Well, here we are.
When the dinner invitation was repeated the following day, via a phone call from Emily with Milk barking in the background and Cal barking right back at him for some reason, Gillian was as quick in accepting as she had been in turning it down the day before. Cal had taken the day off and dedicated it to Emily, which was becoming a normal routine of her visits, which meant none of them had been around the office. Gillian had not missed Cal per se, nor Emily: but it did feel weird not to have that brown goofy furry ball of Milk around the office.
It was crazy, the pet had only been around one day and had spent most of it locked up with Cal in his office, but Gillian found herself missing the silent presence of the animal. As it turned out, the feeling must have been mutual because when Cal opened the door of his house when she arrived for dinner Milk squeezed past him and immediately jumped her with his usual friendly enthusiasm, at the risk of making her drop the bottle of wine she was carrying as a contribution to dinner.
"Bloody hell! Milk, get back in here!" Cal grabbed the collar and gently pulled him inside, making room for Gillina to come in. "Good Lord, one of these days he's going to run off for good!"
"Nah, I have a feeling he wouldn't really let you out of his sight," Gillian commented while answering MIlk's insistent request for pets. "You should have seen him yesterday when you left him with me."
"Well that's good to know. Oh, thanks love!"
He took the bottle she was offering and nodded in appreciation, then they both went into the kitchen where Emily was busy at the stove. Busy didn't quite cut it, she looked laser focused and deeply involved with the preparation of something and when Gillian looked at Cal for clarification he just shrugged.
"I've been banned from the kitchen," he explained, then picked up two glasses and headed to the living room. "She's hell bent on cooking something a classmate taught her, and I am not supposed to ask questions."
"Wow," Gillian chuckled, taking the glass he poured for her. "Who knew missing someone would make you this soft. So if I take some time off and come back with demands you'd just say yes to everything?"
"Foster, if you'd take some time off I'd first throw a party to celebrate you finally taking time and space for yourself." Cal grinned as he joined her on the couch, then stopped to think about their conversation. "But yes, I'd bend over backwards with anything you'd want to make sure you don't get used to leaving."
Gillian smiled, a soft and thoughtful smile that meant to thank him for his convoluted way to show her his appreciation and respect, understanding he had gone that route instead of simply saying they both knew the place would have likely gone up in flames without her around. She preferred his take, more personal rather than professional, certainly more suited for the current setting: the two of them on his couch, Milk snuggled between them all happy with himself, toasting and drinking while talking silly things and waiting for dinner to be ready. They had been in a similar setting countless times, minus the dog going crazy trying to decide whose pets he wanted more, but for a fleeting moment it all felt strangely new and different to Gillian. She hid the passing thoughts by looking down at Milk and complimenting the shiny update name tag attached to his collar, trying not to give away how familiarly new that evening already felt.
What she didn't know then, was that the dynamic permeating the Lightman household was there to stay, destined to spread to the office whenever Milk was around.
Emily stayed for a week and she would take care of the dog during those days when Cal was at work, but she usually came around towards the end of the day to go home with her father and would bring Milk, much to Gillian's delight. No matter what, the dog always looked like he was smiling from ear to ear, especially with the pink tongue of him constantly hanging out of his mouth as if it could fall off any second.
When Emily left to go back to college Cal tried to leave him at home, thinking he have had enough time to adjust: but Milk was far from having matured enough and would always wail like a maniac when left alone, so Cal would phone Gillian and ask if it was ok to bring him to work. Not that he really needed to ask permission, certainly not to her, but on the other hand she wasn't going to question whether Milk was as impossible to leave alone as Cal made him out to be.
Quickly and swiftly, the dog became a staple of the Lightman Group: the employees enjoyed the silly and quiet energy he seemed to bring and they got used to seeing him trot around the hallways with a toy in his mouth looking for someone to play with. If there were clients or suspects he would stay in Cal's office, one of the few places where he felt ok being left on his own, but it usually was for short periods of time because there was always someone free - and willing - to check on him for a few minutes. Unsolicited, some of the employees even took turns to walk him every now and then when the bosses were both out, to distract him from the fact that his two favourite humans were not around. If Cal was out or busy and Gillian wasn't, there was no question who Milk wanted to be with: he could easily be found at her feet in the lab or sprawled on the couch in her office, or maybe sitting close to her desk if she was eating, with his muzzle gently but rather eloquently resting on her lap asking for a bite or hoping to catch something "accidentally" falling from her hands.
The first weekend after Emily's departure Gillian woke up, looked outside the bedroom window, groaned loudly at the grey dull sky and rolled on the other side to go back to sleep. Except she wasn't that kind of person and got out of bed shortly after, wandering around her apartment wrapped up in warm lounge clothes and thinking there was no way in hell she was going outside if she could help it. But then, a couple of hours later, Cal knocked at her door with a hot chocolate and Milk on the leash asking if she wanted to come to the dog park and she was ready to go and out the door within a few minutes. Taking Milk to the dog park became a recurring thing for the weekends, despite the icy cold and sometimes unpleasant weather. It was good for Milk to socialise with other dogs, although he still liked to spend most of his time outside within reach of his humans, and they would mostly sit on a bench and discuss work until it got too cold to bear. Milk wasn't big on fetching, but he did like to run around the park with his favourite toy in his mouth as if to show it off or looking for someone to play with.
Needless to say, his antics delighted Gillian and made Cal grumble and roll his eyes, but despite his jokes about having picked a defective dog she knew the bond was already strong. They both enjoyed simple things and good company, and in a way they were both simultaneously guarded and intense with their emotions; Cal could easily looked cold and detached most of the times but there was no holding him back when something truly touched him, and Milk would go from feeling awkward and shy with someone new to show uncontrolled affection and loyalty to those he felt closer to. Gillian knew Cal had had a dog before, but as funny as it was to imagine him smooching the little pug Isobel she was convinced that a pet like Milk was a far better fit for him. Maybe it was because, as Cal put it, they were just two old souls, or maybe because Cal was a lot lonelier than what he let show with Emily gone: either way, Gillian was glad that she was allowed to be part of the dynamic, if only as a third wheel.
Everybody here must be a cat lover...c'mon people, let me know what you think!