“So, this is your place?” Silver Spoon asked me when we walked inside my house.
I nodded. “Yeah, nothing fancy, but I got my gamebox downstairs.” As we stepped in, it suddenly occurred to me, I had my girlfriend over, and I hadn’t even cleaned my room.
“So, um,” Silver Spoon began as she put her bag down, “after you, well, change and make sure nothing in your backpack is ruined, can we get some gaming? Still looking forward to beating you.”
I stuck out my tounge. “You wish. But totally, I’ll be right back.”
“Okay and… Ugh! What is that smell?”
I stared at her, eyes widened. “Smell?”
A moment later, Charlie limped into the room, noticed Silver Spoon, then began to bark.
“Hey boy! Oh hush, she's my guest. You sure do take your time though.” I leaned down to scratch his head, then turned back to Silver Spoon, whose nose was still wrinkling. “Sorry, if I had known, I would have given him a bath. Guess he has been rolling in the mud again.”
Silver Spoon nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s what it is.”
I raised an eyebrow as she gave me that same silence mom would give me whenever we talked about Charlie. “What?”
She blinked. “Oh, um… it’s nothing, but he’s sure is old. How long have you had him?”
My eye began to twitch. “Oh,” I said with a smile as I wrapped my arm around Charlie, “he’s just a big lazy baby, aren’t you boy.”
Charlie responded with a groan.
“We’ve been best friends forever.”
“Uh-huh,” Silver Spoon nodded.
“So,” I said, clapping my hands together, “I’ll get changed. Why don’t you two try to bound, or if you want, you can set up the gamebox and I’ll be right back.”
Silver Spoon clicked her tongue. “Sure thing.”
I raced upstairs, and quickly changed into some fresh clothes. I struggled a little getting a shirt off the hanger, nearly ripping it in the process. Next, I reached for my bottle of pills, swallowed two pills instead of one, then, I found myself punching a pillow until I headed downstairs where Silver Spoon was staring at the gamebox screen and was avoiding eye contact with Charlie.
“You two having fun?” I asked.
She nodded nervously, a fresh tear seemingly rolling down from her eye.
“Of course but, um... I’m sorry, Button, but, could you put Charlie outside?” She rubbed her eye. “I know how that might sound—”
“Oh! I’m sure he needs to go potty anyways. Come on boy.”
Charlie moaned and remained in place.
“Come on,” I said after a few more nudges, to which he reluctantly budged and I put him outside. “That’s a good boy." I turned back to Silver Spoon. "Now, where were we?”
“Um,” she said with a twirl of her hair, “about to play some games.”
I smiled and nodded. “Right, shall we?”
“Sure.”
We started up the game, but just as we began, Silver Spoon said, “Um, sorry if I might have overreacted with your dog. I love dogs, and don’t mind if they smell bad… I just, have some bad experience with old dog smell.” She fumbled with the controller. “My own dog passed away a while ago.”
I gave her a curious glare, then said, “Well, sorry to hear that.” I turned to look at the game. “No idea why you think of an old dog by smelling Charlie, though.”
She stared at me puzzled for a moment, before her eyes widened. “Um, Button, I don’t mean to sound rude, but you are aware Charlie isn’t a puppy, right?”
My teeth began to grind against one another. “Of course, he wasn’t born yesterday.”
The game started, but Silver Spoon didn’t move.
“Come on, you’re going to get killed if you don’t move.”
She blinked. “Oh, um, yeah.” She said and grabbed on to the controller.
Halfway through, she said, “You know, I went through the same thing you’re going through. My lab, Daisy, was one of my best friends till high school. I mean, you still have Charlie for now, but—”
I paused the game. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ugh, you’re just like my mom, thinking every little mishap he has is the end of the world.”
Silver Spoon sighed and leaned backwards. After a moment, she sat back up and adjusted her glasses. “Yeah, denial, the first stage in the—”
“WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT DENIAL?” I said, tears forming in my eyes.
Silver Spoon jumped at my sudden outburst. “Button, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any offense. It’s just that having a dog who’s about to—”
“Don’t say it!”
Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes. “What, die? You don’t think—”
“HE’S JUST A LITTLE TIRED!’ My breathing began to quicken. As I pushed myself up and raced towards the door.
“Button, what are you—”
I scooped Charlie up from where he was lying and carried him towards my room.
“Button, stop, what are you doing?!”
I ignored her and carried on.
