It was an exceedingly beautiful morning. As soon as they all woke up, the girls immediately felt a sense of terrible unhappiness and unsettlement as they faced the realization that it was their last morning there before they went home.
Every one of them was extremely sad, and everyone was looking sullen as they got dressed and got ready to go down the ladder and to the house.
Uma had steeled herself for the fact that she was going to have to leave her fluffy little friend, and there was no other way. She hated it really bad, and it was terribly upsetting but she had resigned herself to it. She just hoped that she didn't see the puppy before she left, because she wasn't sure how well she'd be able to handle to overwhelming emotion that would hit her.
Evie was significantly more huggy and touchy-feely with Mal, but Mal was the same way with her. Of course, they always had an unrivalled closeness, but they were really leaning on one another as they fought through this feeling of sadness.
Audrey was quieter than usual and Jane said absolutely nothing at all.
The girls ended up outside after a few minutes, and they were headed to the house when Elmer suddenly appeared in front of them. Evie froze, stopping to look at the goose as she took in its appearance. Uma instinctually looked for her pup, but quickly reminded herself to not search. She would really rather not have to be upset.
"You're here to bite me, aren't you?" Evie questioned as she stared at the bird, and the goose just tilted his head at her and honked.
"Hey, dude, leave her alone, okay? She told me last night that she's seriously got two giant bruises on either side of her butt," Mal expressed to the goose, leaning toward it and whispering quietly. Evie looked at Mal with an expression of betrayal.
"Mal!"
"Sorry! Just don't bite her butt," Mal commanded the duck, but Evie shook her head slightly, hugging Mal from the side slightly.
"Look, if you do, I guess it's just tradition now. I'll look the other way, okay? Here's your free ticket," Evie told him, and they started toward the house once again. Evie had braced herself, fully ready for the goose to take a bite out of crime.
But he never did.
Evie paused and actually allowed herself to loosen up, enjoying the fact that he must have actually finally decided to like her and not bite her.
But there was suddenly a swift nip to her behind, and Evie closed her eyes, the bite in the exact place that he always struck. Mal snorted at Evie as she shook her head at the bluenette fondly.
"You seriously thought he wouldn't?"
"I was hoping. But it was very much in vain," Evie replied simply, and Mal hugged Evie lovingly as they traversed up the steps of the farmhouse as a certain sadness set into them more greatly.
When they entered, breakfast was already ready for the girls, and they quietly sat down at the table and ate breakfast with George and Anne. However, their conversation that ensued from their time together at the table was not one of sadness, despite the definitive feeling of it in their guts.
In fact, when they went back outside, heading for Evie's Jeep, they were all laughing and joking about Evie and Audrey's incident with the pigs.
"And I shake Uma awake, and she's totally confused, but you should have seen Jane! She nearly jumped out of her skin when I woke her up!" Mal told them as they all nodded and laughed.
"So, we grab our phones and turn on the flashlights on them to go see what had happened to Audrey and Evie now, and that's when we met you guys," Mal pointed at Anne and George with a big grin.
"By the time we get out there to you two, we were totally and completely confused and kind of worried. Uma wanted to get a big stick, but I'm not sure who she wanted to beat with it. Whatever was attacking Evie and Audrey or me for waking her up!" Mal laughed and everyone else couldn't help but join in. Uma just shrugged, mustering a bit of a grin as she unashamedly claimed her position on the situation.
Once everyone quieted down from the bout of mirth and stopped by Charlene, everyone realized that it was time. Time to say goodbye.
George cleared his throat, looking at his wife, and Anne nodded.
"It's been really nice to have y'all here, and we're going to miss you terribly," Anne expressed as they finally had to face the inevitable as they stood there before Evie's Jeep.
All of the girls offered some form of agreement, not feeling happy at all. As much as they were looking forward to home, they didn't want to leave Anne and George either.
No one really knew what to say, so George just plowed through as he always did, rather unhappy with the current situation.
"Well, y'all be careful, okay?" George told them somewhat grimly, and Anne nodded, her eyes looking terribly strange. Evie and Mal smiled at the both of them softly before hugging them both gently.
"We will. Thank you for everything. We enjoyed our five days and appreciated it so much," Mal expressed sweetly, knowing that when she said it, it was true. Despite their difficulties, they were all thankful for the experience.
"And we're going to miss you so much," Evie added with a sad smile as she squeezed them a little tighter.
George nodded quietly, and the two girls pulled away from the both of them carefully, keeping their hands on their shoulders for a moment before stepping back to allow Jane and Audrey to hug them as well.
"Y'all be sure to come back and visit," Anne told them, and Audrey nodded quickly.
"We will. Thank you, Mister George and Miss Anne, for everything," Jane expressed, and Audrey grinned.
