The Way Home

Save The Last Dance For Me

Rayne opened the front door of her house a crack before looking back over her shoulder at Anna, who was holding shopping bags in both arms.

"Ok, you might get jumped on, but he won't bite. Try to save the groceries."

Anna nodded and snickered as Rayne pushed the door all the way open to let her friend pass through. She heard him before she saw him, his heavy footfalls tapping across the hardwood of the kitchen. Anna barely had time to rest the bags on the kitchen island before she was being systematically licked to within an inch of her life. Two front paws were resting on her shoulders as she tried to simultaneously pet and push the huge head away from her face.

Rayne shook her head in exasperation. "Woof! Get down! That's no way to treat a guest."

Anna laughed out loud as the huge dog dutifully sat on the floor in front of Rayne, waiting patiently for a treat from his mistress. "Oh my god, you have a dog, and his name is Woof?" At Rayne's nod, she laughed harder. "Oh, that's adorable! He's beautiful, Rayne. What kind of dog is he?"

Rayne gave Woof his dog biscuit before patting him on the head. He trotted off to an unknown part of the house on a secret adventure as the two women unloaded the grocery bags. "He's half Australian Shepherd and half Black Lab, but if you ask Agnes, he's a hellhound." At Anna's laughter, she continued. "No, really. She thinks he hates her, but I think he just assumes that she's a big chew toy."

Anna shook her head as she picked up the chicken from the counter and turned to start preparing it. Rayne got into a lower cabinet and handed her a roasting pan before she started cleaning vegetables. "Well, I must say, you didn't strike me as a dog person. Something else you and Tom have in common, huh?"

Rayne just shrugged and grinned as she washed the asparagus and mushrooms. "I suppose. I have to say, I like the change in plans. Dinner in is much better than a restaurant."

Anna grinned at her as she sat the chicken in the pan. "Not ready to be public yet?"

Rayne shrugged again before leaning against the counter beside Anna. "Is it still hard for you and Benedict to go out in public?"

Anna shook her head. "No, not so much anymore, but we do have times when the attention is beyond intense. It can be challenging, but we make it through okay. You will too, you'll see." She watched Rayne prepare the vegetables for a moment before continuing. "How are things going between you and Tom? You two seem to be doing well."

Rayne sighed before she even realized that she did it. "We are... ok, I think. He's taking this second chance very seriously, so he's moving slowly, but that's fine."

Anna chuckled as she nodded in agreement. "Slow isn't such a bad thing. Tom is very goal oriented. It's just that he sees the big picture better than the average person."

Rayne snickered. "Well, that wasn't always true."

Anna just looked at her. "Sure it was. He saw what the future could be, even back then, but he was scared of it, of the changes it would mean." She shrugged. "Now, he welcomes the changes. He's grown up a lot in two years, sweetie."

Rayne just nodded. "That does seem to be the case." She looked around before continuing. "It looks like everything is ready. Do you want to go get your bag from the car? You can change first. I need to start the dessert."

Anna nodded before walking out the doorway leading to the hall. The girls had decided to change after getting dinner started, so while Anna was doing that, Rayne would work on dessert.

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Tom could hear a dog barking as he and Benedict got out of the car at Rayne's. It made him miss Baci, and he wished he had been able to bring her with him this trip, but she was good with his mum and he'd see her soon enough. He found it amazing how close he'd gotten with the puppy, and knew that he was done for. She was his baby. He smirked to himself, wondering how Rayne would get along with his other girl. He was certain that they would get along just fine, although he didn't really know if Rayne was an animal lover. He was pulled from his musings by Anna sticking her head out the door and chuckling.