“That one,” I said definitively.
“I think you are right,” Lia replied as she picked her up.
She twisted and turned to get out of Lia’s arms at first, but then turned toward her face and licked her chin.
“That’s disgusting,” I told the pup, and her ears perked up at the sound of my voice. She stared at me intently for a moment and then struggled to get out of Lia’s arms and over to me. I rubbed her head, but Lia kept hold of her.
“She’s perfect,” Lia said as we got into the car, and the pup watched out the window as I pulled away. “What are we going to call her?”
“Freyja,” I said without giving it another thought.
“What’s that from?”
“She’s the Norse Goddess of fertility, love, and beauty,” I told her. I left out how she was also the goddess of death and war—that shit didn’t make sense to me, anyway. It sounded better to leave it as it was.
“That’s perfect,” Lia said with a smile.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as she rubbed the pup’s head and started to tear up again.
“She’s got her dad’s eyes,” I remarked, and Lia nodded in agreement.
“Her breath is better,” she said as she wiped the wetness off her cheeks. “Do you think she’ll like to play fetch?”
“Definitely.”
I pulled onto the freeway and headed northwest, out of Chicago.
“Where are we going to go?” Lia asked.
“Canada,” I replied simply. “I have a cabin up there.”
“Like the one in Arizona?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” I said with a smile, “but similar.”
“Middle of nowhere?”
“You got it.”
“Will this place have electricity at least?” she asked.
“It’s got a propane tank,” I replied. I looked over to smile at her slyly. “Mostly gets used to heat the hot tub.”
Lia laughed, and I reached over to hold her hand.
Freyja licked the back of my knuckles.
“Disgusting,” I grumbled and sped up the highway as the Chicago skyline disappeared behind us. I would miss it—well, parts of it—but everything important to me was with me.
I reached over to hold Lia’s hand as we drove away.
Nothing could have been better.
Epilogue—New Life
It’s fucking cold.
I kind of like it.