; sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal

She ran her hands through her hair, letting out a deep sigh and looking down into her lap for a moment. A year was coming up. November 23rd. The day her life changed. It was… Right there. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get through it. She was finally putting in an effort, but as that day got closer, she felt weaker and weaker. It was so weird because in many ways… It was a death in the family. Her own, actually. Before her accident, she was a vastly different person from who she was now. That upbeat, party girl was gone, and Madison wasn’t sure if the change was good or bad. She went back and forth in her head about it, but just… Couldn’t come to a conclusion.

“Actually…” She started. “I have an irrational fear of large bodies of water. Like…. I’m alright with a fountain, because if anything happens, someone will see me and be able to pull me out, plus it’s shallow enough that if my stick my arms out and hold myself up, I can keep my head out of the water and scream for help. – The docks are a different story though. I know it’s super irrational, but I’m terrified I’ll fall in, and if I do, I’m basically fucked.” She confided, a soft shrug after. “So yeah… I haven’t been at the docks in years.”

Madison nodded as he explained what he was up to. At his invitation, she lit up. What better excuse to stay out of the house than going to a friend’s place to eat? “Yeah. I… I’d love that.” She decided, grinning at him. “Was I the familiar face?” Madison asked, raising her eyebrows teasingly at the man. 

“Oh” was all Jay could initially mutter, for it appeared Madison was struggling with some instrusive thoughts. It reminded him of reoccurring nightmares he used to have back in the day, with the floor of his balcony collapsing under his feet and him falling through the marble. It had him afraid of heights after he’d wake up from those, to the point where he’d start hyperventilating whenever near the edge - even the closed off one - of a higher building. Guess everyone had their own irrational fear. “Sounds like me and high places. I’ve tried everything - facing my fears, avoiding them, talking it out with a therapist...nah, nothing works. I guess that’s why they call it irrational; you simply can’t rationalize it to me.” 

Happy that he’d gotten a smile out of her, Jay lit up as well “Why, you don’t see me talking to anyone else, do you? Anyway, follow me then, ‘cause I live literally a minute away.” he started moving in the direction of his home, eyes still fixed on the woman. “So, where are you from? Are you a native?”

Madison was… Tired, if she was being completely honest with herself. Not sleepy, but just… Tired. She was tired of everyone forcing their opinions and ideas of who she was and needed to be onto her. – Well… Not everyone, but at the very least, her friends. The people closest to her were the last people she expected to turn on her, but here she was. Even her mom was beginning to lose patience with Madison, and right now… She couldn’t handle being around that. So she got herself into her chair and pushed herself down to the park where she hoped no one would bother her unless it was something important

Arriving, she pushed herself up to a fountain and sat there, just looking at the engravings in the stone. She was not alone with her thoughts and unsure of why she had even come here now. Being alone with her thoughts was a bad idea and she knew that, but she was already here, and there was no way she was just gonna go back so her mom could silently judge her.

As she began to wish someone would distract her mind and get her out of this state, she heard a familiar voice behind her. Thank God. “O-Oh. Jay. Hi.” She managed to get out, spinning herself around to face him. “I was just… Admiring this beautiful fountain.” She decided, looking at the old and worn fountain, she looked back at him and gave him an awkward smile. “Honestly… I have no idea. – You?”

The mention of fountain took Jay’s attention away from the phone, prompting him into pushing the device back into the pocket of his old leather jacket. The motion had the tips of his fingers palpating at some remaining coins on the bottom of said pocket, probably a change he’d forgotten to take out after grocery shopping. It reminded him that the fight he ought to take on in Rome in just a month was nearing by and he’d see all the beautiful architecture there, including the Trevi Fountain, so not everything in his life was dull and boring. Admittedly, he still had to wait a month for those fun times, but a month wasn’t that far, right?

“Does water soothe you too?” he asked, ever the one to look for comfort by the city’s dock, especially during the night when there was no one to bump into. He could spend hours staring at the tide or even the calm water surface. 

“I was out to buy some spices for the dinner, but the nearest market is out of them so I guess I’ll make a change of plans. I’m thinking Cashew Chicken - you should totally come over and try some of my food. I’m not trying to be egoistic, but I’m pretty good.” he attempted to pull off a modest, but yet proud grin. “Though I have even less idea as to why I’m in the park. Probably ‘cause I saw a familiar face and definitely needed some human-to-human communication after a week of a hermit life.”

