but he didn’t seem to mind. We went to the movies and talked really loud and annoyed other diners when we went to dinner, and we hung out at the studio and their apartment. Ty and I made out in the darkness on the balcony, overlooking the city skyline, all lit up at night. Sometimes we went into his bedroom and talked and kissed on his bed, but I kept breaking away when it got too heavy, and he didn’t push me. Sometimes I wished he would, though. Guess I’d found me a gentleman. A gentleman rock star - I hadn’t realized they even existed. Anyway, it had only been a few weeks and it wasn’t like we’d had the whole “are you my boyfriend?” “yes” “are you my girlfriend?” “yes” conversation and updated our Facebook relationship statuses or anything, but we were good. It was on and I was officially happy.
***
Later that week, I was walking slowly down Randlewood Avenue with Mads and Vanya, a stack of ‘Found’ posters in my arm. Vanya was holding a roll of tape and we paused at each lamppost we came to. I held a poster with a photo of the dog on it against the post and Vanya taped it up. Mads supervised. We had been putting these things up for a couple of weeks now - mostly Rory and I were charged with the job and even though we’d been doing it forever Mom still wouldn’t let us stop. For some reason they kept getting torn down, so we had to repaper the entire neighbourhood. Mom told Rory to drop them into all the mailboxes for two blocks around us, but I doubted he had done it. He had really grown attached to the dog. He was teaching it to sit and everything. And it was working – he would sit when Rory told him to, and every fifth time you told him to stay, he would not come over and slobber all over you. It was an improvement. Mom and Dad had a hell of a time washing the stink off of him - they had been doing it in the bathtub but moved the whole operation out to the backyard when he started shaking soap suds out of his fur and all over them and the room. Mom didn’t seem to have such a grudge against him now that he didn’t smell so dead and she could tell him to sit when she walked by and he wouldn’t jump her. He was even allowed in the house more now. But we weren’t keeping him, Mom had made that clear. Dad didn’t seem to mind either way. It was probably a good thing he was going though, as much as he had grown on me and hadn’t humped my leg since that first day, Rory had dubbed him Poo Bum and the stupid dog had learnt it was his name so now any time you wanted him to come, you had to call ‘Poo’. It was a travesty.
“What I don’t get is why Mrs. Fyffe is so swoony over that Mr. Darcy guy,” Mads said as she watched me hold a poster against a pole. “I mean he’s a bit of an ass, don’t you think? Completely full of himself.”
“Mmm, maybe he’s proud,” Vanya suggested.
“What’s he got to be proud of? All I know is Fyffe must have a thing for arrogant jack asses.”
“Finish the book, Mads,” Vanya sighed.
“Or at least watch the movie,” I said. “I watched the movie last week – it’s insanely long, but I don’t know, you have to love Darcy,” I shared a smile with Vanya.
Mads turned to me, appalled. “Oh jeez. You too?” She shook her head in disgust. “Well I’m not interested in arrogant jack asses. I like adorable, sweet boys who love me, like Dev.”
“Dev loves you?” I said doubtfully.
Mads nodded, smiling blissfully. She twirled on the spot in happiness.
“So you two are back together?”
“I called him last night and then I went over and we talked and I cried and he forgave me.”
“Wow,” I said. “Congratulations Mads.”
“I plan to spend every night this week with him to make up for being a drunken skeez.”
“How are you going to write the essay if you spend every night with Dev and you don’t even know what the book’s about?” Vanya said. “You know it’s due next week, right?” My stomach flippity-flopped.
***
Later that week, I was walking slowly down Randlewood Avenue with Mads and Vanya, a stack of ‘Found’ posters in my arm. Vanya was holding a roll of tape and we paused at each lamppost we came to. I held a poster with a photo of the dog on it against the post and Vanya taped it up. Mads supervised. We had been putting these things up for a couple of weeks now - mostly Rory and I were charged with the job and even though we’d been doing it forever Mom still wouldn’t let us stop. For some reason they kept getting torn down, so we had to repaper the entire neighbourhood. Mom told Rory to drop them into all the mailboxes for two blocks around us, but I doubted he had done it. He had really grown attached to the dog. He was teaching it to sit and everything. And it was working – he would sit when Rory told him to, and every fifth time you told him to stay, he would not come over and slobber all over you. It was an improvement. Mom and Dad had a hell of a time washing the stink off of him - they had been doing it in the bathtub but moved the whole operation out to the backyard when he started shaking soap suds out of his fur and all over them and the room. Mom didn’t seem to have such a grudge against him now that he didn’t smell so dead and she could tell him to sit when she walked by and he wouldn’t jump her. He was even allowed in the house more now. But we weren’t keeping him, Mom had made that clear. Dad didn’t seem to mind either way. It was probably a good thing he was going though, as much as he had grown on me and hadn’t humped my leg since that first day, Rory had dubbed him Poo Bum and the stupid dog had learnt it was his name so now any time you wanted him to come, you had to call ‘Poo’. It was a travesty.
“What I don’t get is why Mrs. Fyffe is so swoony over that Mr. Darcy guy,” Mads said as she watched me hold a poster against a pole. “I mean he’s a bit of an ass, don’t you think? Completely full of himself.”
“Mmm, maybe he’s proud,” Vanya suggested.
“What’s he got to be proud of? All I know is Fyffe must have a thing for arrogant jack asses.”
“Finish the book, Mads,” Vanya sighed.
“Or at least watch the movie,” I said. “I watched the movie last week – it’s insanely long, but I don’t know, you have to love Darcy,” I shared a smile with Vanya.
Mads turned to me, appalled. “Oh jeez. You too?” She shook her head in disgust. “Well I’m not interested in arrogant jack asses. I like adorable, sweet boys who love me, like Dev.”
“Dev loves you?” I said doubtfully.
Mads nodded, smiling blissfully. She twirled on the spot in happiness.
“So you two are back together?”
“I called him last night and then I went over and we talked and I cried and he forgave me.”
“Wow,” I said. “Congratulations Mads.”
“I plan to spend every night this week with him to make up for being a drunken skeez.”
“How are you going to write the essay if you spend every night with Dev and you don’t even know what the book’s about?” Vanya said. “You know it’s due next week, right?” My stomach flippity-flopped.
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