| When Cassidy woke up Sunday morning at eleven thirty, she didn�t hear a sound. She rolled out of bed and went downstairs, only to find a fresh pot of coffee brewed for her. She noticed that the basement door was open, so she went to see if Lainey was down there. She made her descent down the basement stairs, and she saw Lainey mopping the floor. Lainey had cleaned the entire basement. She got rid of all the paint cans and tarps, had hung the black light posters up, and gotten all of the paint up off the floor. Cassidy knew that Lainey had said she was going to do it, but never did she expect her sister to do such a great job. Lainey wasn�t a slob by any means; it would just take her longer than one morning to do it. Lainey was distracted very easily. �Wow Lainey, I am impressed. It looks really good down here.� �Wait a second.� Lainey said. She turned on the black lights and clicked the over head light off. Everything started to glow. �Now what do you think?� �You and Jeff did an awesome job. It looks awesome!� �Thanks Cass� that means a lot coming from you.� �Look Lainey, I know that I am hard on you sometimes, I just don�t want to see you screw up.� �I know, but I am twenty four years old, just like you.� �I know that. I just�� �I understand Cassidy, I really do. But sometimes, I�ve just got to figure things out for myself.� Lainey walked passed her sister and went upstairs. She left Cassidy in the basement to think about what she had said. Lainey had done a lot of thinking that morning, about a lot of things, including Jeff. She had made the decision not to go after Jeff. She was attracted to Jeff, and everything about him intrigued her so. But, his girlfriend did just break up with him. It was obvious they had been together for quite awhile, they were living together. Jeff would need time to recover from that. Lainey had decided that she would be friends with Jeff, but that was all. She didn�t want to jump into a relationship with someone who wasn�t ready. She liked Jeff a lot, and if she did end up dating him, she wanted it to last. She knew from experience that a relationship on the rebound never works out. And, if Jeff ended up reconciling with Lizzie, it just wasn�t meant to be for her and Jeff to be together. Lainey went upstairs and grabbed her camera bag, and went for a walk. She wanted to give Cassidy some time. She headed down the road toward town. She was walking by Jeff�s place, and she stopped. Lainey had driven by there almost every day for the past two years, and yet now it seemed so different. She now knew who created all the chaos. She pulled her camera out of the bag, and put her 70-210 Millimeter lens on. She loaded a roll of film and started shooting photographs of Jeff�s property. As she was shooting, she felt something rub up against her leg. She looked down, and saw Liger sitting in front of her. �Hi Liger.� She said as she patted him on the head. She put her camera back into the bag, and bent down to pet Jeff�s dog. She petted him for a few minutes, and then decided to head back to her house. If Lizzie was still at Jeff�s, she didn�t want to have a confrontation with her. Lainey turned to walk away, and Liger started following her. She stopped, and said, �Liger, go home.� He just tilted his head as if to say, �Huh?� Lainey started walking again, and Liger was right on her heels. She tried to get him to go back to Jeff�s, but the dog continued to follow. Lainey walked all the way back home, and Jeff�s dog followed her right up to the door. He sat on the porch and awaited permission to go inside. Lainey looked at him, and he looked so sad that she just had to let him inside. �Come on Liger.� Lainey said as she patted her leg. Liger got up and followed her into the house. Cassidy was sitting on the couch, and was talking on the phone. She saw Lainey come in with the dog and said, �Ohh� where did you find it?� �This is Jeff�s dog Liger, he followed me home.� �He�s so cute�� Liger walked up to Cassidy and licked her face. Cassidy got right on the floor and started playing with him as she tried to talk on the phone. �Yeah, Lainey said that your brother�s dog followed her home.� Lainey went into the kitchen, grabbed a big bowl out of the cupboard, and filled it with water. She set it on the floor and called Liger. He came running in and immediately went to the bowl and started lapping up the water. Cassidy came in behind him. �Matt wants to know where you saw Liger.