Ava stiffens the second she hears what he has to say. “You’re going to…..” She trails off, unable to bring herself to say the words. Glancing over her shoulder, she looks out onto the porch where the dogs are snuggling. She lowers her gaze, the thought of Lily being put to sleep really hurting. She knows that if Cameron has come to this decision then Lily must really be suffering. “When are……when are you going to have her put down?”
Cameron looked up from the lime once it was cut, inhaling it through a eye-full of tears, trying to calm himself down with the sharp tang of the lime. He set it back down to chop it up more before putting it into the blender to blend with the rest of the fruits thrown in, putting the blender on low.
"Thursday." It was currently Tuesday. "I wanted to put her out of her misery as soon as I could," He murmured through his shaky voice, inhaling sharply again and shaking his head.
Ava stares down at the floor for several moments. Thursday really is soon. She steps over to him and very lightly rests her hand on his arm. “Cameron, I know that we’ve been fighting but I’m here for you,” She says quietly, her words barely a whisper. This is hard on her so it must be almost unbearable for Cameron. “Just….if you need anything then call me.”
Cameron inhaled shakily and shut his eyes, nodding slowly. "Thank you Ava," He whispered back, a tear flicking out of his eye. He wiped his face and shook his head, sniffling softly and opening his eyes again. "Do you want any of this smoothie?" He asked her softly. He didn't want to think about it until the time came. It was going to hurt like hell, but… it gave him a chance to start new. He knew what to do for bigger dogs, he knew how to care for them and… he can help even more. Lily was the start.
Ava’s hand lingers on his arm for a moment let before she let’s it fall back to her side. Emotions aren’t really her strong suit but she wants to be there for Cameron and Lily. She blinks once before nodding. “Yeah, I would.” Staying over for a few minutes might give them a chance to talk. She wants to help, she really does, but trying to figure out how to go about doing that will be hard.
Cameron watched the fruits blend together, zoning out at the flashes of color. He'd be alright. He'd survive without his pup. He just needed to get more. He wouldn't be able to live without the Lily-shaped hole in his heart, nor did he want to replace it, but he would need to. He wouldn't be able to function without a high-energy pup. Besides, Ava and Kreja would help too. Cameron sniffled softly and shut his eyes again.
Ava glances over her shoulder a few more times to check on the pups. She doesn’t want to think what’s going to happen in a few days. With a soft sigh, she turns back to look at Cameron. It doesn’t look like he’s handling this well, and she can’t blame him, but she doesn’t know what to do or say. It’s not like she can make the pain stop. Loosing Lily is going to be hard and no one can make it not be.
Cameron stopped the blender after a few seconds, dragging the blending unit down and pouring it out in two cups. He handed her a cup, sitting down on the porch again, his big feet tapping the floor gently. He sat down with a sigh, sipping it.
"I'm gonna miss you, Lily girl," He mumbled over his drink. Lily's tail stopped thumping for a few seconds, and she whimpered softly, sensing her owner's pain.
"It's gonna be hard for me, but I can do it."
Ava accepts the cup before silently following him out of the house and onto the porch. She sits down a little ways away from him, fidgeting a little. Tears start to gather in her eyes when she hears him talk to Lily. She hates to see him like this and she hates seeing Lily suffer. With a soft sigh, she sets the cup down and tries to focus on anything other than what’s going on with Lily.
Cameron stretched over and gently stroked his pup's head. "Ava, can I ask you something?" He suddenly asked softly, glancing at her. "I know you probably don't want to think about this, but our second time apart got me thinking. You really make me happy. I haven't felt better in the week I knew about Lily's condition. So… um… I wanted to ask if we– I can be your boyfriend." He really needed someone to lean on, and Ava was that person.
Ava looks over to Cameron and nods her head a little. “Yeah, what is it?” She asks, lightly tapping her fingers against the porch. Surprised by his question, she remains silent for several long moments. That’s not what she was expecting in the least. For a moment, she’s honestly not sure if he’s being serious or not but she doubts that he would joke about this, especially right now. “I…..I would like that.”
Cameron didn't look up at her until she agreed, tilting his head up at her with a meek little smile. It felt nice on his face, that had constantly been frowning heavily.
"Really? Even after… everything?" He asked softly, wanting her to think of everything. He'd be in a really rough patch after Thursday, but he knew with her help he'd be able to launch off with new puppies in no time. He knew he was going to be dependent on her to be there for him, and he might as well have made it official.
Ava nods her head. “Even after everything. I know that we’ve had some big fights and that things have been……rough between us lately but I never wanted you out of my life. You make him feel comfortable and happy,” She tells him, allowing a soft smile to appear on her face. “I’m always going to be there for you, Cameron, always.”
Cameron let his smile match hers, almost in shaky relief. "Thank you. I… I really needed something good to rely on. It feels like destiny has just been throwing everything bad at me since I came back from Russia. But I know I'll recover. With you at my side I know I'll be okay."
(Alright so this is the last skip I'm going to suggest because I literally cannot go on with Lily passing away (also this is a great place to skip). I was just thinking maybe it's a few months later? I can start.)
(I’m with ya there. Having to play out Lily passing away would be way too sad. Yeah, a few months later sounds good!)
It was a sleepy early morning in June where one could see Cameron sitting at his kitchen table with his credit card out. That was never really a good sign, like ever, but he had stopped with spending sprees recently. Lily had been euthanized peacefully and cremated to be homed in the most expensive grave Cameron could ask for, with her name engraved on the side. He had her ashes in a very safe place, near the nightstand, standing loyally along with her small St. Bernard trinket that Ava had purchased. Cameron had recovered well, with Ava at his side. In fact, he had gotten up early not to disturb her with his phone call. Ava had decided to come down for a couple weeks with him for his birthday, which was quite nice.
