Every year, whenever he managed to squeeze a few days off, Leon made sure to visit Claire. Despite their hectic schedules, it was easy to justify their visits. However, lately, their schedules seemed to be constantly misaligned. Claire was always occupied—chasing leads, helping people, diving headfirst into problems that had nothing to do with her because someone had to take action.
Leon wasn’t much better.
Most of the time, he had no idea where he’d be next week. He yearned for more time with her—more mornings spent drinking terrible coffee in her kitchen, more evenings listening to her rant about motorcycles or whatever reckless adventure she’d gotten herself into lately.
But wishing didn’t change much. So whenever he could, he visited. Sometimes, Claire wasn’t even home. Those visits usually ended with him stopping by Jill’s apartment. Jill Valentine had agreed to look after Cowboy whenever Claire was away, which meant Leon eventually got to know her too.
At this point, their routine had become almost predictable. Leon would arrive, Cowboy would freak out for about five seconds, and then immediately remember there were more pressing matters demanding his attention.
—
Today Jill had asked him to watch Cowboy for a few hours while she handled something across town. Leon hadn’t seen Claire in over a month, not that he was counting. Cowboy sat beside the apartment door, ears perked up, waiting.
For Jill, maybe.
For Claire, probably.
For anyone else, apparently.
Leon leaned against the wall beside him. “You miss Claire, bud?”
Cowboy glanced at him, then gave him a look.
Leon frowned. “Wow. Okay.”
Nothing. Not even a courtesy tail wag. Then he remembered something. A few months ago, he had been sitting in Claire’s kitchen when he had noticed her talking to Cowboy in a way that initially struck him as absurd. She kept referring to herself as Mama.
At first, Leon thought it was a joke. Then, he noticed Cowboy reacting every time she said it. The dog didn’t know who Claire was. To Cowboy, she wasn’t Claire; she was Mama. The moment someone uttered the word, his ears would perk up, his tail would wag, and he’d immediately become attentive. Leon had laughed so hard that day that he nearly choked on his coffee.
Afterward, he tested it himself. “Mama’s gonna be home soon.”
Cowboy had practically launched himself across the room.
At the time, it had been amusing however, it was becoming a problem because Cowboy only seemed interested when Claire was called Mama, and there was absolutely no way Leon was ever going to get comfortable saying that out loud—not without feeling completely ridiculous. Cowboy let out a soft whine and shifted closer to the door.
Leon sighed. “Claire’s gonna be home soon.”
Nothing...Cowboy didn’t even acknowledge him.
Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is humiliating.”
Cowboy remained thoroughly unimpressed. Another minute passed, Cowboy adjusted his position but never took his eyes off the door.
Waiting.
Leon stared at him.
Cowboy stared at the door.
The standoff continued.
Finally, Leon caved. “Mama’s gonna be home soon.”
Cowboy’s head snapped around so quickly that Leon was genuinely concerned for his neck. His tail immediately started wagging against the floor.
Leon groaned and let his forehead fall against the wall. “Yeah, okay. That’s embarrassing.”
Cowboy barked happily.
Leon lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at the dog. For a second, he swore Cowboy looked smug. And somehow, that felt exactly like something Claire’s dog would do, exactly like his mama.
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