Page 25 (1/2)
"Maggie needed to go out," I explain
He lifts his head "You didn’t go out alone, did you?" he asks
"Matt ithand pulls it over his hip, and ht beside his nad boy parts But I’ toward mine He kisses my forehead and le into him He’s quiet and still when I say, "I love you, Pete"
"I love you, too," he says, his voice husky from sleep but clear I smile and find the sweet spot where ie at my feet She’s not well She hasn’t been able to stand up this , and so I just sit and pet her and talk to her about Reagan
"This doesn’t look good," Paul says, eyeing Maggie He’s worried since Hayley is here and he doesn’t want her to ie It’s hard to tell a five-year-old to leave the dog alone
"I know I o and wake Reagan up"
"Does she kno bad it is?" he asks He’sbreakfast for Hayley, and he stops every few minutes to dance around the kitchen with her
"I doubt it," I grunt "She alking around just fine yesterday"
"You had better go and wake her up or you’re going to be late," Paul warns Paul’s the timekeeper of the fa with you," he says
"Do you want o," I remind the, Sa up e coets ready to with us, and he coan I step into the room and close the door behind me She’s kicked the covers down so that one of her boobs is exposed Her skin is pale where her bathing suit covers her, and she has tan lines that I want to trace with ht now
I sit down on the side of the bed and give her a gentle shake "Reagan," I say quietly Her eyes open slowly, and she stretches, her lips spreading into a suy and she’s nad and she caht So, yeah, I have to adjust ," she says, her voice hoarse froet up," I say "Iat nine at the vet"
"She still acting tired?" she asks She sits up on the side of the bed, holding the covers up over her breasts
It’s worse than her being tired I’ a yawn She looks at her clothes lying across the room
"Do you need clothes out of the car?" I ask
She shakes her head "I just need to get dressed and brush ive you a few minutes," I say But what I really want to do is stay and watch her get dressed And then undress her and do it all over again
I walk out and Matt’s got Maggie in his lap She doesn’t look that bad, but she’s tired I can tell This is a big deal She threw up again and again last night, an comes out a few minutes later with her hair pulled into a ponytail She slips into the bathroo her teeth
She coie in my arms "I’ll carry her down," I say
"She can walk, can’t she?"
I shake an’s features cloud orry I start toward the door, and she follows Matt goes with us Reagan cliie in her lap I toss the keys to Matt, and he drives so I can sit with Reagan Reagan coos at her dog, talking softly to her about how she is going to get sooing to be the case
We get to the vet’s office, and they put us in a rooie to the back for pictures and tests She doesn’t have Maggie with her when she returns She has her vet’s face on "I’an covers her mouth with her hand, and a sound escapes her lips I pull her into ie is fifteen years old That’s pretty old for her breed"
"She was fine yesterday," Reagan protests
"She wasn’t," the vet says, shaking her head "She has athat it has ruptured, so she’s bleeding into her belly I’ with hope "So, you take the ht?"
The vet shakes her head "I’ that we can fix I recoan asks She thinks Maggie still has ti her wait isn’t huan’s mouth, and I pull her to me, but she shoves me away and walks to stand in the corner of the roo you can do?" she asks, her voice s as syet her so that you can say good-bye?"
Tears roll down Reagan’s face, and I catch Matt wiping one of his own He doesn’t even know the fking dog and Reagan has hian whispers
A few ie back, strapped to a board, and she’s lying there quietly She doesn’t look unhappy at all, but looks can be deceiving
"Can I have a o into the hallway and wait After about five an comes out and nods She’s ready
The vet and an assistant coive her a little sedative, and then we’ll give her a shot that will stop her heart"
Reagan’s eyes are puffy and red, and her cheeks are wet She swipes at theie the sedative, and Maggie lays her head down Her eyes are wide open, and her breaths are soft "Noe’ll give her the shot," the vet warns
Reagan lays a hand on Maggie’s side, but she doesn’t coie struggles when they stick the needle into her back leg, and Reagan starts to sob Matt reaches out and covers her hand with his, and I lean down close to Maggie’s head Maggie’s fighting it, so I lean forward and whisper into her ear Maggie’s eyes go wide, and then she relaxes Her breaths slow, and then they stop I watch her chest, and an is wrecked, and I stand up, grab Reagan, and pull her to me She wraps herself up in my arms and lets me absorb her sobs in my shirt I coo at her and hold her, and I don’t knohat else I can do I hear Matt ie’s collar off and hand it to Reagan before they take Maggie froie leaves, and she cries in my arms until it dissolves into soft hiccups I just hold her There’s nothing else I can do "Better now?" I ask
She nods "I thought ere just going to get some vitamins"