The feeling of Kreja sitting on her chest and demanding breakfast is what abruptly wakes Ava from her peaceful slumber. “Kreja,” She groans, gently pushing him off of her. This does nothing to stop him from licking her face and nudging her with his nose until she gets out of bed. Ten minutes later, she’s dress and ready for the day. She heads down the stairs, her energetic pup right on her heels. Kreja barrels into the kitchen, barking excitedly. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” She says, yawning. What greets her is the sight of Cameron on the phone with his credit card out. That’s not great. “Good morning.” She presses a quick kiss to his cheek before feeding the very impatient Kreja. “What are you doing?” Hopefully it’s not something too crazy.
Cameron laughed into his phone after reading off his credit card info. "I know, that's the dog I was telling you about. They'll love him. He's an older dog but he's still super energetic," Cameron cooed into the phone, smiling at Ava when he got a kiss on the cheek, gently touching hers in response. "Alright, I'll pick them up later today, then. Yep, I already bought collars and beds, and their food. Yep! Thanks so much, I'm really excited." He hung up and grinned at Ava.
"I'm getting puppies! They're two wonderful girls who are already spayed and house-trained. I forgot to tell you, though you could have guessed by the beds I have up in the room," He hummed thoughtfully. "But I used my card and I supposed it'd be my somewhat early birthday present." He stood up and stretched with a yawn. "But I wanted to surprise you, which is why I got up earlier than what we usually do."
Ava heads over to the coffee machine and fights with it for a moment or two. She’s finally gotten to the point where she can work the damn thing without bribing the house down. Once she’s retrieved her mostly creamer coffee and another mug of coffee for Cameron, she sits down at the table and waits for he to get off the phone. She takes a sip of the steaming liquid before silently passing him his. “You’re getting puppies?!” She completely light up. “How old are they? What are their names? What breed ?” It’s hard to stop the rapid fire of questions. She ultimately forgets all about the coffee. Who needs caffeine when puppies are being brought up?
"Thanks babe!" He forgot about his coffee at the questions, beaming. "I got goldies! They are just the cutest things ever! I know one of them is named Rosy but I think we'll be able to name the second. They're a few months old, and they're ripe for more training and really excited to learn! They're really smart and they're finally ready to be adopted off away from their mom and dad. I was sent pictures of their parents, they might get really big, but that's okay. They are just so adorable!" He pulled up a picture of the two puppies. They were certainly little goldie puppies, with the shiny golden fur with small splotches of white all over their bodies.
"The one on the left is Rosy," He informed, pointing to the pup. She had less splotches and she was giving a big doggy smile to the camera, her tail wagging so clearly in the picture. "Her sister's the unnamed one, and I wanted to name her with you." The one on the left was also giving a doggy smile and wagging her tail, and there were white splotches all over her, on her face and body, but she was still shiny and fluffy-looking.
“You got Golden Retrievers?” She’s just about over the moon now. The second she sees the pictures of the little balls of fluff, she falls head over heels in love. “Aw, aren’t they just the cutest little babies?” She’s always had a soft spot for goldens and these two pups are no exception. All of the cooing and the excitement causes Kreja to get all wound up again. He barks and jumps up onto one of the chairs before climbing onto the table. She scoops him up and shows him the pictures on the phone. “What do you think, handsome? Do you want two new friends?” While Kreja may not understand what’s going on, he does know that the humans are excited and that makes him excited. “We’ll have to think of a perfect name for Rosy’s sister.”
"Yes!! They are just the sweetest little girls and I want mooooore! I wanted the whole lot of 'em but then I realized that's a whole lotta pups so I didn't." He smiled a bit. "But these two girls are going to change us for the good, I just know it." He reached over and gave Kreja and Ava a hug, leaning his head against the latter's head. "I also wanted to thank you for these last few months. I know I've just been all over the place and I've just been a total asshole to you. It's bad karma for us, and I want to clear it up between us. I love you, Ava." He pulled away and set his hand on hers, squeezing it gently.
“Never ask me to stop you from buying more puppies because I know that I’d be encouraging you to get even more,” She laughs, her eyes bright. A few years ago she started to volunteer at the animal shelter and it’s been almost impossibly hard not to adopt each and every animal there. With a smile, she rests her head against his shoulder. “These puppies are going to make our lives even better.” She can’t wait to actually meet the little ones and shower them with love. “It’s been a rough few months but we made it through them. Hey, you being an ass is just making us even for all of the times I’ve been one.” She gently squeezes his hand back. “I love you too, Cameron.” Kreja barks and sloppily licks each of their cheeks to say that he loves them too.
Cameron laughed softly and leaned his head against hers, smiling warmly down at her and Kreja. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips gently, then gave one to Kreja for being such a good boy, and return for his love.
"You know, Ava, I think I'm okay. I know I'll never stop grieving Lily but now I can move on. It's what she what have wanted, I think. I can be happy and let her go." He squeezed Ava closer with a soft, happy sigh, shutting his eyes. He felt so light and happy with his new girlfriend, with her nestled up in his arm.
"Where do you think we should go from here?" He suddenly asked softly.
Ava nuzzles the top of Kreja’s head. “You are such a ham,” She tells him affectionately. With a soft smile, she kisses Cameron back. “I’m really happy to hear that. Lily was such an amazing dog and she loved you so much. I know that she would have wanted you to be happy.” The Saint Bernard was the sweetest dog in the world and she always made those around her happy, even during hard times. She leans lightly up against him, sighing contently. It’s crazy to think that she’s here right now, this happy. She always thought that her life would end before she even got a chance to turn thirty and it came close several times. Being here in Cameron’s arms just makes her all the more relieved that she got a chance. “What do you mean?” She asks, looking up to him.