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“Because I have a dog,” he answered. “No matter how bad my day’s been, he’s great to come home to. I don’t feel the way you do about fish, obviously, but maybe Hopper can do that for you, too.”
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Odin. I got him at the shelter. He’s missing an eye, so it seemed to fit.”
“Good call not naming him Cyclops,” I agreed. “What’s his breed?”
He shrugged. “It said, ‘GSD’ on his kennel. I think he looks more like a husky, but I’ve never had him tested.”
“That always weirds me out. They’re so careful to specify German shepherddog. Like people actually go to the shelter to pick up shepherds who happen to be German.”
“Isthatwhy they do that?”
“There are two types of German shepherds—dogs and German people who tend to their flocks. Somebody somewhere is really worried about picking the wrong one. Can I see a picture?”
His smile lit up his face, and he pulled out his phone. “Here he is at day care, in this one he’s at the park, oh, and sometimes he hogs the bed, like here…” He flipped through a ton of photos, all showing an adorable gray dog with ears too big for its head.
“He’s perfect,” I said.
Shane nodded. “Just like Hopper. Speaking of, we should probably check on him.”
I gasped and ran to the tank. Hopper was still acclimating in his plastic bag, but not alone.
Shane came up behind me and whistled. “I think that bag is over capacity.”
“I have a box that I float new plants in.” I grabbed it from the cabinet, and once it was inside the tank, we carefully dumped Hopper and the babies in it to keep them contained. It had slats on the sides to allow water flow.
“You should probably leave him in there until he’s done birthing orwhatever,” Shane said. “Then let him loose into the tank. But leave the littles in the box.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” I tried to count the babies, but they wiggled too much, and they all looked exactly the same: like clear little tadpoles with tiny black eyes and pink intestines. I teared up a little. “It’s like the miracle of life in my own apartment.” I quickly wiped my eyes. “Or some such shit.”
“Hey.” He put his hand on my shoulder and gently turned me toward him. “You got this. And selfishly, I’m happy that this is such a moving experience because that means you’ll always remember today.”
He stepped close to me, and my whole body tensed. “How could I forget?”
His nearness was distracting. “We’ve witnessed a miracle of nature, and you’ve finally met your equal atMario Kart. And I found out you have some amazing dance moves.”
I smiled despite myself, but my nerves were on fire. “Too bad you live in New York. Now I have to raise these babies alone.” I’d meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out, I wished I could pull them back. “What I mean is, I don’t know how to be a fish’s midwife.”
“I don’t think this is Hopper’s first reproductive rodeo.” Then he snorted. “And Indiana helped to deliver a baby after all. Like I said, you’ve got this.”
“Tadpoles don’t count,” I protested. He was still standing very close.
“So…” I stared at his mouth, willing my nerves to relax.
He leaned in and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “If you didn’t want to seduce me, you shouldn’t have done that chicken dance,” he whispered.
I started to laugh even as he lowered his face and kissed me. I thought my heart would jump out of my chest, but it felt so good, I wanted the moment to last forever.
Finally, he pulled away. “It’s getting late. I should head out.”
I walked him to the door, and he leaned down and looked into my eyes a beat longer than normal. “Text me and let me know how it’s going, okay?”
Nancy and George were still outside, though they immediately stopped what they were doing and watched us. “Sounded like you were having fun in there,” Nancy said and waved.
Heat traveled all the way up my body to my forehead as Shane waved to them and to me before he pulled away in his rental car. Once he was gone, I closed and locked my door, then changed into pajamas and grabbed a blanket. I cuddled up next to the aquarium, playingAnimal Crossing. It took a while for my pulse to go back to normal. Hopper continued to expel babies for the next hour or so.
When my phone vibrated, I picked it up quickly, hoping to see a message from Shane. Instead, it was Melvin. Damn.Are you busy?