� �I went for a walk, and he was out by the road in front of Jeff�s place. I petted him for a few minutes, and then headed back here, and he followed me. I told him to go home, but he didn�t.� �What kind of dog is he?� �I don�t know�� �Matt said he�s a boxer. I want one!� Cassidy said. �Cassidy, we aren�t home long enough to have a dog.� Lainey said. �I know, but he is so adorable. I�ve got to have one. Hey Matt, do you think Jeff will let me have his dog?� Lainey grabbed her cell phone, and called Jeff. After it rang a couple of times, Jeff answered. �Hello?� �Hi Jeff.� �Hi Lainey, how are you?� �I am okay. I wanted to call and let you know that your dog is at my house?� �Liger?� �Yes. I was out for a walk and he was out by the road by your place. He came right up to me so I petted him, then he followed me home. I told him to go home, but he didn�t listen.� �I told you he liked you. He doesn�t really like Lizzie, and usually when I am gone, he goes over to my dad�s house.� �How far does your dad live from here?� �He lives right across the street from Matt.� �Gilbert is your dad?� �You know my dad?� �Yeah, Cassidy and I usually see him when we go for our walks. He always comes out to say hello.� �That�s really weird.� �So should I bring your dog over there?� �He can stay at your house if you don�t mind. At least I know he will be taken care of. If not, you can drop him off at my dad�s place.� �Well, I don�t mind keeping him here, if he stays.� �What about your sister.� �She wants to keep your dog, permanently.� �Well, tell her she can�t have him.� Jeff said as he laughed. �What should I feed him?� �On my truck keys is a key to my house. Liger�s food is in a big can in the kitchen. It says his name on the top of the can. Anyway, you can just get some of that and bring it to your house. If you think Lizzie is there and you don�t want to go over, you can just ask my dad. I am sure he�d be happy to go over and get it for you. He may even have some at his house. If you do go over to get Liger�s food, don�t worry about the other animals, I will call my dad and have him feed them.� �Okay.� Lainey said. �So are you going to watch wrestling tomorrow night?� �What time is it on?� �Nine o�clock, on TNN. I�ll be wrestling�� �Then I will definitely be watching. I can�t wait to see the whole black light thing you were telling me about.� �Well cool. Are you sure you don�t mind looking after my dog?� �Not at all. But should I tie him up, or let him just do what he wants?� �You can let him run� He won�t go anywhere, maybe back to my house, or over to my dad�s.� �Alright then Jeff, I will watch your dog until you get home.� �You are picking me up, right?� �Yes, on Tuesday at nine-thirty in Raleigh, right.� �Yes, and I�ll be flying in on United Airlines 1651 from Boston. I am not sure what gate it will be at in Raleigh though.� �I am sure I can find it.� �Alright, then I will see on Tuesday.� �Okay. Later!� �See ya later Lainey.� Lainey hung up the phone and returned to the living room. She saw Cassidy rolling around on the floor with Liger. �Cass�� Lainey said. Cassidy looked up at her sister. �What?� �I just talked Jeff�� �Did you ask him if we could have his dog?� �No, he said you couldn�t keep him. But he did say we could keep an eye on him while he is gone.� �Cool.� �He said that we can go to his and get food for him.� �Okay, you go. I�ll stay here with the dog.� �Cassidy, I want you to go with me, just in case Lizzie is still at his house.� �Lainey, you can take her, I know you can.� �I don�t want to fight with her. I just want to get some food for Liger. Will you please go with me?� �Sure, can we take the dog?� �I don�t care. Are you driving?� �No, I don�t know where he lives.� �Fine, let�s go.� Lainey grabbed Jeff�s keys out of her purse, and she went out to the truck, followed by Cassidy and Liger. Liger sat between the two girls, and they drove down the road to Jeff�s house. Lainey turned into the driveway, and Cassidy was staring out her window at Jeff�s yard. �This is where Jeff lives?� Cassidy said in amazement. �Yes, he lives here.� �What the hell are those things?