“How about you stop being in such a rush and take a moment to breathe and enjoy your surroundings” Cora’s text said after he’d spent forty minutes texting her back and forth about feeling anxious, as though something bad was about to happen. 

And she was right, in a way. It’s not that he’s been in a rush, but quite the opposite. Things have been going slow these past few days and as someone who was used to always doing something, he felt uneasy being still and work-less. The message succeeded at its intent, making him stop in his tracks and inhale deeply - which was when he noticed a familiar silhouette not so far away from himself in the central park. 

Having nothing more important to do, Jay slowly walked over to Madison from behind and addressed her, keeping his voice soft as to avoid startling her. “Hey there, stranger. What have you been up to?”

cataleya props her elbow on the bar, emptied pint glass at her elbow, phone pressed against her ear. her brow furrows as she listens, and a little sympathetic noise burrs in her throat. 

“yeah… yeah. thanks for that, charlene. just try to keep his spirits up, okay? we’re doin’ it on this end too - it’d just be good if he’s got positivity from all sides, y’know?… yeah. okay. right. thanks.” cat tugs the phone from her ear, deftly hanging up before she drops it aside, head dropping forward to press her forehead against the counter top. 

“i shoulda gone to fuckin’ med school.” 

Logically, Jay knew it was rude to listen on other people’s conversations, but to be fair, the situation was comparable to a naked man walking the crowded streets of the town. If you were a passerby, you couldn’t not see his junk if he just strolled right past you - and chances are, you probably didn’t want to see it. He had two fully functioning ears and someone talking about stuff right next to them so it was natural that he heard said stuff, even if he wasn’t that interested. 

Okay, maybe he was slightly interested but only because nothing exciting has been going on in his life recently, unless you count being stood up by your blind date as exciting. Which he did not. “I should’ve gone to law school but instead I’m punching people for money. You sound like you’re at least contributing to someone’s life or at least well being by being positive. I’d say you’re alright.” he remarked, eyes still focused on the glass of gin he held in his palm. 

                             “Oh my god—” Alexis quickened her pace as she read the text message on her phone, which made her last little bit of hope disappear. “There’s not enough pumpkins…” Her breath started to turn erratic, weaving in and out of people as she spoke out loud again. “Not enough pumpkins…” Her legs moved faster and faster with every breath, until she felt her ankle twist and body start to fall in an ungraceful thud to the floor. Immediately she groaned and lifted herself up, looking down to find her phone  in two halves.  “No, no, no, what the hell else is going to happen today?” She asked both herself and the people around, struggling to get to her feet. 

Whether it was a full moon coming or near-Friday-the-13th or Halloween kind of thing, people were behaving like lunatics, rampaging around like headless flies, completely out of space and time while all he could do was stand and observe. Really, the woman before him had taken a trophy in behaving like a madman, with her weird obsession and concern over pumpkins to the point of being unable to circulate throughout the traffic of their surroundings - and when she fell, Jay really could do only one thing. He laughed. And he laughed. And then he laughed some more before actually coming to approach her and extend an arm to help her rise back on her feet “The way you began, you might lose your life. Honestly, what kind of pumpkin -” yes, he’d eavesdropped a little “-is worth all of this trouble?”

“So, if the friend you haven’t seen in five years bails on your last minute for the third time in two months, is it safe to assume they’re not actually that set on making plans to catch up?” Tessa sighed and looked at the person sitting closest to her, lips pressed into a disappointed smile.

“I think it’s safe to say that she doesn’t even consider the ‘label’ friend as something applicable to your relationship.” he made an attempt at a matching apologetic, lopsided smile. “And it sounds like it’s been a long time coming, so you’ll probably find that it’s really easy to let go of that friendship now. Or at least it should be. She should find your time a privilege and prioritize sharing it with you.”

                                All her life, Ophelia had fought to take up as little room as possible—- it was in her nature, or so she’d always thought, at least. She was shy, introverted, thoughtful, and she didn’t like to burden other people because she didn’t truly feel like she was worth the trouble. Maybe if things had gone differently in her life, she would’ve been less apologetic about her existence, but lingering memories of a dad she thought loved her always made her question herself. Twenty-three years had passed since he left, and not a single word or a proper explanation had been left in his wake; he just didn’t want to be a dad anymore, at least not her dad, and that was it. From then on, every person she loved who left acted as a reminder that she, Ophelia, was easy to leave, and that maybe, just maybe, that was her lot in life. She had all but accepted it after Ian left, but then Jackson came in and intercepted that train of thought, and he made her believe differently—- now, all she could do was cling to the flicker of hope in her chest, ignited by the words on Jay’s lips. He believed what he said so fiercely that it took energy and strength from her side to not let go and jump in with both feet, but history had taught her everything, and though her trust in Jay knew no bounds, the faith in herself did.

