The Both Of Us

07- Into Thin Air

"We'll give you a call once it's done."

"Please do, thank you." I respond to the man.

I'm the funeral parlour where I'm having my father cremated so that I could bring him with me back home. Lance and Holly are at the nearby dog park. Holly loves dogs, and she has been asking for one for about a year already. I didn't want her to be here in such a sad place.

I put on my jacket and head out to the dog park Lance texted they were in. I take a quick glance at my surroundings. It's so familiar. I remember I frequented this area before.

When I arrive at the dog park, it was easy for me to spot where Holly and Lance because they're the only ones without dogs, in a dog park. I walk up to them and when I'm about a ten feet away, Holly is the first one to see me. She points to the dog she was petting, and I know what she was telling me.

She wants a dog.

Lance turns around and spots me.

"She's been telling me to help her talk you into getting a dog." Lance says to me. "And now I want one too."

"The only pets allowed in our apartment is a fish." I state as a matter of fact. "The both of you can get a fish and name it dog."

"You can't take a pet fish for a walk." Holly joins our conversation. "Can we please get a dog mommy?"

"Oh honey, you know pets aren't allowed in our apartment."

"What about we get one that's small and doesn't bark? That way no one will know." she says.

"Oh my gosh, you're still so young to be thinking that." I utter quietly so that she can't hear me.

"I wonder where she learned that." Lance laughs.

I bent down so that I am now close to Holly. "Let's talk about getting you one when it's allowed inside the apartment already, okay? I know a great dessert place nearby. They have cake."

"Did you say cake?" Holly looks at me with a huge grin on her face. She has such a sweet tooth, making it so easy for me to negotiate with her. Just offer her a scoop of ice cream or a slice of cake and I win. Although it did make me worry when she was three years old, since she could just so easily go with strangers if they knew what to bait her with.

The three of us walk to nearby dessert shop I told them about, Sugar Rush. We're still outside the store and the smell of baked goods wafts through the air already.

"This must be what heaven smells like." Lance says as we enter the store which smells even better.

The shop's not empty. There are a few people sitting on the tables, eating and drinking coffee. There's also a man by the counter. We go to the display chillers where the cakes were displayed in, and Holly just looks she doesn't want to leave the place already.

"Which one do you want?" I ask Holly, her little hand wrapped around mine.

Her jaw's dropped, and she didn't answer me right away like she would when we'd get ice cream. "Can we get them all? It looks so good."

"You only get to choose one." I tell her. "We can come back again tomorrow if you really like it."

"I already do!" she nods her head in excitement. "Mommy what's the best cake they have here?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't really come here for cakes before." I tell her. "But I remember that their pistachio is really good."

Holly's face lights up like a Christmas tree. Pistachio is her favourite flavor for every dessert out there but oddly enough, it isn't her favourite nut.