I thought for a moment. He would probably start out opening them carefully, but end up ripping the wrapping paper as soon as he got excited. I could already see him in my minds' eye: the two of us in pajamas at my parents' house with cups of coffee and Tommy running around like a maniac. The image made me smile.
“Yeah, I can.”
“I'm assuming that dopey grin on your face is because you're there too,” Caroline said, drawing me back to the present. “You see yourself with him.”
“I do,” I replied with a nod. “What is the point of your question?”
“You see yourself with him in six months,” Caroline explained. “I'm guessing that you can see a bunch of other holidays with him, too.”
“I guess I do.” I sat there for a moment, realizing that Caroline was right. I saw a future with Jacob. A real future. Not just little snippets or things that might happen, but actual events. I wanted to have him share my family at Christmas. I wanted to visit his parents for the Thanksgiving. I wanted to share my life with him.
“Then you see a future with him,” she informed me. “I can't wait to meet this guy.”
She wasn't going to give up on meeting him, so I changed the subject.
“Any good news on your end?” I asked, innocently sipping at my coffee. “You know, any teacher news or anything?”
“No,” she replied. She narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly what I was doing, but she let me get away with changing topics anyway. “Nothing yet. It's pretty saturated teaching wise around here. I'm starting to think I might have to expand my hunting grounds.”
“Not a bad idea,” I agreed. “I've started sending applications as far west as Denver.”
“I haven't gone quite that far,” she said. “But I might have to start looking in LA or something. Maybe even San Francisco.”
“I'd come visit you all the time if you moved there.” I sighed and shrugged. “Time to go chase careers like real adults.”
“What about you?” Caroline asked. She slurped the last little bit of coffee up through her straw. “Any job offers?”
“Nothing,” I said with a sad shake of my head. “Unless you want to count a prestigious part-time offer from Dairy King.”
She shook her head. “How is it you managed to land the perfect guy, but can't get a job?”
“I have no idea,” I replied. “I just wish I had half as much luck on the job on front as I did on the dating one.”
“Me too,” she agreed. Her phone vibrated and she swiped at the screen before holding it up to show the monster nearby notification. “But, at least we'll always have Monster GO, and if we have that, then who needs dating and jobs?”
The house was silent when I arrived home. Dad was at work, and Mom had left a note that she and Tommy were getting shoes for school. I had the house to myself.
Well, almost to myself. Athena was still there. I heard her nails hit the floor as she jumped off the couch and ran to greet me. She danced around my ankles with the kind of smile that only a welcoming dog can achieve.
“Were you on the couch?” I asked, lecturing her in tender baby-talk. “Were you sneaking in a little nap up there?”
She pushed between my legs and circled back around without ever losing contact, her tail whipping from side to side.
“You think you’re sneaky, but I bet if I go over there your beautiful gold fur will be all over it, huh?” I pet her head and loved on her for a moment. “You just leave too much evidence.”
She followed me up the stairs and into my room.
“Wanna come up?” I said, patting my bed. “Come on, come up.”
Athena jumped onto my bed and circled once before plopping down onto one my pillows. I had a feeling I would find dog fur on my things for the rest of my life.
“You silly girl,” I said, stroking her head and down her neck. She was a great dog, but she shed so much I was surprised she wasn't going bald. A clump of fur
collected on my hand and clung to my bed sheet as I pet her, but I didn’t care much. I’d missed her while I was away at school.
I gave her one last pat before standing up to check my email. She stayed seated on my bed as I slowly walked over to my computer and sat down.
Seeing Caroline, plus everything else that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, had left me in a great mood. Instead of feeling heavy as I checked my email, I was content and comfortable with my shoulders slouched against the back of my chair.