The vet’s office is quiet this morning. Thankfully, since I haven’t really been able to focus. We’re technically closed on Sundays, but there are always emergencies. Mostly I’m here to watch the animals we have in the back, some recovering from surgery, others under observation.

I’m still not qualified to handle the real emergencies, but almost. My exams to become a vet tech are only a couple of months away. Making the switch from a hospital to a vet’s office is the best thing I could have done for myself. I was working nights and being driven crazy by corporate healthcare. This office is smaller. Homey, even. And animals are way easier to deal with than people.

I should be studying since there’s nothing going on, but instead I’m drooling over shoes online that I’ll never be able to afford. I mean, no one really needs a pair of stilettos with diamond swirls, but a girl can dream.

The buzzer for the front door sounds, startling me. I push the intercom. “Hello, is this an emergency?”

“It is urgent, yes.”

I release the door and it pushes open to reveal a man and his dog standing in the bright silhouette of outside. And then Sam steps inside, Zeus by his side. My heart and stomach do a weird little flip. It’s been a few days since the engagement party, and I’ve…come to terms with things. We’re at an impasse, he and I. I’m never going to stop feeling betrayed, and he’s never going to tell me why he did what he did. And with Rose and Thomas getting married, I don’t think there’s any way I can truly avoid him. So I’m going to try to be civil. Granted, I didn’t expect him to walk in here today, but we can’t fuck or fight every time we see each other. Not with a wedding to get through.

He’s frozen too, staring at me.

“Sam,” I say.

“Hi.” His voice is rough, like his throat has gone suddenly dry.

Next to him, Zeus lowers himself to the floor tiredly. I’ve known Zeus as long as I’ve known Sam. He’s getting old now, white in the face. I come around from behind the reception desk, pointedly ignoring the way Sam is staring at me—like I’m breakable and he doesn’t know what to say. “Is he all right?”

“I don’t know,” he says. I look up at him, and he shakes his head a little, like he’s coming back to himself. “He’s seemed tired the last few days, but he still always been excited to go outside, to go to the park. Today I could barely get him to lift his head.”

Rubbing behind Zeus’s ears, I give him a once over. “Well, let’s get him back to one of the exam rooms and we’ll check him out. Huh, boy?” Zeus raises his head to look at me and I scratch him under his chin. I lead them into one of the exam rooms. “Help me get him up on the table?”

Zeus isn’t a small dog, and together Sam and I lift him onto the cool metal. I proceed with my examination and I can feel Sam watching me. Eventually he speaks. “I didn’t know you were a vet.”

I shake my head. “I’m not. I was an RN, but it wasn’t for me. Studying to be a vet tech now. So don’t take my word without a grain of salt.”

“I’m sure you know what you’re doing. You’re good at everything you do.”

A flush rises to my cheeks and I continue to look at Zeus, because the way Sam said that, I can tell that he actually believes it. “How has he been eating?”

“Fine, as far as I know.”

“Well,” I say, “he’s a little heavy. I know he’s older and probably deserves some treats, but a diet and keeping track to make sure he eats good food will probably help his energy. I don’t see anything else is wrong. But you should come back when the vet is here to double check.”

Sam smiles, just a small pull at the corner of his mouth. “I’ll make sure that he only gets the best.”

“Good,” I say.

We stand there for a moment, and I absently stroke Zeus’s back.

“See,” Sam says, “I think I know what’s really wrong with Zeus.”

“Oh?”

He nods. “I think he keeps remembering how good things used to be when he was a puppy. And even though he still loves all the same things, he’s worried that things won’t be the same now that he’s grown up.”

The words strike me in my stomach, and I know that we’re not talking about Zeus. “That might be true,” I say. “But maybe he has to find a way to be happy now because things change.”

“Some things change, and some things don’t. I think that Zeus, even if he’s tired, will always appreciate a good walk in the park. Especially with one of his oldest friends.”

“And when would this walk be?”

“Anytime,” he says. “Right now?”

I hesitate, unsure if I want to put myself in that position. Sam reaches out toward me and stops. “Fiona, please. For just today. Even just an hour. Can we have a truce?”

That tension, that nervousness in my chest eases. A truce. An acknowledgement that there’s a lot left unsaid between us, but that for right now we’re choosing to ignore that in favor of something light. Something easy. “Yes.”

He sighs in relief. “And you’ll come for a walk?”

“I need to check on the animals first,” I say. “And I need to be back to make rounds before the overnight attendant comes in.”

“I can work with that.” Sam smiles, and it’s not just a tiny tip of lips. It’s brilliant and blinding and comes with a hundred different memories.

“Nothing is happening,” I say to him. “Nothing like last time.”

Sam nods. “I know.”

“Then I’ll be right back.”