Nicole

"Are we there yet?"

"No." Lucas replied the question Lexi had already asked easily ten times during the car trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Six hours on a car with a five year old girl who loved Disney, on our way to Disneyland was definitely difficult.

On the day of Lucas' birthday we picked up his sister and niece at the airport, then we went out for ice cream, took a walk around the city so they could get to know the north of California, and ended the day by going out for dinner at this very nice restaurant by the sea, with a view to the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Today, as we continue the birthday celebrations, we were driving to the Disneyland Park, where we're spending the da. But in all fairness, between Lucas, Lexi or even me and Melanie, I don't even know who's more excited to go there.

With a few stops along the way for food, drinks, bathroom breaks or even just to stretch our legs, we were finally arriving at the themed park. 

Lexi's big eyes spotted the tip of the huge blue castle from a mile away, but now, after walking by the busy streets of the park, we were actually standing in front of it. 

"It's so big!" The little girl said in amusement and astonishment. 

Of course, she wanted as many pictures as she could convince us all to take, of her standing with the castle behind her, and Lucas was more than happy to oblige to all her wishes.

After visiting the castle, the four of us hopped on a train - the Disneyland Railroad. It was a pretty easy way to get around the park and not get to the end of the day without feeling our feet. The train had four stops, and the final one was where we hopped off, near Alien Pizza Planet - a themed restaurant that served pizzas, which was the best choice for lunch on a family fun day out. 

"I can't believe my little brother is really going to be working on characters that we might see here in a few years." 

"Sometimes, I can't believe it either." Lucas said before taking a bite of his slice of his pineapple pizza.

"When will you start?"

"They called me the other day, asking how everything's going. They scheduled a meeting two weeks after I'm done with classes, so I'm guessing the end of May or beginning of June."

It's safe to say that it was a fun day overall, minus the lines for the attractions, but that wasn't anything we weren't already expecting. 

Lucas and I were both a little sad that Melanie and Lexi had to leave California and go back to London tomorrow morning, but we also knew that they had their own life there, and we couldn't stop them from leaving. We could only hope to see them again really soon.

 * * * 

I was actually hoping for a ceremony, a whole afternoon of academic events where I'd stand proud and clap for my boyfriend who just finished his semester, studying what he loves and accomplishing it all with flying colors. 

Instead, it was just another sunny, warm day of May and we stopped by the administration services to pick up his certificate - a paper signed and stamped by the college that certificates Lucas' attendance to the classes he took, and all the final grades he achieved for each class.

The cold, grey and white office was not what I envisioned when I thought about the end of Lucas' semester here.

"I was expecting a bit more." I said looking at a piece of paper that qualified as a certificate. 

Lucas chuckled and made his way to the trunk of the car, rearranging all his bags before he closed the door and stepped into the driver's seat. "I mean...I just took a few classes, it's not like I majored in something."

"Still. Plus you were the top of your class in all classes you took." My index finger skimmed through the classifications. 

"That's okay." He laughed softly. "Don't worry about it, 'cause I won't either." 

With all of his bags now securely packed on the trunk of the car, we took our seats at the front and made our way back to San Francisco, where we'd both live together, permanently, in my apartment. 

As far as moving in with Lucas goes, I was feeling pretty relaxed and laid back about it. I truly think that it was the most logical choice and since we both know each other so well already, it was a no brainier.

Plus, we had a pretty similar experience in London. 

"If you really want, you could always make this day more special. We can always celebrate it, in other ways other than a packed stadium full of teenagers that are still going through puberty." He turned his head to steal a glance at me for a second before  focusing on the road again.

"You've really missed me, uh?" I said with a cheeky grin. 

"I didn't mean that." He said, referring to sex, which in my defense, was what I thought and hoped he meant. A girl has needs. 

"Oh." I stated in realization. "What was it then?"

"I was actually thinking you could cook your special spaghetti dish with tomato sauce. I haven't had that in forever!"

"Sure." I flashed him a smile. "I'll make it tonight for dinner."

The road trip to our home was one of the most memorable road trips I've ever been in. We had all the windows rolled down, letting the air ruffle our hair, we had our arms stretched out and felt the wind in our skin, Lucas and I were singing out loud to the songs on the radio, the volume high enough to have people on the passing cars looking at us with funny faces.

Hours later, Lucas was parking the car outside my apartment's front door, and we jumped out of the vehicle, busying ourselves trying to take all the bags out of the trunk and inside the house, all in one go.

A much needed shower and a little nap after, I started preparing the ingredients for dinner. 

"Ah damn it. I don't have any tomato sauce. And this spaghetti isn't gonna be enough for us two." I picked up the jacket that was laying on the back of the chair and put it on. "I'm going to the store."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you stay here. Enjoy your first day back." With both my hands on his side, resting on the cushions of the couch, I was towering over him. I leaned down and pecked his lips before turning around, grabbing my keys and wallet and walking out the door. 

The sky was painted with pastel colors of pink and blue as the night approached the city and I mentally snapped a picture of the sight above me, never wanting to forget such a beautiful image of the sky. 