                               But a part of her ached and longed for someone to tell her what he did; to believe so genuinely, so honestly and stubbornly that she wasn’t the villain she made herself out to be in her head. Even though her tears and the quivering of her lip made it seem less so, Ophelia was beyond grateful for Jay in those moments. He might not have known Jackson the way she did, or their relationship and how truly good it had been, but he stood by her side now, vehemently, relentlessly fighting off her worst enemy for her; herself. She didn’t deserve the effort, but she loved him more the less he gave up on her— hard and fast and truly. In his sheltering arms, under prismatic hues in the dim light of a flickering midnight lamppost, childlike hope manifested in her chest all because of him, and she knew deep down she’d never be able to thank him properly, but that she would allow herself to be selfish enough to never let him go. If she could, she would fight of any harm that might come to him, just like he had for her so selflessly.

                                                   “Okay,” she whispered, giving in.

                                  All her life, she’d been used to being the one who took care of other people— her friends when they needed her the most, her brother when his heart was broken, her mom when she got sick and her little brother when she died. This was who she was, and if she’d had an ounce of strength left in her, she might’ve fought Jay’s offer, but she couldn’t. She needed someone right now, who was willing to take care of her, if just for a little bit.

                                                     “Thank you, Jay…”

Gratitude, he believed, turns what we have into enough and he cherished the emotion whether a recipient of or a vessel for it. To be thanked for being a decent human being wasn’t what Jay aimed for. If he’d ridden himself of any burden, it was of one where he felt like he needed to prove himself as different from his father. He already knew, all along, that he was nothing alike the people who’ve given birth to and raised him, and it was genuinely rewarding on its own to brighten up another person’s day. It’s not like he was a bearer of joy for the entire Universe, a Saint of some sort; only the chosen few, Ophelia among them, had the privilege of him devoting his full and unwavering love and attention to them. He wasn’t the kind of person who had the need to fix others, nor was he interested in doing charity cases. What he was interested in was bettering the lives of those he’d decided to enrich his own life with. It felt like making an investment in more than just their own lives, but also in his and the lives of all other people in the world. He vehemently believed in having surrounded himself with people who ought to make the change in this place we all call home, and if he could have a role in that, he’d gladly take it. Because soon, he’d be able to tell that he’s lived approximately half of his life and haven’t done anything particularly meaningful, except contributing to making this wonderful person happier and that would be more than enough.

With Ophelia having agreed to his pleas, the rest of the night was easier to manage. Once they found their way to Ophelia’s home, he devoted himself to keeping up his promise. He’d urged the brunette to take a warm shower, at very least, if not even a bubble bath while he fixes her up a hot beverage. Chamomile, as he’d learned during his lessons regarding healthy diet back when starting with professional boxing, would ease her into the sleep. He decided, as well, to grab some remaining citruses that he’d found in Ophelia’s fridge, near to rotting away, and put them into a pot of boiling water to release some of their essences into the room – hoping she’d find it comforting. Of course, all while being careful not to wake her brother up, he sneaked into the bedroom to get two blankets because tonight was a particularly chilly night and picked up few of the scattered things around the room to clean up before she returned.

Jay could hear the steps of another approaching nearby just as the kettle came to boil and he pulled out two mugs for both of them. Without turning around, he quietly addressed Ophelia before even spotting her, certain she’d hear him speak “I was trying to find those candles I bought for you a month ago, but you totally moved things around here, didn’t you?” Absentmindedly he wondered if that’s what she busied herself with to take her mind off of all the shit going on her life, and couldn’t help but wish that she’d called him instead and asked for a distraction. Somehow, he felt as he could’ve done more and he wanted to have been there more for her. He genuinely missed having her around, a warm womanly touch to his usually solitary life. Maybe he should tell her that.

