A couple of weeks go by
Rhonda's View

Howie and I were at the mall looking for a birthday present for Howie's niece. We wandered around the mall, bought a few things at different stores along the way, stopped for ice cream and finally found her birthday present. We were walking towards the door when we passed the pet store.

"Oh we have to stop in and see the puppies!"
Howie didn't look as eager as I did to see the puppies. I handed him my bags and went into the store. There were a few of the puppies wandering around the story playing with the sales people. One of the puppies ran up to me and sat on my feet.
"Ohhhh!! Look at this puppy!! She's too cute!!!"
"Honey – don't get too attached to her," he said. "We can't get a dog while we're still living at my parents house. You know that. Missy would flip out."
"What does Missy have to do with us getting a dog??"
"My cat Missy, not your friend Missy."
"Oh right…but she's so cute – look she likes you." I made the dog wave to Howie and he just shook his head.
"When our house is ready we can think about getting a dog. Don't forget I'll be gone all of the time so a dog would be your responsibility. And if you come visit me on the road, whose going to watch the dog?"
I slowly put the dog down, "You're right." I gave the dog a kiss on the head and said goodbye. The sales lady smiled at Howie and I as we walked out the store. The dog just watched us leave and began to whimper.

Howie and I headed out to the car. "Whoops! I left one of the bags in the store, I'll be right back," he said. I took the keys and put the rest of the bags in the car. I was hoping that he was going to come outside with the puppy, but he didn't. He only had the bag that he left in the store.

Amber's View

"You bought me a puppy!" I shouted as AJ came into the house.
"Um – no babe – we're just holding it for a few days for Howie. He got it as a surprise for Rhonda. Don't tell her!"
"I can keep a secret – you don't tell her!"
"Besides Babe, we already have a puppy."
"It's not a puppy – it's a dog. A very small dog."
"You're just mad cause he bites your toes."
"So do you and I'm not mad at you," I answered back as I pulled him in close to me.
"Honey – not in front of the puppy!"
"This is your last chance – you know I'm going to New York for the weekend to help my sister move into college."
"Hummm...Okay!"

Rhonda's View

Amber and I went to New York to help her little sister pack for college. I couldn't believe she was in college already. I still remember her going to her first boy/girl dance at school. After spending the weekend in New York, we came back home. Nick was at the airport to pick us up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "What did you do to my boyfriend?"
"Relax! I didn't do anything to him. He invited me over to his parents for Samantha's birthday party and he asked if I wouldn't mind picking you guys up along the way," he shot back.
"Well make yourself useful and carry my bags," Amber said. Nick obeyed the order.

We barely made it to Howie's parents house in one piece, no thanks to Nick's driving. I was never so happy to have my feet hit the ground. We got in the house and no one was inside so we wandered out to the back yard. I said hi to all of Howie's family and finally spotted Howie and AJ by the grill. As I walked over to see them I saw two blurry things run by me.

"What the hell was that?" Everyone just laughed at me.
Missy ran over to Howie looking for a safe place. The puppy was chasing her around. I stood there in shock.
"I thought you said that we couldn't get her until our house was ready?"
"I'm a softy what can I say," Howie winked over to me. "I went back inside after I purposefully left a bag there and told the lady to hold the dog until my friend came and picked her up. AJ went and got her that day."
I shot Amber a look, "Did you know about this??" She laughed and I knew her answer was yes.
"Well, what should we call her?" I asked.
"'Come here' has been working," AJ said.
"I'm not naming my dog 'Come Here'," I said trying to keep a straight face. Just then Howie's niece Samantha walked over and said "Mere!! Mere!!" which was her way of saying "come here". The dog went over to her. We all laughed.
"Mere it is!" said Howie. "Why don't you try calling her to you?"
"Okay. Let's see if it works," I said hesitantly. "Mere!!! Mere!!!" The puppy came over to me.
"Why don't you take a closer look at her?" Howie asked.
I looked at Mere and saw a key hanging from her purple collar. "Why does she have a key around her?" I asked puzzled.
"You don't get it do you?" Howie asked. He knelt down next to Mere and me. "Didn't I say that we couldn't get a dog until our house was ready?"
"Yeah." It still didn't click what Howie was talking about.
"What do you think the key is for?"
"I don't know. What is the key…Oh my god!?! Our house is done?!?"
Howie laughed. "Yeah!"
"But I thought you said it wasn't going to be done until November."
"No – I said that we would be able to have Thanksgiving there. You just assumed that was the earliest we could get in there. Do you want to go see the house?"
"But what about the birthday party?"
"Don't worry, we'll come back. Besides, don't you want to show off your new house to Amber?"
We ran out to the car, Mere too, and headed over to our new house.

Missy View

"Hey girl. How is everything in Florida?" I asked when I called Rhonda.
"Things are good. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine I guess," I answered hesitantly.
"Did you figure out what to do yet?" Rhonda asked.
"Rhon, I went back with JC. I know it sounds crazy, but I had to do it. I am engaged to him."
"You know, Nick still asks about you. What are you gonna tell him?"
"Rhonda, I can't tell him yet. I can't tell him because of what happened the night of your birthday party."
"Missy…I know what happened on the beach. Howie and I went outside so he could give me the necklace and we kinda saw you guys on the beach."
"What?! You guys saw us? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't say anything because I figured you would work it out on your own. I also knew that when you were ready to tell me about it you would. But now you have a bigger mess – Nick really likes you."
"I just can't tell him yet. Things may be getting even more complicated now though."
"How's that?" Rhonda asked.
"I may be moving down there in a couple of months. JC lives there and I think it would be best for us to spend more time together."
"Well me and Howie will keep quite about things to Nick until you figure out what you want."
"But that's the problem I don't know what I want. Deep down I still like Nick but I'm engaged to JC. I made a commitment to him."
"But if you were so into this commitment you made, you wouldn't have slept with Nick." Rhonda's words stung me. "Look," she said after a long pause on my end, "I know you have company so why don't you go relax, enjoy them, and get your mind off of things for awhile."
"I'll try. I guess I'll talk to you later. I miss you and love you."
"I love you too honey. Don't worry, everything will work out in the end."
I hung up the phone and fell back against the bed and started to cry thinking about what had happened. I loved JC and wanted things to work out but I couldn't help wondering if the things I was feeling for Nick were real. I decided I wasn't up for company and went to my son's room to play with him. We ended up taking a nap together – one of us dreaming of Nick.