"Did you get Lucky?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"A dog question." Sara picked up the bags from the supermarket and carried them into the condo.
"Yes I did. Did you get lucky too?"
"I did, I got all the groceries I wanted."
"That isn't exactly what I meant."
"It's all that matters to me."
"You're such a boring person."
"Thanks Dean, you're a true brother." Sara dropped the bags on the floor. Yes Dean was her brother, not blood brother but he used to be her brother in a foster family. Baby brother. They met in the last family she had been in before she went to Harvard and kept in touch during that time. Two years later he was placed in another family, they lost contact and when you're young, you don't bother too much about finding foster brothers and sisters. Or she didn't. They ran into each other in Santa Barbara, where Dean lived and worked in a supermarket. After a night of talking, a day of more talking they decided they had even more stories to tell each other and didn't want to lose contact again. For a few weeks they talked every day on the phone, most times for hours and then Dean decided he could also work and live in Los Angeles. The company he was employed with, gave him a job in Santa Monica, they decided to share a place and never regretted it.
Another new thing in Sara's life, she shared her home with a man, she wasn't involved with. She asked herself a few times if her subconscious was sexual interested in Dean, even when he was younger, but she came always up with the same answer: no. She loved him like a little brother, like the baby brother, she always wished for when she was a child.
"I am, I let you carry the bags, a boyfriend or admire had carried them for you. Your brother doesn't care."
"When I wished for a brother I wished for one with manners."
"I got Lucky, remember."
"Yeah, my Lucky." Sara bent down and hugged the Golden Retriever. When she got the dog she was a puppy and right from the beginning she felt like she was the luckiest person on earth to have her, so she called her Lucky. She was lucky to have her in her life.
"You shouldn't hug a dog, you should hug a man, get on the knees for him and not for her."
"Dean, please."
"I can get you one."
"The men you know don't date women."
"They're not all gay."
"You work in a gay porn shop, how many straight men need…I don't know…prostate toys?"
"Some men like to experience new feelings. Pretty good feelings."
"No more details, please." Sara covered her ears.
"Pussy."
"Don't talk about things you've no clue about." She got up, took the leash from the chair. "I bought and carried the groceries, you put them away and prepare dinner. Fags are good in doing housewife duty. Come on Lucky, time to go out for a walk."
"Unless you're a dyke don't call me fag!"
"You're my brother, I call you whatever I want." She blew him a kiss and left the kitchen. Time for her and Lucky to spend some time together. While Sara was at work her dog was most times with Dean or a dog sitter when he had to work early. Usually her brother worked late shifts, so he could take care of the Golden Retriever until the afternoon, making it only two hours or so until Sara came home. When he started earlier or left for a couple of hours, he took Lucky to the sitter. Dogs could stay home alone for a while, but it was more fun for them to be with other dogs and play.
"Where would you like to go to? Up the mountains into the wood or down to the beach?" Lucky took her leash into her snout and pulled her owner with her. "The mountains? A good decision, it's warm, we'll find some shade up there and when we're lucky, even a little bit of wind. And fresh water for you. We can go to the small waterfall, maybe it still has water and you can take a bath." Her dog loved water and swimming and Sara did too. When Lucky was in the water, she'd follow her and refresh herself.