“Button, please, I know it hurts but—”
“Then maybe you should stop saying hurtful and mean things like you always do!”
My eyes, still watery, widened as I looked at her stepping back, her own tears forming as she held a hand to her lips.
“Well, I… I…" I glared at her. "You don’t have to stay you know!” With that, I raced with Charlie to my room, slammed the door, put him on my bed and then cuddled up next to him.
“Stupid Silver Spoon,” I muttered, stroking his back, “what does she know, old dog, bah, you’re just a big puppy, Charlie.”
As I stroke his coat, he looked at me.
“What? Don’t give me that. She’s just a stupid girl.”
He continued to give me that same look he always did when he knew I was acting like a fool.
“Oh, stop it, you silly puppy.” I sighed and continued to pet him.
I did nothing more than pet him for some time, until there was a knock on the door.
“Button, sweetie, would you open up?” It was my mother's voice.
“It’s not locked.”
The door creaked open.
“You got a second?”
I sat up, Charlie still in my lap. “Sure.”
She placed her hands together and advanced. “So, I heard what happened with you and Silver Spoon.”
My eye started to act up again. “Oh yeah, hey, did you know she’s on the yearbook team at school?”
Mom sighed. “Button…”
“Oh, and she’s also good with a camera.”
Mom sat herself down on my bed. “Button, I know you don’t like to talk about Charlie, but—”
“Hey… hey,” I stumbled, getting teary eyed for some reason, “I’m beginning to think I’m actually demi-sexual after all.”
Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. “Button,” she said, tears streaming down her face as well, “please. I… I don’t like to think about it either, but this amount of denial, it’s not healthy.”
My hand began to shake as it tightened its grip on Charlie. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Button, Charlie is old. It will not be today, but soon, he’s going to—”
“He’s just needs a little more exercise.”
“Button, stop, he’s soon he's—”
“Silver Spoon and I are boyfriend and girlfriend now!”
“Going to die.”
“And I… I…” I held Charlie tighter as I started to cry.
Who was I kidding? I knew from the start of this year that my buddy wasn’t doing well and was on his last legs. A part of me always believed that he would get better if I just took him on shorter walks and improved his diet. But in the end, it was just me more trying to deny the inevitable; I was going to lose my best friend.
While I cried, mom rubbed my back. “Oh, Button,” she said as the tears rolled down her eyes, “It’s hard, I know, but… Oh, I know how much you love him.” She squeezed me. “You’ll always have me, and now you have friends who will be there for you.”
I sighed, scratching Charlie’s ear. “I’m pretty sure my outburst ruined it for me with Silver Spoon, though.”
Mom chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. She’s still downstairs, waiting for you.”
I let go of Charlie and sat up. “She is?”
“Yup. She told me about your little meltdown and offered to come up with me, but I said I was better at handling these things by myself. Also,” she kicked a pair of underwear away with her foot. “I figured you hadn’t planned for this date by the shape of your room.”
I groaned. “Thanks, but, what am I supposed to do? I mean… I think I really freaked her out.”
“Only one way to find out.” She gestured towards the door.
I pushed Charlie off me, but not before we looked at each other one last time. “I’ll be okay,” I told him, “you can come if you want, or just… just rest here.”
He looked at me for a moment, considering the offer looking all comfortable on my bed. But, as the good boy he always was, he didn’t take no for an answer, and hopped off the bed.
“That a boy, Charlie, that a boy.”
****
I saw Silver Spoon at the foot of the stairs with her fingers tapping her jaw as she immediately saw me.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hi,” she quietly replied back.
I walked down to meet her on the ground level. “So… I, um, I’m sorry for that. I guess I acted a little over the top.”
She shrugged. “Better than I did when my dog died.”
I tilted my head. “Really?”
She blinked. “No.”
We stared at each other, before we burst out laughing.
“But seriously,” she continued, “I know how you feel, and I want to be here for you.” She held out her hand.
With only a moment’s hesitation, I took it. “Guess you still want to be my girlfriend.”
She blushed and gave me a smirk. “Maybe... if you want to keep being my handsome boyfriend.”
I smiled and began to lean forward.
“Uh-hum!” my mom interrupted. “Don’t you two have homework to do?”
“Yes ma’am,” we both said at the same time, before smiling back.
“Come on, we’ll get this done quickly then get to some action games. How’s that sound?”
She grinned. “Only if you don’t mind losing.”
I shook my head. “Oh, missy, it is on!”