doctor been in yet?”
“No, but they took me down for the MRI on my shoulder. I guess he was waiting to get those results.”
“Geepa, how does it feel?”
“Sore, but I think it’ll be fine. This has taught me to respect my age.” Geepa was in his sixties, but didn’t look it at all. He was handsome, like my dad, with dark hair that was beginning to turn gray around his hairline. His tall frame still showed signs of him being physically fit as he worked out all the time.
“Geepa, you’re still young. What are you talking about?”
“That’s what I thought until that jerk nailed me. I hadn’t been expecting it.”
“Why would you? Only crazy people go around doing things like that,” I said. And the McLures were definitely that.
We made small talk until the doctor arrived. He explained that Geepa had sustained a small tear in his rotator cuff when he fell, which was causing the soreness. “You can wear a sling for the next few days, but these tears don’t heal, so I’m afraid you’ll have to have surgery to have it repaired.”
I slumped in the chair. “Is it a bad surgery?” I asked.
“Not at all. This tear is small so they can do it by arthroscopy.”
While it relieved me some, guilt still cocooned me for it happening in the first place.
Geepa aimed a finger at me. “Young lady, wipe that look off your face. This is not your fault. If you had been home alone with Easton, I shudder to think what that man would’ve done to you or your daughter. I’m glad it turned out this way.”
He always had a way of making lemonade out of lemons. “Thanks, Geepa. I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“And speaking of, where’s that new husband of yours?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
“He’s probably catching up on things at work. I left him at home when Mom picked me up.”
“You need to get back to him. You’re supposed to be celebrating your wedding.”
The doctor glanced at me and wished me a congratulations, then continued with the paperwork. He finished and told Geepa they would be bringing everything in for him to sign in a few minutes and then we could leave.
After the doctor was gone, Geepa said, “Now that I have you feeling guilty, English, for God’s sake will you let me get Easton a puppy?”
“Geepa! I can’t believe you!”
“What? I’m only taking advantage of the perfect opportunity.”
“I never realized you were such an opportunist. I’m too busy for a puppy.”
“You have a husband now and I’ll pay to have it trained.”
“Yeah, like you did Boonior? Do you have any idea how many ballet slippers of mine that dog ate?”
“I do, because he chewed up even more of my house slippers. But he was the best friend you ever had, wasn’t he?”
There was no denying it.
Geepa knew I was caving when I didn’t answer. “Then how can you deprive your daughter of the same?”
“Because I don’t want her heart to get broken when he dies, like mine did when we lost Boonior.”
Geepa held out his arms. “Oh, sweetie, come here.” I ran into his arms again. “That’s a part of growing up. Learning to love and learning to let go. We’re all going to lose those we love and you can’t protect Easton from everything. But you can give her joy and teach her to love and take care of things. A dog is an excellent way to do that.”
“You win.” I sniffed. My watery eyes were full of tears I refused to shed. Even after all these years, I missed Boonior. “But I don’t want a big dog. And not too small either. I don’t want to step on the poor thing when he’s a baby.”
We rode home with Geepa more excited about puppy-hunting than anything else. He’d found several already but he wanted to take Easton with him to pick the final one out.
“She may try to tell you she only wants one if it’s pink.”
“I’m not too concerned about that. When she sees these little things, she’ll want more than one.”
“Oh, hell no. One is my hard limit.”
“I know. I promise on that.”
We dropped Geepa and Banana off and he was going to pick up Easton the following day to puppy-hunt. I had to remember to tell Tristian. We hadn’t even discussed where we’d live. Gah, I needed to figure all this out.
Mom drove me home next and as I was getting out of the car,