Before the call can go to voicemail, I hit accept. “Hello?”
“Rosalie, sorry to bother you this late. I had an interesting conversation with Wyatt. He said you guys talked about getting a dog and you were all for it?”
I love that Liam knows to launch right into it without the pretense of small talk, but I’m immediately defensive, because I did everything in my power this afternoon to not talk about getting a dog. At one point, I started a water fight to avoid it. I got them extra popsicles and then had to mop up the floor from our dirty, wet feet tracking back and forth across the kitchen. That kid is so busted.
Also, this call is 100 percent about the kids. I was right. I’m always right when it comes to these things. I would really love to be less of a know-it-all.
“So, Wyatt did try to ask about getting a dog. I refused to talk to him about it. I told him it was a topic he’d have to bring up with you.”
Liam sighs. “I am so sorry.”
“I would never encourage your kids to ask for something like that.”
“I know. It was so unlike you, but he was adamant that it was your idea. No wonder he volunteered to shower right after. He even told me you agreed with him that big dogs are better than little barky ones.”
“Oh, I did say that. My archnemesis in high school had a mini Yorkie she’d dress up in tutus.”
There’s no response, and it makes me die a little inside. He didn’t take the bait. I brought up something outside of my job, and his force field shot into place.
I want a real conversation with him. I want the Liam I got a glimpse of Friday night. And that’s a really dumb thing to hope for. Not to mention, if I keep trying, he’ll see right through me. “So, let me know what you deci—”
“You had an archnemesis?”
I’ve never been happier to be cut off. The guitar riff from theTop Guntheme song plays in my head, and I do a little victorydance around the room using choreography from my middle school cheer halftime show. I am so glad Kambryn and Aubrey can’t see me right now. Sometimes the best performances in life have no audience.
“Well, I didn’t want one, but I guess I stole her favorite parking spot one day and then took the chemistry lab partner she planned to pick. He was, in her words: ‘a hot nerd who would totally do all the work.’ Actually, he was kind of a control freak, and I would have preferred someone who knew how to take turns. I’m sorry. My stories always have detours in them, especially when I’m nervous.”
I slap a hand over my mouth. There is seriously something wrong with me when it comes to Liam. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of what his full attention is like, I want it worse than any bad kid who’s ever acted out.
“I, uh, like that your stories have detours. So, what’s the difference between an archnemesis and a bully?”
“Good question. Retaliation is the difference. She told everyone I was dating the fifty-year-old school janitor, and I got called into the principal’s office and had to clear the poor man’s name along with my reputation. So, I, um, spread a rumor that the school board was going to ban all animals from campus, and she went down to the meeting and caused a scene, not knowing that the school had already banned pets in class years before. They’d just turned a blind eye to her little purse dog, and so after that, she had to leave him at home. Now that I know more about support animals, I kind of feel bad about that.”
“Am I allowed to take sides in this?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m on her side.”
“Booo!”
“You stole her lab partner. But in all seriousness, your story brings up a good point. Wyatt is a lying liar, and he definitely owes you an apology, but do you think he might actually need a dog in his life?”
“No way, Liam. I’m not giving an opinion on this.”
“You’re allowed to have one, Rosalie. You’re just not allowedto share it with my kids.”
“Rude!” He’s messing with me again, and it makes me braver than I normally would be. “I’ll give you my opinion, but only as a friend.”
“Why is that?”
“That way, if my advice is bad, it’s not like you paid for it or anything.”
“You should definitely bill me for this conversation.”
I plop onto my white comforter and lay my head back on a pillow, holding in a sigh. That sounded almost playful, and I’m both terrified and exhilarated by how easy it is to talk to him. The rapport was always there; we just never did much with it. And now we have. This is big, and it’s all I can do to stay in the moment and not overthink it. The man needs real advice.
“Have you ever had a dog before?”