"You guys showed me that I am able to rough it," Audrey giggled, knowing that she was most likely far from actually roughing it in a traditional sense. Anne and George chuckled in response to her joke, and the two girls pulled away.
Uma came over to them and offered them quick side hugs, not being much for long and big ones like the rest of the girls. Besides, her heart was feeling too heavy right now to concentrate on anything besides her feelings. Uma sighed deeply, offering them a smile and a salute as she headed toward the car with the rest of them.
Evie got into the Jeep and cranked it, shutting her door and rolling down all of the windows quickly as she looked down at the steering wheel with a sigh before looking at the elderly couple standing nearby with a slight smile.
Mal came around her side of the car and got in just as Jane was getting in on her side. Audrey opened her side of the car door and Uma was just behind her as she tried to keep herself together.
Uma swallowed hard, swearing that she wasn't going to do it. She wasn't going to fall apart right here. Besides, she hadn't seen the little white fluffball for the whole morning and Uma had never even had a dog or wanted a dog. There was absolutely no reason to be upset.
Yip! Yip!
Uma turned around from her place standing in front of the back door to Charlene to see the little white runt of the litter running toward her as fast as she could. Uma felt her throat tighten uncomfortably and she walked forward, falling to her knees as she opened her arms to receive the pup.
It bowled right into her and she hugged it tightly against her, burying her face into the thick fur of its neck as she sat there on the ground and held it.
Uma suddenly felt a moisture on her cheeks, and she sniffled, trying desperately to hold back the tears as she bit her gum hard. The puppy snuffled her neck, sensing her emotional state and it licked her ear softly. Uma then couldn't hold back the sob as she stroked the back of its head.
However, before she could focus on this too much, she suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle her. She looked up just barely from the puppy and realized just from the offensive shade of pink not too far from her sight that it was Audrey. This shocked her to no end, but she allowed herself to receive the comfort, knowing that she needed it if she was going to somehow leave this puppy here. She reached up and wrapped an arm around Audrey firmly.
"I'm so sorry, Uma," Audrey apologized softly, and Uma nodded, attempting desperately to get ahold of herself, but at the pup's worried whimpering, she almost fell back into sobbing again.
Uma swallowed hard and gently pulled away from Audrey as she looked down at her- no, the pup.
Uma bottom lip trembled as Audrey knelt next to her, an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. Uma's eyes were only on the puppy, though, despite her gratitude to Audrey.
"You be a good girl, okay, baby? I've got to go. You rule this farm, squirt," Uma instructed, grabbing the puppy's head in her hands and kissing her head softly before leaning her forehead against its own. It quickly moved out of her grasp and licked her nose, its head tilted innocently. Uma felt her heart seize, knowing that the puppy had no idea what was about to happen to the both of them.
Uma was just looking into its brown eyes, and Audrey squeezed Uma's shoulder comfortingly as Uma started to stand up to face the two old people. Audrey stood up with her, and she kept her hand on Uma's back.
"Y'all get her a nice home, okay? She'll make somebody a really good dog," Uma told them, trying desperately to ignore how the puppy kept jumping up onto her leg and trying to lick her limp hand hanging down. She knew if she looked back down at the little pup, she'd be in tears all over again.
George and Anne shared a glance as they looked between Uma and the little white bundle of joy that was whimpering a bit as Uma didn't pay as much attention to her as she wanted her to.
"Well, we think we've actually already found her a home," George expressed to Uma. Uma felt as if she had been slapped in the face, but she immediately berated herself, trying desperately to be happy that they had found a good home for her.
"That's good news. Are they going to take care of her well? What will she be doing?" Uma questioned, pushing her voice forward as her throat wanted to close up tightly in the midst of the fresh wave of tears that were coming upon her.
"I think her new owner will take care of her really well, and I guess she'll be just living out her days in a nice house. But we know that she'll be very happy," Anne told Uma with a smile, and Uma nodded resignedly, glad that at least the little puppy would be happy.
"Do they know what responsibility they're getting into with her? She's going to be a really big dog, after all, so she's naturally going to need some exercise and a ton of food," Uma explained, and felt the fluffball sit down on her foot. Uma almost cried then, but she held it together, not really understanding why she was so upset over an animal. One thing was for certain, though, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to leave her, despite the fact that Uma was doing that very thing now.
"Well, we're pretty sure you know what responsibility you're getting into," George told Uma with a loving smile, and Uma's eyes snapped up as soon as she registered that one particular word. Uma looked at Audrey and Audrey had a huge grin on her face as she gazed at Uma fondly.
"What? Me? I get to take her home?" Uma asked, and George nodded. Uma's eyes went wide and her lips spread into an enormous smile as she surged forward, hugging the two old people.
"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Uma cried, squeezing them tightly.