� Cassidy asked as she was pointing to Jeff�s aluminummies. �They are statues made of aluminum foil and duct tape. I think he calls them aluminummies.� �Jeff is definitely unique.� �You could say that.� Lainey said. She parked the truck and both girls got out, and Liger was right behind them. Lainey didn�t see Lizzie�s car and assumed it was safe to enter. She walked up the steps and started trying to fit keys into the door, until she found the right one. She unlocked the door and went inside. Cassidy stayed outside with the dog. Lainey went into the kitchen, and saw the can that had Liger�s food in it. It was too big to carry, so she started opening the cupboards, looking for a bag to put it in. She finally found a grocery bag, and she started scooping some of Liger�s food into it. She filled it up about halfway, and then tied the bag shut. She put the cover back on Liger�s can, grabbed the bag, and walked through the living room to leave. Lainey noticed a photograph of Jeff and Lizzie that was on the end table next to the couch. She walked over and picked it up to get a better look. It was as if Lizzie wasn�t even in the picture with Jeff. She was only looking at Jeff. He didn�t appear to be truly happy. Jeff had a half of a smile on his face, and he looked posed. Only Lainey would notice small details like this, because she was a photographer. She could see his resistance to be in the picture. Lainey didn�t doubt that Jeff had feelings for Lizzie. He must have, he had been with her for over three years, and the two of them were living together. She was staring at the picture for a good five minutes. She could see herself in that photo with Jeff, although she would be leaning into him more, and he would have more emotion in his face. She shook her head and brought herself back to reality. She and Jeff were only friends; that was all they could be. She set the picture back on the end table, then walked over to the door, and walked out on the porch. Lainey shut and locked the door, and headed down the steps. Cassidy was standing by one of Jeff�s aluminummies, examining it. �Cass, are you ready?� �Yeah�� Cassidy replied. She was walking away, but continued to look back at the statue. They both got into the truck, and Lainey said, �Where�s Liger?� �He was right next to me�� Lainey got out of the truck and called Liger, who bolted from around the back of the trailer and jumped into the truck. Lainey was pulling out of the driveway, and met Lizzie at the end. As they were passing each other, Lizzie stopped her car, and said, �Where are you going with my dog?� �Jeff asked me to watch after him while he was out of town.� Lainey didn�t wait for a response. She continued on her way out of the driveway, and turned to go back to her house. As Cassidy and Lainey approached Gilbert�s house, they noticed him standing outside. Cassidy said, �Lainey stop the truck so we can say Hi.� Lainey pulled over in front of Gilbert�s home, and Gilbert walked over to the truck. �Hello girls.� �Hi Gilbert.� They both said. �How are you doing today?� �I am good. How are the two of you?� �I�m good.� Lainey said. �I am wonderful.� Cassidy replied. �So I understand that the two of you have finally met my boys.� �Under extenuating circumstances, yes.� Lainey said. �Jeff told me that he and you had an accident Lainey.� �Yes, but I am alright. Jeff was kind enough to lend me his truck until he gets home on Tuesday, since my vehicle is still in the shop.� �I just got off the phone with Jeffrey actually. He told me that you�re looking after Liger?� �Lainey was out walking, and he followed her home. Jeff may find himself without a dog when he returns.� �Cassidy, I said you weren�t keeping Liger.� Lainey replied matter-of-factly. �We just stopped over at Jeff�s to get Liger�s food. Lainey raised the bag for Gilbert to see. �Was Lizzie over there?� �She was pulling in as we were leaving, so there was no confrontation.� Cassidy told Gilbert. �Cassidy, Matthew tells me that the two of you are dating now?� �We are�� �I am glad� I really like you girls. You are going to be wonderful for my boys.� �Oh, Jeff and I are just friends.� Lainey explained. �For now� You ladies have a nice day.� Gilbert said as he waved and headed back to his house. �You too.� Cassidy and Lainey told him. Lainey drove away, and returned home. |
| * Chapter Eleven * |
 |
 |
 |