“Is it selfish of me to say that I missed having you around?”

punchajay:

                       When Sophie decided to go out that night – she never expected to have fun on her own. Never say never, isn’t that what they said? Sure, she stayed away from alcohol to avoid any stupid decisions, but at least she could enjoy herself and this man’s company now. It wasn’t like staying at home would provide her with any laughter whatsoever.

Thinking about his question for a moment, Sophie wasn’t sure what to reply. Sure, she loved the idea of reincarnation – maybe the idea of having more than just one past lives, but could she relate herself to just.. one person? “Hm, interesting question.” She mumbled, her fingers moving to tap on her chin, “Alright, I think I got it. I could totally be the reincarnation of Mihrimah Sultan. And if you don’t know who that is, all I have to say – shame on you.”

If anything, the woman’s response had Jay lighting up with excitement, because history wasn’t something he enjoyed, but Ottoman history was a story for itself. He’d admittedly grown to love it thanks to Cora talking him into watching Muhteşem Yüzyıl, which Jay guessed wasn’t that historically accurate but rather dramatized for the purposes of tv, but it had gotten him into reading a couple of books on the era and he absolutely did know who she was talking about. “She’s the Hurrem Sultan’s daughter, Suleyman’s favorite. You underestimate my knowledge of-” he fake coughed into his fist as to cover up the upcoming words of “-trash TV-” and then clearly uttered “-history.” 

“I even know some Turkish. And by some, I mean literally one word and that’s  bahşiş.” he chuckled. “What makes you a reincarnation of Mihrimah, besides the obvious?” he hand waved in her direction, meaning her looks.

Usually it was Mr. Gonzales to whom Jay brought his motorcycle whenever it needed some extra work, and he’d recently bought new parts for an upgrade he had on his mind, but the man was busy with the club’s annual events organization so he sent him to Alyssa to take care of it. It wasn’t his first time knocking on the brunette’s doors for some tinkering on his motorcycle; she’s told him a while ago how she picked up a thing here and there from when her father worked as a part-mechanic and she’s proven herself as quite handy last time around. Plus, she was certainly a less terrifying person to be around, considering how her father tended to look at him with that fatherly glare whenever he’d interact with Alyssa and it had him wanting to stay away if possible. 

He’d parked in front of the woman’s place, and after placing few rhythmical knocks upon her door, waited for her to open up. “It’s Jay!”

Madison had pitied herself since the accident. It was part of why she hated all the looks she got in public. She already gave herself all the pity she needed in life. Although, recently she had been trying to pity herself less, and tried to just focus on improving herself. There was nothing to be done to fix her legs, so now it was time to move on and grow up. – Even if she didn’t want to. “Adjust your counters? For me?” Madison asked, a singular ha ejecting itself past her lips. “No. That’s… Dumb. We can just do it at my place.” She suggested, rolling her eyes. “The whole place is like… Designed for me. My dad sent like… A shit ton of money to my mom to renovate the entire place so I could feel “more normal”. They both swear he didn’t, but I’m not stupid. My mom pays for my food and shit, and my dad pays for my nurse, and all the other big bills.” She explained. “Oh anything? Great. I wanna be a famous actress in Hollywood. Show me how to do that. – Oh wait. I can’t.”

Jay’s brows jumped up, eyes widening at the woman’s disregard of his idea as dumb, but he decided not to take any offense from it because she did know better when it came to this. If there was an easier way to do something, he was all up for it. Wasn't Bill Gates the one who said he employed lazy people to do hard jobs because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it? He wasn’t sure if he qualified as lazy but it was a good motivational quote nevertheless. “That’s very generous of your parents, you’re lucky you have them. I never even met my mother and merry was the day Richard passed.” he snorted, holding no sentiment attached to personas that were his parents. Hell, he couldn’t even utter a word ‘dad’ to begin with. “Well, I can’t show you how to do that because I have no idea what’s the process, but I’m willing to go to Hollywood with you and chase directors and follow you to auditions, so that has to count for something, right?” he smiled, refusing to comply with her tendencies to darken up the atmosphere. “Maybe you won’t be playing in a biography movie about the track runner champion, but isn’t acting about the eyes? Every meaningful role you could do, legs or no legs - you just have to find the script you like and audition for it. Hell, you can write your own like Sylvester Stallone wrote Rocky. There’s a role model for ya.” For him as well.

