I crush the empty bag that our food came in and toss it on the coffee table.
“How was your burger?” I say, looking down at Arte.
I rub her head and she rests her chin on my thigh. Her little eyes flick up and lock onto mine. I broke off little pieces of her burger, before I ate mine, and she devoured them. I know it’s probably not a great thing to feed her, but she was so good today and I wanted to reward her—she seemed thrilled with her treat.
“Now it’s time to text your Daddy… and see if he can help me figure out what to do with you while I’m working every day.”
I take my phone out of my pocket, write out a text to Spencer and hit send.
Hey, Baby. Just checking in to see how you’re doing. Got home from the photo shoot a little while ago and I’m just sitting on the couch with Arte. She was an angel while I was doing the shoot… the makeup artist, Carolyn, watched her the whole time and reported back that she behaved herself. I’m not sure if you have any ideas, but I’m not really sure what to do with her while I’m on set every day. I guess I could take her and just lock her in my trailer, with the air running, but I hate the idea of her being cooped up for so long. Anyway… you’re probably asleep right now, so just text me whenever… talk to you soon. Love you.
I think it’s still the middle of the night where he is, so I don’t expect to hear back from him anytime soon… which is fine, but I do want to figure out what to do with Arte before tomorrow. I guess if I don’t hear back from Spencer, I’ll just have to take her with me. I’m sure she’d be fine in my trailer for one day, but I don’t want to make it a habit. It’s not fair to her, in my opinion.
I wait a few seconds, just in case Spencer is going to text me back, but nothing pops up on my phone.
“I guess I’ll call Rose while we wait to hear from your Dad,” I say, as I scratch Arte between the ears.
She is fighting so hard to keep her eyes open, but they eventually close for good. I keep rubbing her for another minute before I pick up my phone again. She’s so sweet and cuddly. I wish she could stay like this forever, but I already know that she’s going to grow up right before my eyes.
I think I’m also loving on Arte because I’m not looking forward to calling Rose. The way we left things wasn’t good… and that’s my own fault. She was right and I need to tell her that. My hope is that she’s cooled off a little and will actually answer my call. I sigh and pull her number up on my phone.
It rings three times and rolls over to voicemail. I just end the call because this isn’t something I want to try and explain over a message. I decide to text her instead.
Hey. I’d really like to talk to you as soon as possible. Give me a call or I’ll try you again tomorrow. Take care.
Well, so much for that. I lean my head back against the cushion and close my eyes as I continue to rub Arte. She lets out a little moan, as if to let me know that I’m hitting the exact right spot. A smile forms on my face and I let out a sigh. I’m really not looking forward to going back to the set tomorrow.
We sit on the couch for like twenty minutes before I decide it’s time to get up—I need to go get my things from Dex’s house, so that I can officially move back in here. Dex doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of guy who would want a puppy running around his house… and I have a feeling he would give in if I asked him, but I don’t feel like it’s appropriate. Plus, it seems like it would be better to let Arte grow up here as much as possible so that she understands this is her home.
“C’mon,” I say, as I stand up, “we have to go get my stuff from Uncle Dex’s house… and then we can come home and you can sleep for the rest of the day if you want.”
She blinks her eyes a few times. I smile and shake my head. She doesn’t look like she wants to move, but I can’t leave her here. I lean down and scoop Arte up and carry her around as I grab my stuff and head for the door.
“I know you probably think me carrying you around is normal, but one of these days you’re going to be too big for me to do this.”
She licks my arm a couple of times. I set her down on the passenger seat and she curls up and is fast asleep by the time I start the car. Arte doesn’t even interested in the cold air as it blasts in her direction—I’m glad she played so hard today, it’s good for her to run around like that.
Gina’s car is at the house when I get there. I turn off my car, pick up Arte and walk toward the front door.
“Listen… Gina is here. She’s very nice, but you have to promise to be on your best behavior because Uncle Dex isn’t home.”
