Socks and Sandals

~Jude’s Point of View~
I sat on the couch, feeling anxious about asking (or rather telling) the guys that my sister would be coming to live with us. Scenarios of failed attempts to reason with them played over and over in my head. Just as I had almost chickened out, the guys walked in. Lincoln was looking at his IPod, Foster was fiddling with a spork, and Cole had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. They filed in and sat on the surrounding furniture, and directed their attention to me.

Lincoln spoke first. “What’s up bro?” The other two looked quizzically at me also.

I cleared my throat. “So, now that Reggie moved out, there’s an extra room in the apartment.” Almost in unison, they raised their eyebrows.

“Dude, go for it. None of us care if you take the room. It’s no big deal.” I shook my head at the understanding.

“No. I don’t want the room, for myself.” They all stayed silent. “My sister got kicked out of her apartment. And I don’t just want her on the street or sleeping at some random person’s house. So I was thinking,” I paused. “If maybe she could live here with us.” I took a deep breath and waited for them to freak out and reject the idea.

“Sure, why not,” Cole said.

“This is gonna be hella fun homies,” Foster yelled, excitedly.

Lincoln shrugged and said, “From how you talk about her, she seems pretty cool, anyways.” I brought them all in for a group man hug. I pulled back and reached in my pocket for my phone.

~Anatolia’s Point of View~

It was nearly six, when I heard my phone ring. I was nervous, hoping that Jude’s roommates were willing to let me stay with them for a while.

“Hello?”

“Hello. Is an Ana there?” I did not recognize the voice.

“This is she,” I said.

“I would like to meet with you about the dog you’d posted flyers for. I believe you’ve found my puppy, Mango. She’s a six and a half month old Saint Bernard. ”

I stared at the adorable half-grown Saint Bernard panting in front of me. Jude had already accepted the fact that I would be bringing a big puppy with me. As far as this chick on the phone knew, I wasn’t even Anatolia Hanes. I was the random girl on the other line. While having this internal battle, I realized that if I were missing such an adorable pet, I’d be searching everywhere for him too. I frowned.

“Yeah, I have your dog.” I heard the smile in her voice when she replied.

“When can I come get him?”

“Now?” I figured this would be a rip off the band aid quickly, rather than let the pain fester situation.

“Oh great,” she said. “The address on the flyer,” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Thank you, very much. See you in a little while.”

“Yeah, see ya.” I hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the end button. I walked over to the dog and sat beside him. “Hey buddy. Your mom’s gonna come and get you.” He looked up at me, still panting, and I felt my heart wrench. “Too bad you have absolutely no idea what I’m even saying,” I said hopelessly. I went to a cupboard in the kitchen, and pulled out a treat for him. As he was eating it, I heard my cellphone buzzing again. I grabbed it off the coffee table and put it to my ear. “Hello?” I had completely forgotten about the whole moving in with Jude situation.

“Hey, Beaner.” I smiled slightly at his nickname for me.

“Hey Judy. What’s up?”

“They want you to come live with us. We’re all excited.” I heard his smile in his words.

“Awesome,” I said, getting excited again.

“Me ‘n’ the guys will be over soon to help you pack, and we’ll grab dinner. Good?”

“Sounds perfect.” All the happiness went away when I felt the puppy lay down on my feet.

“Alright. See you in a few.” And he hung up.

I shut my phone, and looked down at the dog, asleep contently. I felt a tear drop from my cheek just as the door buzzer went off. I slipped my feet out from under the sleeping animal and padded over to the door. I held in the button and said, “Hello?”

I let go and listened to the reply. “It’s Nadine. From the phone?” I clicked the button to let her into the front door.

“3B,” I said to her.

I sat on the couch waiting for her to knock on the door. When she did, I stood, and walked to the peephole, to ensure that she was just a regular lady, and not some shady character.

I unlocked both the chain and standard locks and opened the door to let her in. She walked forward, and over to the puppy sleeping on the floor in the middle of the room. I left the door open, but walked to the couch, about 5 feet from them, and sat down. When she petted the top of his head, he became coherent and stood up quickly, followed by extensive stretching. I huffed a laugh, and watched as he licked Nadine’s face, and she hooked a black leash to the ring on his thick leather collar. I smiled at their reunion, and stood when Nadine did. Still holding the leash, she reached into her bag that was slung over her shoulder. She pulled out a white envelope that looked to be full of papers. “Here,” she said, taking a step towards me. “This should cover everything.” She smiled and bent over to run her hand through the puppy’s scruff. I opened the unsealed envelope and saw a large number of bills. I pulled one up, and read the numbers, 5 and 0. I pulled up another 50 dollar bill. Then another.

“What is this for?” I asked in amazement.

“Well, it seems that you took great care of my Mango. I haven’t seen him this happy in weeks. And you bought food and things just for him I suppose. So, paying you some money is the least I could do to thank you for caring for and returning my baby safely.” She smiled. From the way she talked about money, I could tell she was a wealthy person. And by the way that she talked about the dog, she really cared about him too.

“It was no problem, really. You don’t need to give me this.”

“Oh, hush. I’m sure you’re a popular young lady. Throw a big party or something.” She smiled.

I shook my head, about to refuse the offer again, but she quickly thanked me, handed me her card (in the case that I would ever want to come visit her and Mango) and left.

So there I stood, with a huge wad of cash, speechless.

A few minutes later, the door buzzer rang again. I walked over to the box, setting the money on the coffee table as I passed. I pressed the button. “Hello?” I released, as waited for a response.

“Ana. Let us in. It’s freaking raining.” I recognized the voice as my brother’s, and let them in.

I sat on the couch, and waited for them to walk up the three flights of stairs. The door opened, and I watched Jude walk in (hair dripping wet), followed by three good-looking guys. They all seemed to be about Jude’s age, aside from one with unnatural bright red hair, who looked a bit younger.

“Hey Ans. This is Lincoln,” He pointed to a hot, tanned guy with short black hair, who smiled and nodded his head. “Cole,” The cute red-headed kid lifted his fingers in greeting. “and Foster.” The last kid he named was a tall, muscular kid, with light brown, shaggy hair. He smiled and waved. I found him the most adorable.

“Hey,” I said, standing. “Jude, I don’t really have that much stuff.”

“Then,” he clapped his hands together, “I guess it won’t take that long, huh?”

I sighed, and walked between Jude and Lincoln, to my bedroom. I bent down and half crawled under my bed to reach the two large neon-colored duffel bags I owned. I heard a grunt, and something bumped my foot.

“Dumbass,” I heard Jude say.

I backed out, duffel bags in hand, and stood up. I gave Jude a questioning look, and he just rolled his eyes and shook his head. I tossed one duffel bag to Jude and the other was taken out of my hands by Lincoln. They pulled open my dresser drawers one by one and I tried to ignore the fact that a guy I didn’t know was touching my underwear. I felt someone grab my hand and pull me towards the living room. They released, and I remembered the kid as Foster. “Do you have a big garbage bag,” he asked.

“Yeah,” I responded, and walked into the kitchen to get one. After shutting the drawer, I turned back and collided with his chest. I stood startled for a second and he pursed his lips. I laughed one short breath, and he stepped back grinning. I walked around him and into the living room. I heard his footsteps behind me. He reached over my shoulder and grabbed the bag from my hand. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He turned to the futon and started folding it. I walked to the other side, and worked with him until the cushion was the size of a really fat pillow. He had me hold it down, while he held on with one hand and reached for the garbage bag. Once it was around and tied, he high fived me, and the other three guys walked in. They were laughing and beating each other with the duffel bags.

“Ouch, dude,” Lincoln said. “So I saw this,” he held up Mango’s Kong chew toy, “on your bed. And I thought to myself, ‘kinky’. But then I remembered you had a dog.” They all laughed. “So where is the little guy?”

I felt a tear drop from my cheek after a moment, and Jude dropped the bag, and walked over to me. I wiped the tear away casually, but it was replaced. I thought to myself how ridiculously quickly I had gotten so attached to the dog. But that was just what I was, attached. I looked at the money on the coffee table, as Jude slipped an arm around my shoulder.

“What’s wrong kid?” He tilted my chin up and furrowed his brows.

“His owner came,” I stated flatly. “She left me like two thousand bucks.”

His jaw dropped. “You held a ransom for a lost dog? Way to go, Ans. Two thousand dollars?” I nodded.

“I didn’t hold a ransom ass hat. She just gave it to me. And I didn’t count the money, so there might not be that much,” I said, nonchalantly.

Lincoln was closest to me, so he wrapped an arm around my shoulders sympathetically.

“I have an idea,” he said. “We have to make a stop on our way home.” He looked to Jude with an expectant face.

“Sure, dude. I’m sure whatever you have planned will make her feel better. Let’s go.” And the kid named Cole opened the door for us, smiling.