I'm Not Your Mommy

Chapter 11

Calista

The days that followed after I got my cactus, which I named Spike (I know very original), were just spent indoors trying to fix my apartment to my liking. Mark called me to check on me and was very excited about Spike and told me the florist was kind enough to give it to me for free and I agreed with him and checked up on the current state of the apartment and congratulated me for making it decent. He also asked me how my first week was back and I caved in and told him everything that happened and even though I ended up panicking half-way, it wasn’t as bad as it was with Mimi. He managed to calm me down as always, of course, and told me I was getting better. He tried distracting me with his cats afterwards, which worked and he continued talking while I continued cleaning.

Talking with Mark was always a nice thing for me to do and I always looked forward to it, but with the current time difference, we had to cut our conversations short because he needed sleep as well. I guess that’s one of the things I missed from when I was abroad, but I have Mimi here with me, so I think it’s okay. She also dropped by to help me sometimes while ranting adoringly about her daughter and her job which she says she loved but loathed waking up early for. She never really changed, she still doesn’t like waking up early despite having a family of her own.

She also went with me to buy more plants, much to the joy of the young part-timer in the shop who almost convinced us to take another plant for free, but this time, with the help of Mimi’s brash attitude, we paid for it. She told us to be back for more, which I definitely would.

With the addition of the plants littering all over my apartment, it looked less bleak and more lively, which was perfect for me. I also got to work on a new story but found that I couldn’t really flesh out the characters like I wanted to. I told my editor about this but he just told me to take it slow. I was still on break after all and it was okay if I didn’t have anything ready for now. That took a little bit of the stress from my brain, but I was still a little bothered that I couldn't seem to write and currently, as I was looking at another blank document on my laptop for what I felt like hours, I sighed and resigned myself for today.

Writing has been a way for me to escape reality, but right now, I was nothing but stuck in it. Reality really was eating me up and I don’t know if it’s because of the move or maybe it was everything that followed that decision. I sighed one last time and snapped my laptop shut and grabbed a random book from my pile of unread books and went out the little balcony. Mimi helped me set the balcony up and her contribution consisted of plants and a nice little bench and table with a cute blue matt on it. She said it reminded her of me when they were passing by the mall to buy some stuff for their home as well and thought it would be perfect, which it was. Trust Mimi and her style really, she’s great.

Sitting down on the little wooden bench, I opened up my book and basked under the soft rays of the sun a little like my little plants on the side feeling a little light and fuzzy inside. This must be why plants like the sun so much, because it gives them life and it was much appreciated when I felt my mood lighten a little after the frustration from earlier. Maybe I should go out more.

---

After my discovery of liking basking in the sun and the little push from a very enthusiastic Mark and Mimi, I decided not to coop myself up in my office longer than I would want to. I’ve been going on my morning jogs as per usual in the mornings and it’s always a fun experience, but what’s even more fun was going to the little park near my apartment during afternoons. Summer was almost over after all, and there were a lot of families taking advantage of the good weather to take their kids out to play. Of course, unlike most of the people in the park, I was alone. But just being surrounded by happy families enjoying their day made me feel light and also provided me with the creativity that I needed. Of course, there were times when my thoughts would betray me and tell me that that could’ve been me whenever I looked at a pair of mother and child playing in the sandbox, but I ignored that. I’ve been getting better at subduing my thoughts and I hope it continues that way.

I was in the middle of looking at a little girl playing with her dog when I felt something bump on the bench I was sitting on violently, which made me jerk in response. I looked behind me and was expecting an apologetic face, but what greeted me was an innocent looking nose that was attached to a white fluffy mass that oddly looked like a cloud. It was not a cloud, however, but it was something cuter, it was a small fluffy white dog who was sniffing around the bench curiously.

I couldn’t help but be fascinated and awed at such a cute creature and, as if noticing my adoration, it looked up to me and barked, which surprised me, but it was not an angry bark but a friendly one as it bounded closer to me and put its paws on my thighs. I was frozen in my seat at this reaction. I looked at its collar and saw that attached to it was a leash. He must’ve escaped then.

He barked once more, as if asking for my attention, and looked at me innocently. I mean, I liked dogs but I was more of a cat person and I didn’t know whose dog this was and I didn’t know if it would bite me or not.

Remaining frozen on my seat, as the puppy looked at me curiously, even tilting its head, and gave another bark and nudged at my hand that I was resting on my thighs. A light bulb seemingly went off inside my head as I tentatively moved my hands close to its head and gave it a simple pat and retrieved it immediately. It barked happily and nudged at my hands more and, emboldened by the response, I took my hands back to his head again and began stroking it. His tongue lolled out in satisfaction and I felt myself enjoying it more. I was getting really good at petting when I heard someone from the distance shout something and the dog perked up and barked. I let go of his fluffy head and looked at where the voice was coming from. That must be its owner.

Grabbing hold of the dog's leash gently so it wouldn’t be able to escape, I was about to stand up to ask whoever was the owner of the dog, when the little fluff-ball circled around my feet in excitement while barking as a guy approached us and immediately dropped on his knees to pet the dog.

“So that’s where you went! Vivi! you bad bad dog, running off like that and making me worry. What if you were lost? What would I have done then?” the guy said and listening to that, somehow felt familiar, like it had happened to me before but I can’t pinpoint when.

While I was stuck digging through my memories about the same encounter, the guy suddenly stood up and startled me at the same time I remembered why that was so familiar.

“So that’s where it was from! Why are lost things keep finding themselves to me?” I blurted out loud and I turned a deep shade of red when I noticed the owner looking at me weirdly. Why was I embarrassing myself like this?

“Umm are you okay?” he asked and I slowly looked at him and saw concerned eyes. I groaned internally and nodded, tightening my hold on the leash to ground myself.

“Uh yeah, sorry about that. You just surprised me. Anyway, I’m going to assume that this is…your dog? Of course it is, why am I even asking?” I mumbled the last bit under my breath but he probably heard it because he chuckled.

“Yes, this naughty dog is my dog Vivi. We were going on a walk and I grabbed my phone for a second and off he goes.” He said as he looked at the leash and I fumbled to give it to him, which he took with a small smile.

“Well, then, you should take care of him more. He might get lost.” I replied and not a second later, realization set in. That was so rude of me.

“Yeah I should. Though I’m thankful he went to you instead of somewhere. Thank you for not letting him escape again.” He cut in before I could say sorry and I swallowed my words and nodded thoughtfully.

“Uh no problem. He’s very cute.” I said and smiled when the dog, Vivi, jumped up to my feet and I pat his little head.

“He’s a little devil who knows how to use his charms. They seemed to work on you as well.” He teased him and I stopped petting Vivi’s head to look at him. He was smiling cheekily.

“Ah well, I couldn’t resist.” I said lamely, but he still laughed. He was just looking at me for longer than I was comfortable with, so I cleared my throat.

“Uhh if that’s all then, I’m going to go. Take care of that little angel then. Bye.” I said and was about to leave but he stopped me with a shout of ‘wait!.’ I turned around to face him.

“Umm, as a thanks, can I treat you to something? There’s this pretty popular place down the road that sells great pastries.” He said, and I couldn’t help but feel the sense of déjà vu intensify. This definitely happened before and the last time didn’t end well so why did I still find myself agreeing to it?

It was definitely the cute dog's fault.