I open the door and walk inside, still holding Arte. I put her leash on, just in case she tries to jump out of my arms and make a run for it. The last thing I want is for her to run off into some remote corner of the house and get herself into trouble.
“Hello?”
“Miss Amy… is that you?” Gina asks.
I wait for her as she walks out of the kitchen and toward me.
“Awww… is that a new puppy?”
“Yeah, Spencer got her for me.”
“Sooo cute. What’s her name?”
“Artemis… or Arte, for short.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
Gina scratches Arte under the chin and she lifts her head in response.
“Have you seen Rose?” I ask.
“No… not for a few days. Are you looking for her?”
“Not really, no. I mean… I’m trying to get in touch with her, but it’s not super urgent. If you do see her, can you ask her to call me?”
“Of course… no problem.”
“Thanks. I’m actually here to get my things… I’m moving back into my house.”
“Aww… I’ll be sad to see you go.”
“I know, I’ll miss you.”
“Why are you doing it?” Gina asks.
“This little bundle of joy.”
“Oh… you don’t think Mr. Baldwin would like having a dog around?”
“I’m not sure. He’s never talked about owning a dog… but it’s mostly because I want her to spend time in the house she’s going to live in forever. Plus, the reason I came here was my mom… and so it seems a little silly to still be here since she’s in a treatment center.”
“Mr. Baldwin is going to miss you.”
“I know… and I’ll miss him, but it’s not like I’m that far away.”
“True, Miss Amy.”
I chuckle and nod my head. It’s funny that she still calls me ‘Miss Amy’ after all this time.
“I should go get my things… I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
“OK… let me know if you need anything… I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Thanks. I’ll come see you before I go.”
Gina smiles and nods before turning and walking toward the kitchen.
“Let’s go pack,” I say, as I look down at the fluff ball in my arms.
I carry Arte upstairs and set her down when we reach the top of the landing. She starts smelling everything as we slowly make our way down the hall. Arte stops and looks into each of the rooms and I join her when we reach the room that belongs to Rose. It looks like her things are still here, but it doesn’t feel right for me to go in and poke around. I guess I need to just resign myself to her not talking to me until she’s ready… and I’m the only one to blame for that. My hope is that she won’t hold a grudge forever because I still want to be her friend.
“My room is down at the end.”
Arte is really interested in what might be in Rose’s room, so I give a little tug on her leash to get her moving in the right direction again. She glances up at me briefly, before conceding that I’m bigger than her and continuing down the hall.
We walk into my room and I close the door. I unhook Arte’s leash and she instantly runs toward the bed. She dives under it and all I can see is her little puppy tail. I’m not that worried about her tearing up the room… we shouldn’t be here that long. I grab my duffel bag, put it on the bed and start going back and forth to the closet. I find myself carefully folding each item of clothing before putting it into the bag, which is rather unusual behavior for me. I have been known, on occasion, to leave my clean clothes in a pile until I’m ready to wear them. It’s not something I’m proud of, it just kind of happens.
Arte runs out from under the bed with a sock in her mouth. She flops down on the floor and pins it down with her paws before tearing at it with her teeth. I recognize the sock… it’s been missing for months… so I can live without it at this point. Plus, it’s infinitely more enjoyable to watch her play with it as she pretends to have just brought me the discover of the century.
I sit down on the edge of the bed and just watch her play for a couple of minutes. She doesn’t seem to lose interest in the sock, which is rather admirable. My phone chirps as I get a text message. It’s a message from Spencer, which a nice surprise since I wasn’t expecting to hear from him until much later.
Hey, just woke up. Sirens blaring right by the hotel, of course. Anyway, just read your text. I did think about the logistics some before deciding to get you Arte. The dog breeder offers day care and boarding, so I figured you could drop her off on the way to the set every morning. I know it’s not the best solution… but it’s better than having to take her to the set and keeping her in your trailer while you’re shooting.
I had a feeling Spencer would have a plan, so I’m glad I texted him to see what he thought. I write a response and hit send.
