missy walked through that door and locked it before I let down my guard to join them somewhere warmer.
Sure enough, I heard the droning of the scooter and saw a wash of light outside the window. Peeking around the edge of the couch, I remained on edge until footsteps shuffled up the stairs and the door was pushed open.
"What a day" Missy moaned, picking off her shoes to dump them by the door and staggering over to flick on the light.
I sat up and was flashed a smile to Missy who came over to place down the box.
It wasn't as full as it had been when she left. There was even a plastic bag wedged inside.
Grinning, Missy rubbed my cheeks and hunched over to stir the logs in the fire.
"I sold some today" Missy spoke to the fireplace "people loved the new dresses! There was music and everything, Soup! It was....."
She stood up and sighed, picking up a matchbox tucked away on top of the fireplace to snap a single spark of fire onto the logs.
"It was out of a story" Missy slumped beside me "there was a festival and people everywhere. People were singing and dancing and playing all sorts of instruments. There was even this fiddle player...."
Missy grew quiet and I saw the little smile burn her cheeks.
"Who knew how adorable brown waistcoats could be?" she giggled "the fabric was....wow....."
"Just the fabric?" I smirked to her.
She heard my little comment and tutted before dipping down to finally pull out the bag from inside the box.
"I got food" Missy grinned again as she showed it to me "fruits and vegetables, and..."
She heaved up a chunk of pre-seasoned meat that was obviously from a higher-end supermarket. The sticker showed that this slab had cost Missy almost thirty-eight dollars.
She grew tearful when she lowered it back into the bag. Wiping her eyes, she was still smiling.
"Things are looking up, Soup" she almost whispered to me "we can actually get through this."
I closed my eyes and leant into her hand holding the side of my head gently. Her thumb stroked my cheek to comfort herself.
"You don't hate me?" Missy pondered.
My hard glare back at her made her realise the truth that she nodded and shrugged to.
"I guess that was a silly question. It was just..."
She trailed off and let her words die out.
"Well.... you're still here" she smiled to assure herself "of course you are."
"I'm not going anywhere" I muttered back to her, closing my eyes again as her hand moved up to stroke circles along the top of my head.
Her hand faltered on her path. It slowed and stopped before remembering to run along my head again.
I peeked up at Missy who was biting her lip and looking into the flicking fire still struggling to light.
"Sorry" she mumbled when she noticed me watching her "I'm just..."
She was really preoccupied with whatever was running through her mind. It was troubling her so much that she was biting her bottom lip.
"Well...." Missy started again when I straightened up beside her "...I told you about today. It was really good, but..."
Her hands slipped a pocket in her dress that she unzipped and pulled a single card from.
Flipping it in her hand, Missy tapped it on her knee before showing me the green front.
"Someone really liked my idea. They wanted me to make more."
That was excellent! That's exactly what Missy wanted! Why was she so torn about this great of an opportunity?
"He said that it could lead to something more; a place in the city maybe."
"Why are you worried about that?" I nudged her side "sure, it'll be smaller, but..."
"They don't allow pets" Missy blurted over me.
Her hands turned the card again that she stopped to stare at.
"I really want to do well" her eyes glistened in the flickering light "but if I do and it actually goes big..."
She looked to me, forcing a smile.
"I don't want to leave you both behind if it means I do better."
Her tears dropped onto the card she gazed down at again. They soaked in to run some of the logo before Missy smothered it in her closed palm.
"I don't know what to do" she whispered to me.
Obviously, the offer wasn't concrete just yet, but Missy's next choice would decide if it went further or not.
A place in the big city would be the best outcome for her. She wouldn't have to travel so far to try and sell her dresses on the streets. She could pool together some money to avoid the danger of ever going hungry or scraping together scraps that were stretched with water. She could pay her rent on time, take advantage of a bustling environment, and still live in a cozy room with her passion.
It wouldn't involve me or Stew. The city was no place for pets. Even though we could change that situation, it would only put more unnecessary strain onto Missy to suddenly have to house three people rather than just one.
The offer was for her. It wasn't for us to interfere with.
She could stay here; still scrape and struggle but come home to rolling fields of flowers and us, or she could take this lifeline, share her new dresses with the community and return to her own home alone in a glittering city.
Either way, the pros and cons weighed against each other equally.
We were better as pets. We couldn't change that, even for something like this.
"He wants me to come back tomorrow to talk about it some more."
Our eyes met and I felt the nervousness from Missy's wash into me.
"I can't just leave her" Missy glanced to the open bedroom door, dropping her voice lower "not after how she came in. No-one even came looking for her."
I turned too, grimacing at the room.
Stew wouldn't take it well. In her eyes, Missy was her mother who was going to be by her side forever.
After two years, it'd be like the train took her mother from her all over again. She wouldn't stop following those tracks until Missy was holding her again or she collapsed beside them.
How was I going to break it to her that this was a possibility?
"I don't know what to do, Soup" Missy slumped back and looked to the card again "he made it sound so good. I just don't want to get there and for it to all just be a dream."
"Just see what he says" I replied as I laid my head across her lap to stroke again "and if you don't like it, come home."
"I wish I could understand you" Missy whispered, sniffling.
My own eyes were blinded by my silent tears snaking down my cheeks as I laid there to comfort her. No matter what I said, I couldn't change her mind on this. It had to be her choice to make.
"Me too, Missy. Me too."146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkIRcUjYjn
