Alvarez

Twenty-one

If only my heart were as cold as I pretend it is, maybe I could get over this. - Jessica Katoff.

Christian
Whatever was bothering Mia seemed to have dulled down during the day. She hardly spoke - highly unusual for her, and she wasn't herself.

That was until she ran into an animal shelter on the street we were walking down. Atlanta was home to a lot of shit, but their animal shelters appeared decent. She disappeared into the place and it took me a good amount of time to find her. She was speaking with an older woman who was holding a puppy in her hand. The dog stuck out it's paw for Mia and it tugged on her dress. She smiled, and it was wriggling in the air to jump into Mia's arms.

I was either leaving here today with a dog, or an unhappy Mia. I couldn't have the latter, but I didn't want a fucking dog right now either. The dogs tail wagged uncontrollably and he seemed to adore her already. I don't blame him for that. She looked up from making some strange noises and gave me a smile.

While she was distracted, and old lady came to me. "can I help you with something sir?" she asked, her wrinkly hands out for me to shake. "yeah, actually. That dog she's holding, can I pay it forward? I can't take him now." I tell her, a small smile on her face. "it seems he's already formed an attachment to your wife. We can take care of him for as long as you'd like." she said, still smiling. My wife is becoming a pain in my ass.

"how much do you need?" I asked, and she looked slightly offended by my method of questioning. I'll make a mental note to correct that, I'm not very mindful about it unless it's Mia. "how ever much you're willing to give, sir."

"ten grand?" her face went pale. "Sir that's a crazy amount! We wouldn't need that much." she said, I thought for a second. "it might be a while." I tell her and she still looks at me like I'm insane. "10 thousand dollars would take care of him for almost 5 years. I don't think your wife would want you to wait that long." she said, her smile returning. I nodded. I looked back at Mia, and saw her playing with another dog. If I wasn't careful, I'd have to buy this whole fucking shelter and she might crawl into one of these dog cages.

"use it for the rest of them." I said, and nodded my chin to the place. "get some toys and shit. But the dog she's holding, I want him." I said, and reached for my wallet. She nodded, looking like she was about to cry. Mia set the dog back down in his cage, waving a small goodbye to him. She too, looks like she wants to cry. Jesus. I'm clearly doing something wrong.

"you ready to go?" she asked, and the lady tapped my card on the machine. I looked at Mia, her brown hair falling in tresses along her shoulders, the white and red dress she's wearing, with lace around her chest and arms. It's the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. "yeah, let's go." I tell her, and we continued down the street.

"our flight is leaving at 7 tonight, we'll be in New York by 9, 10 latest." I say, and her eyes wander down the street. "where are we going now?" she matched my strides and I could see she was getting tired so I slowed down. "do you want to go shopping or something?" I asked. I must place on record I'm not very familiar in spending so much time with a woman. It's extremely foreign.

"I don't think you could handle me shopping. If you didn't bankrupt my father, I would have." she said, a smile gracing her face. I believe that. I've seen her dressing, fancy labels and expensive material. Not to mention the jewelry she wears, she's literal gold to a street mugger.

"I can handle your spending, love. Go for it." I tell her, and her eyes focus on something else. "I have a better idea." she tells me and I follow her eye line. "Mia, no." she looks at me with challenging eyes. I hate casino's.

The security asked for her ID, because for a 22 year old girl she looked like she was still in high school. Her frame was so tiny and petite, she could probably fit in a suitcase if she tried. We entered the casino and it wasn't very busy, for a Saturday afternoon.