Aww, sorry about getting woken up. Maybe you should try to go back to sleep? I’ll give the breeder a call as soon as I get back to the house (I’m picking up the rest of my clothes from Dex’s house right now). That’s probably the best option. I did think about taking her, but it just seemed like it wouldn’t be fair to her. There’s no reason to keep her locked up in my trailer all day, unless it’s the only imaginable option… so I’m glad you thought of something already. Love you. Try to get some sleep. Text me when you wake up in the morning, if you have time.
“How would you feel about day care at breeder you came from?”
Arte drops the sock and looks up at me. She tilts her head to the left and then to the right. I roll my eyes and shake my head. She’s too much.
I stand up from the bed and continue to pack up my clothes. Arte dives back under the bed as I walk out of the closet. No doubt to try to find another treasure to play with. Her nose is the only part of her I can see when I finish packing—just the very end of it is sticking out from under the bed.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
She doesn’t move. I kneel down on the floor and lift the bed skirt. She lungs at me as soon as my face is within a few inches of hers.
“Eeee!”
Arte catches me by surprise and she pounces on me. I lean back and sit down on my butt. She jumps on me and I wrap my hands around her. Arte squirms as I extend my arms and hold her above me. I lower her back to me and kiss her little face until she can’t take it anymore. She starts to fuss, so I set her down on the floor next to me. Arte runs back under the bed and starts to bark at me.
“You don’t seem so tough from under there.”
I shake my head as I stand up. She’s still barking as I zip up the duffel bag and reach for her leash.
“It’s time to go home, Arte… come on.”
She stops barking and pokes her nose out from under the bed, again, but doesn’t seem to want to leave.
“I know… I like it here, too… but this isn’t our home. Uncle Dex is gone right now, but I promise we can come back at some point and visit. He might even let you swim in his pool.”
I can’t imagine Dex ever allowing that, so I’m not sure why it popped into my head… but it did, so I said it. A smile forms on my face as I think about Arte, with her tiny little legs, paddling around his massive pool.
She finally comes out from under the bed and walks over to me.
“Thank you,” I say, as I put her leash back on and scoop her up.
It’s a bit of a challenge to juggle everything—I’ve got Arte in my left arm and I’m carrying the duffel bag and my purse in my right hand. I just don’t trust her to be able to climb down the stairs without her falling and tumbling all the way to the bottom.
I set my bag and purse down by the front door and start walking toward the kitchen.
“Gina… I’m heading out.”
“One second, Miss Amy.”
She comes out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel as she walks toward me with a generous smile on her face. Gina opens her arms to hug me, so I put Arte down on the ground. We share a quick hug before she pulls away.
“Don’t be a stranger,” she says.
“I won’t be. I’m pretty busy right now, with this movie… but I’ll come visit the next time I have a day off.”
“Good. I’m sure Mr. Baldwin will want to see you, too.”
“Sounds good.”
I pick Arte back up and walk toward the door.
“Let me help with your bags.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, Miss Amy… it’s not a problem.”
“Thanks.”
Gina gets the duffel bag and I grab my purse. She puts the bag in the back seat and I put my purse on the floor in front of Arte. She looks down at it and then to me… as if to ask ‘What is that doing on my side of the car?’. She’s something else.
I start the car and pull through the gate. I glance over at Arte as I pull onto the main road. Her tongue is hanging out of her mouth as she looks out the window and watches the world pass by.
Dropping her off for doggy day care isn’t going to be easy—I feel like I’m going to be one of those women who cries when their kid gets on the bus for their first day of school. I hope I can keep it together and not cry. It’s just so hard… she’s such a special little lady and I wish it was possible for me to spend every moment of every day with her.
I guess the whole thing isn’t terrible, though, because I also don’t want Arte to become overly attached to me. It’ll be good for her to be around other dogs, too, because I’m not sure when I’ll be able to meet up with Carolyn for our dogs to play.
“Ready to go home and play?”
Arte turns her head toward me and I could swear she’s smiling.