"Don't thank us, dear, thank Audrey. She asked us if we could possibly let you have the pup on y'all's first night here, and we told her we'd have to check to make sure you'd be ready for the responsibility," Anne told her, and Uma let go of the both of them, her face somewhat blank in surprise as she turned to face Audrey slowly.
For her part, Audrey just offered Uma an awkward but soft smile as she eyed the pirate sweetly. Uma shook her head, pointing her finger at Audrey teasing before crushing Audrey into a giant hug.
"Thank you," Uma murmured under her breath nearby Audrey's ear, and Audrey squeezed her tightly in return.
"You're welcome."
"M, did you put in a good word for me?" Evie suddenly asked from her position in the driver's seat with the windows rolled down.
"No, because you already put in a bad word for yourself with me when you were a dog," Mal told her, and Uma pulled away from Audrey with a laugh as she looked at a pouting Evie and a grinning Mal in the Jeep. Uma then felt a scratching at her leg, and she bent down to pick up her- yes, her puppy.
"Hey, baby girl," Uma greeted, holding the puppy in her arms as it licked her face happily. Uma stroked her head and Audrey reached up, petting it with Uma. Uma offered Audrey a truly touched smile as she nodded to her. Audrey returned it sweetly.
George cleared his throat, nodding as he looked at them and steeled his jaw in an attempt to control himself. Uma grinned at him widely and she offered him a tip of her hat in true western fashion. He returned the gesture, and Uma could have sworn that his eyes looked a little glassier than usual.
"You ready to come home?" Uma asked the pup softly, rediverting her attentions to the little fluffball that was demanding it.
It just yipped at her before nibbling at her nose, and Uma felt her heart swell with happiness as she turned toward the Jeep, following Audrey into it as she got in her seat placing her puppy on her lap as she held it carefully, the white bundle sitting on her and looking out the window elegantly.
Evie put Charlene into drive, and everyone started to wave at George and Anne as they turned to leave out the driveway. Everyone was hanging out of their nearest windows as they waved and yelled goodbyes while Evie headed down the drive.
Evie turned onto the dirt road, and before long, they were on their way toward the highway.
They went down the road in peaceful quiet, Mal and Jane looking out of their windows. Audrey was busy playing on her phone, and Uma was playing with the puppy in her lap. Ultimately, all was relaxed.
That is, until Uma's puppy started to cough a bit. Uma immediately furrowed her brow in concern. Audrey raised an eyebrow as she looked at the puppy as its coughing continuing.
"What is it, hon?" Uma questioned. However, she quickly got her answer as the puppy puked over her knees and in the floorboard.
"Holy crap!" Uma cried in shock, totally not expecting it to spew like a waterfall. Audrey jumped, putting her feet over into Jane's floorboard.
"It almost got on my shoes!" Audrey screeched, and Mal leaned over the console, trying to see what had happened. Jane was wide-eyed and Evie was completely confused.
"What happened?! Uma?! What happened?!" Evie demanded, and Uma grimaced as she realized the puppy was going once again.
"Oh, boy, y'all, round two!" Uma announced, and Evie got even more concerned as Mal returned to her place in her seat with a disgusted expression.
"What is going on in my backseat?!" Evie questioned, and Uma finally answered her.
"Squirt's blowing chunks all over your floorboard!" Uma cried, and Evie's eyes went wide as she attempted to direct her attention both to the road and to the pirate in the back.
"Heckfire, round three, here we go!" Uma cried, rubbing the puppy's back as she attempted to soothe its suffering while it puked.
"Uma! Don't just let it puke all over the place! Hang it out the window or something!" Evie cried, and Mal laughed at the very idea of a white fluffball hanging out of Evie's window while she was driving down the road.
"What the heck?! We can't do that!" Uma replied, and Evie shook her head firmly.
"This is why I didn't need a dog! Hang it out the window, Uma, it's ruining my interior!" Evie screeched and Uma shook her head as she was totally at a loss as to what to do.
"We're getting a barf bag! As soon as I see a service station!" Evie announced, and Mal just grinned as she reached over and squeezed Evie's shoulder firmly. She looked at the people in the back seat sympathetically, shrugging as they went down the road.
When Evie finally looked over at her, Mal offered a smile to the other girl. Evie sighed deeply before returning it softly. Evie took her right hand off of the steering wheel, offering it to Mal, and they laced their hands together tightly.
Carsick puppies and everything, they were going home. And there was no one else Evie and Mal would rather be with on the trip.
A/N: Okay… I've been typing and crying (not quite crying, but pretty dang close sometimes). I can't help it, Uma and Audrey's friendship is one of my greatest weaknesses just below Mal and Evie's sisterhood/friendship thing. That darned dog got me bad. But I hope you guys are all happy with Uma's situation. Uma got her puppy finally, and I am so glad of it. :) Let me know what you guys thought, and hang with me, there's one more chapter plus a bonus one at the end. ;)