               “Sorry, sorry, coming through—” Sierra groaned out loud as she struggled to get out her car door without being lifted off into the air. “Coming through, coming through…” Juggling eight balloons and three large bags, Sierra could feel one slipping through her fingers as it dropped to the ground and split on the sidewalk. “Jesus!” The brunette almost shouted out as the contents spilled onto the floor, “Feel free to take it all because my third arm doesn’t exist and I don’t want any of it—”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to grab the nearby cafe’s knife and just slice the top layer of that cake off, ‘cause the bottom may be on the ground, but like...fifty percent of it is still salvageable.” Even if it weren’t for the 30 seconds rule - a rule that Jay was a huge fan of - he totally would find the way to transfer the intact part of the food she’d dropped and make the most of it. He’d definitely fed himself with worse when younger and it was a perfectly fine cake, for the most part. “Here, let me hold that for you-” he grabbed some of the contents in her hands until she looked stable enough on her feet. “What’s the big deal, then, huh?”

“You are the one who bragged about your physical appearance right off the bat, so excuse for me assuming you are a shallow guy who doesn’t have much to offer.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I am interested in stimulating conversations than six packs. Clearly you don’t make the cut.”

Jab made at his intelligence did stir something uncomfortable inside of his gut and he wanted to start an argument as someone’s who taken offense in the untruth of the other’s words. But as per usual, whenever a whirl of emotions would wind up within Jay, it died out just as quickly, leaving him unable to rage on “Clearly, you are quick to pass judgement based on little fragments given. I have plenty capability to stimulate - but no interest to do so with someone of your attitude.” 

I ship it! 

                            “I do hear the portions are pretty small in Europe compared to here,” Ophelia said, letting a smile tug at the corners of her lips when she raised her head to look at Jay. She wouldn’t really know herself, but she hoped Jay would get to go to Rome and have more carbonara—- maybe he’d even be lucky enough to find a place with bigger, more well priced portions. It was perhaps a weird thing to start wishing for, but that wasn’t unlike her; even the smallest things of good she could hope for, for her friends and loved ones, she would. Perhaps it made her a dreamer, but sometimes it was the only thing that kept her sane; the idea that eventually everything would be okay.

                            It wasn’t always easy to believe though, especially not when everything eventually turned out to be a bump in the road—- a loss after another loss, a broken heart mended only to be broken again. Sometimes it was easier to give up, but it was the people in Ophelia’s life that kept her from it; people like Jay, who was there when she needed him the most, without her even asking. Telling him what happened between her and Jackson had not been part of the plan, but saying it out loud was a weight off her shoulders, at least for a few minutes, and though it hurt, it felt necessary somehow. Her hands, trembling, but safe in his, clung to him as sobs and words all jumbled together in her devastating, and probably confusing, retelling of the breakup that had her drinking alone on a weekday, the tug of her arms and the release into his embrace broke something inside her that needed breaking; she could feel herself crumble in his embrace, her arms tightening around him as if they were holding on for dear life. That was how it felt to her; that all she had been doing since Jackson left, was to hold on for dear life, and now, for the first time, someone else helped her hold on. She needed that more than she knew.

                            Not once had it been unclear to her that Jackson wanted them to work; that this was as hard on him as it was on her, but shouldering the blame was painful—- even if he wouldn’t ever say she was to blame, she knew in her bones that it was all her fault, and hearing the opposite, listening as warm words were spoken, traced against her ear, she could feel how much she wanted to believe them, how it made sense when Jay said what he did, because she trusted him, and she wanted to always believe him, if even only for a blissful minute or two, because in the end, Ophelia could pinpoint the moment it all went wrong, and that moment, was all hers. The conviction though, so starkly present in Jay’s eyes when he aligned their gazes, was hard to deny—- even when she let her gaze flee from his, she could still feel how much he meant what he said, and she realized she didn’t deserve him at all; someone who believed so much in her, when she saw no reason to. And yet, she couldn’t have been more grateful. “No,” she whispered, her voice thick and raspy, laced with tears. “No, he deserves better.” And she meant that; she would always believe Jackson Cooper deserved the best, which was why she had let him walk away that second time. She couldn’t keep fighting for someone she deep down knew deserved more than she could give.