The twenty-four-seven store was just down the street and it didn't take me long before I walked in and said a quick hello to the store owner - a nice woman a couple years older than me who had moved to America with her husband, from China.  

"Hi, how are you? How's Kai?"

"Hi Nicole. We're good." She replied with a smile. An wasn't very fluent in the English language, but she made every effort to learn all the words and american expressions, and also to reply the best way possible.

With a smile and a nod I made my way inside the small store and picked up what I came here for. Sucker by the Jonas Brothers was playing on the speakers and I hummed to the song while I waited in line to pay for the items.

After having paid and after putting all the ingredients in the tote bag I took with me, I made my way out of the store.

The atmosphere outside was already different - it was a bit colder, it was somewhat windy and the little natural light outside was now gone and replaced with the lit street lamps and the dark sky.

As I was walking up the street to go back to my place, a little black and white puppy started sniffing my legs and my feet.

"Hi." I said with a grin. The little dog supported itself on its two back legs and started touching my leg with its other two, almost like it was calling me. I knelt down to be on her level and petted her a little more - it was a girl.

"Are you lost?"

The dog, that I now realized was a dalmatian, licked my chin and lips and I was sold. There was literally no one around, she had no collar, no name tag, no nothing. She was all alone, she saw me, intended to ask for help and she liked me.

That was all I needed to know.

"Okay, let's go meet Lucas." 

I picked her up in my arms and made my way back to my place.

If the poor dog was abandoned, I wanted to keep her. If she was just lost, we'd make sure she'd be returned to her home soon. But what I knew for sure was that I was not going to leave her all alone tonight.

A few minutes later, I was opening the front door of my apartment and walking inside with a puppy in one hand and bag of groceries in the other.

"Lucas?"

He greeted me, though that "Hi"  sounded like it came from the bedroom. I figured he was probably unpacking everything. 

"Hey, honey? I think we're gonna have to think about kids a bit earlier than we expected."

At the last words I mentioned, he rushed out of the bedroom and met me at the front door, that I had just closed behind me. 

 I threw the bag on the floor, not caring one bit about my groceries, and holding the puppy with both my hands.

The moment Lucas saw me standing there, and he saw the little white puppy with mini black dots I held close to my chest, he didn't even bother to look at me, and was solely focused on the little dog.

"Who is this?" He asked with a hint of a smile dancing on his lips. Without giving it a second thought, he reached out his arms to touch the puppy, scratching her head.

"I don't know. All I know is she's a girl. She was wandering around on the street, I saw her on the way back."

To say that the dog loved Lucas was a total understatement. The moment his fingers moved in circles on her head, she was wiggling in my arms, trying to jump to his embrace instead.

"She's adorable." From where I see it, Lucas was just as surrendered to this cutie as I. "What happened with her? Is she lost?"

"I don't know, to be honest. I mean, I don't think she is. She was all alone, there was no one near by, she has no collar, no name tag."

"She could have a microchip, and that has all the information about her and her owner, if she has one. We need to take to a vet so they can scan her and see."

The little puppy stretched her neck to lick Lucas' face and my heart melted right then and there.

"Come on Lucas, she likes us!" I pleaded while I took off my jacket. 

"And we like her! But what if she has an owner and he's looking for her? Desperate?"

I had to admit it, Lucas had a point. 

"Okay, you might be right. But we have to keep her at least for tonight. I couldn't leave her outside." I begged, wrapping my fingers around his forearm.

"Fine. But we're taking her to the vet first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sure." I nodded in agreement and took her from his arms, holding her in mine. "She is so cute. I'm pretty positive she was abandoned, I have a feeling this was fate. We are meant to keep her."

"How so?"

"First of all she was the one who started sniffing me, she saw me first." I held one finger up as I explained my point. "Second of all, she's a dalmatian. You're a sketch artist for cartoon movies and shows."

Lucas tilted his head quizzically, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.

"Hello? The 101 Dalmatians ? Come on Lucas, you can't say you disagree."

He chuckled at my explanation and took the puppy from my arms again, putting her on the floor this time.

"You're unreal." Still chuckling, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his chest, kissing my forehead in the process.

"Am I right or am I right?"

"You're right." The white dog with little black spots was already on her own adventure, sniffing every little corner of the house. "Just don't get too attached to her."

I knew what he meant by that - I could have read the whole situation wrong, the dog could have an owner, and not getting attached to her was the best option to not get my heart broken tomorrow in case we had to return her to someone else.

I just don't know who's gonna have a harder time doing that - me or Lucas.

 * * * 

Author's Note:

Hiii! I was actually thinking whether or not I should write about the day at Disneyland but then I just thought about how cute it'd be and I just HAD to write it, even if it's just a little bit! Also, you may have noticed that there's been a couple of time runs recently but that was needed 'cause there is SO much coming! 🤭💗

Now I wanna know, what do you think - Is the puppy lost? Was she abandoned? What is her name? 🐶

As always, please vote and comment and follow me or add this story to your reading list so you won't miss out on any updates!!

Xoxo, Mars