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shoulders.
    “It doesn’t matter now. A while. Rachel and I plan to get married.”
    All Tennyson could do was nod. Her mouth felt too dry to speak. James never wanted to commit to say they “lived together” much less even hint about marriage. She tipped her chin high. Her mother raised three daughters as a single mom. If she taught her girls anything it was,  “hold your  head high. If a man  doesn’t want you, you don’t grovel.” Second choice would never work, she deserved better than that. She deserved better than James.
    Tennyson led Mobley to her car and guided the key into the lock. The dog patiently waited, knowing the routine, as she slid the worn wool blanket over the front seat before he jumped in. The first raindrop hit her forehead. In a few seconds it turned into a cloudburst.
    Rain dribbled down her face and soaked her clothes. She’d forgotten her coat at the restaurant. Looking up at the light in the second story window, she wondered if Rachel was there. How could her friend betray her? The sky lit brilliant white with a crack of lighting that pulled her away from her thoughts.
    By the time Tennyson returned to the front, her bags were out on the steps.
    James was right. There wasn’t much in this house that was hers. It was all his. She didn’t want any of it anyway. He’d even returned her heart in a matter of seconds and it was probably at the bottom of one of the reusable shopping bags.
    “Oh, no…” She mumbled to herself. She grabbed for the first bag. “Please let it be here.” She rummaged through the clothes. “Damn,” she said as she went through the last bag. Tennyson’s great-grandmothers porcelain box wasn’t there. It was the only thing in the house she cared about. She looked at the doorbell and bit her lip. She couldn’t face him again. Not right now. She’d come back for the box in the next few days.
    She trudged back to the car and threw the rest of her belongings in the back and then slid in. Grasping the wheel, her vision blurred with tears. Mobley, panting and wagging his tail gave her a wet and sloppy kiss that ran up her cheek to her ear.
    Tennyson sniffed back tears and scratched the brown scruffy fur behind the dog’s ears. “I got the better end of the deal–James is a bastard, jerk, an asshat…” her words trailed off as Mobley gave her another lick.
    She pulled her phone from her purse. She looked at the photo of her and Rachel smiling with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and pressed Delete . Then she found James, followed suit and dropped her phone back into her purse. She didn’t need anyone, at least not a human . All she needed was Mobley. He’d always be there. He’d never let her down.
    Tennyson backed out of the parking space and headed out into the city. Even though she desperately wanted to look in the rearview mirror, she kept her eyes trained on the road. When she got around the corner, she pulled into an empty lot. Tennyson screamed and hit the steering wheel. Heartbreak and betrayal ate away her resolve, and she cried until there was nothing left.

    December. Six-months later…
    “Hey, Shel,” Tennyson said as she grabbed the leash off the hook on the wall. “I’ve got a few hours before my shift at the restaurant begins. I’m going to take Mobley to the dog park before it gets too crowded and they’re predicting a storm for later today.”
    Shelly popped her head around the corner and pulled out an earbud. “I’ll be home late tonight, so leave the light on.”
    “Sure. I have an extra shift too, so you might beat me.” If someone told Tennyson that her life would work out okay without James, she never would have believed them. But now, it was water under the bridge. She’d found an apartment with a girl from work, and her mom loaned her a few hundred dollars to buy necessities like new sheets and bath towels. Tennyson picked up all the extra shifts at work and even though she usually felt tired, she’d made