For as long as Jay could remember, he struggled with properly expressing those emotions of his which were on the more of a melancholic spectrum. He’d shed a tear or two only twice in his life; once when beaten up by his father - an involuntary reaction to pain - and the other time when leaving Havana and everything that he’s ever known of behind, and all for the life of unknown in Lanford. It’s not that he considered tears and crying to be unmanly and strictly reserved for women, but it’s just that he was feeling all of these emotions swelling up in his chest, threatening to pour over and suffocate him, but they’d always remain stuck somewhere at the top of his throat, refusing to bubble up that extra inch. It was just like with anger, where he’d feel his frustrations layering up one on top of the other and then when every sensible, rational person would think he’d say enough, he’d feel the brewing rage cooling down within him and he’d forget why he was annoyed to begin with. Being resentful seemed like something that required way too much energy that Jay did not have at his disposal so his body instinctively refused to nurture such sentiment. 

But with a woman trembling against the heat of his own body, her sobs cutting into his skin like shards of broken glass, he couldn’t but pray for that final overflow of his emotions and weep along. He’d been guilty of making a woman cry twice in his life and the guilt which ate at him for those two occurrences seemed like it wouldn’t wither away in the remaining decades of his existence. As someone who’d never gotten a chance to go to college, he’d wondered multiple times what could’ve been of him if he had and on few occasions he figured he’d make a great lawyer, if only because he couldn’t stand the all the unfairness and injustice in the world. Ophelia’s life seemed unfair for all the ways she’d contributed to bettering of the lives of those surrounding her and it was why he couldn’t find it in himself to believe in a God. What God would punish so cruelly a woman like her? 

No. He wouldn’t have it. He wouldn’t have her seeing herself as any less than she is. “Ophie-” his voice practically begged “-what do I have to do to prove you wrong? Any man would be lucky to have you. If you were my girl, I’d climb the mountains and conquer the worlds for you!” If his life wasn’t all crimsons and violence, God, how he would love to have a woman like Ophelia in his arms to build a future with. He thought, if things were different, he could love her more than he’s loved Cora, if only because he wouldn’t feel like he owed her so much and couldn’t repay half of it. Ophelia had always treated him like an equal and he couldn’t be more grateful for it. But he couldn’t allow himself to think of such idylls, to linger on those thoughts or gazes for too long, to start dreaming instead of living in what’s now and what’s real. “How about we call a cab and take you home and you let me make you a cup of tea, get you all warmed up in a blanket and just...let me take care of you for a night. Let’s just...start with that.”

Harley was about to argue with the male until he began to describe all the things he’d had to do for a cat, of all things. All of which sounded more painful than anything she’d hd to deal with thus far. “You have to teach your own cat to pee? I’m sorry, but why did you even take a cat of all things, which is hard enough to see past, but one who could barely function on its own.” Perhaps it was an abandoned cat, which was charming if anything. But cats, they weren’t that high on the animal ladder for her. They were all assholes who tended to attack her without any cause. At the sound of it being like raising a child, the brunette’s head fell back. Many had said the same thing and she was hoping they were all wrong, until they’d gotten the dog and her worse nightmare had come true. “I thought it was going to be easy, but it’s just exhausting.” The brunette groaned, unable to eye the puppy who’d gotten himself tangled up with the chords. “I’m a single mom with an out of control puppy. I need some help!”

The woman sounded like someone who was under a lot of stress, even before he’d learned about her being a single mother. He couldn’t but chuckle this time around and offer an explanation “She’s just a baby - it’s rewarding, knowing that I can help her grow comfortably into her tiny body. I saw her in the shelter and knew I couldn’t let her get euthanized.” He thought about fostering, but the second he picked up that little ball of fur, he knew he couldn’t pass her over to someone else after investing so much time and love into raising her. Jay has always been the one to get immensely attached so Kitty Kitty stayed. Huh, apparently he’d adopted Ophelia’s name for the kitten without even realizing so. He had to text her about it. Straightening up from where he was crouched and busy with helping the pup to de-tangle himself, Jay found himself once again leveled out height-wise with the woman before him. “Maybe you could bring him over to my place when things get too hectic, so I can babysit him and help with the training, and then when things get calmer, I return him and you can enjoy some time together? I mean, I’ve had more experience with babysitting actual babies, but it can’t be that hard, right?” He knew it was crazy of him to offer this and the woman seemed like someone who’d likely dump the dog on his porch and never return, and he wasn’t judging because he found single parents to be some sort of superheroes, but he couldn’t afford having a dog all for himself so yeah...basically the offer was a hopeful and a risky one. Still, how could he not offer to help a single mother out? He wasn’t heartless!