Nora smiled sweetly and replied, “Sure, it can keep you company when I’m not around.”
I felt a surge of bitterness. My daughter had asked for the same thing, but Nora had crushed her dream without a second thought. Her child’s happiness meant nothing compared to a simple “I like you” from her first love.
When Nora noticed me, her smile faded.
“Ian, are you following me? What are you doing here?”
“To buy a dog, obviously,” I said.
Nora quickly let go of Julian’s arm after notice my indifference, but I just found the whole situation absurd.
“I’ve known about you two for a while now, so no need to put on a show for me,” I said.
Nora frowned. “Ian, are you done yet? I told you, Julian’s only here for three days. I’m just being a good host. Do you really need to make this difficult?”
“Our daughter is seriously ill, and here you are, wandering around. Just go back home!” she snapped.
Ignoring her self-righteous rant, I walked into the pet shop. Julian, the man beside her, blocked my path.
He sneered, “Nora said to leave. Didn’t you hear?”
I stopped, staring him down. “Who do you think you are? Move.”
I shoved past him and headed toward the store. My daughter had fallen in love with a Pomeranian dog in the display window the first time she saw it.
I pointed at the dog and looked at the shop owner, but Julian suddenly pushed me aside.
“We already bought this one,” he said smugly.
I looked at him and said, “First come, first served. Ever heard of it?”
Julian smirked. “But I was the first one to hold it.”
Just then, Nora walked over, her expression cold. “Ian, if you’re jealous, keep it in check. What right do you have to drag Julian into this? Apologize to him.”
I stared at her, anger simmering. “Nora, this was our daughter’s favorite dog. You didn’t even see her one last time. She was alone every day, and now you can’t even grant her this one small wish?”
Nora’s face finally showed a flicker of emotion when I mentioned our daughter.
“Don’t you dare use my daughter to manipulate me!” she snapped, raising her voice. “Does she really feel lonely with teachers and classmates at school and family around her at home? And if we get a dog, who’s going to take care of it? In the end, it’ll be my responsibility, won’t it?”