The Power of Salvation

by Passarelli, Caterina

  “Your man hunk waiting on you?” Katie asks as I rush past the computer station to avoid her grilling me with inappropriate questions.

  “Girl, you’re crazy!” I shout, running through the automatic double doors where my man hunk is, like always, waiting for me with a smile on his face in yet another finely tailored suit.

  I want to rip that thing off. Now.

  Underneath that grey suit I want to see those tattoos wrapped around my body. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve truly been with each other in that passionate way in which our relationship started.

  Luke’s trying to be a gentleman by giving me the space to deal with the death of my dad and the news that my parents did try to help me. And I so appreciate him for that. Sometimes my emotions are under control and I feel like I’ve moved past the idea that I’ll never see my dad again. And other times I burst out into sobs in the middle of the day.

  Grief, anger, sadness, letting go, forgiveness—it’s all a cluster of emotions I’m trying to let myself feel what I need to feel. But fuck, sometimes it’s just too much.

  Mixed in with the feelings about dad, I find myself thinking more about what happened to me as child and what mom said. It’s upsetting to know she didn’t know how to handle me yet they did try in the slightest way to protect me. I’ll ever look back and think they handled it correctly, but forgiveness is the only thing I can do.

  “My gorgeous girl,” Luke says, kissing me on the cheek. I move the kiss to his lips where I force my tongue into his mouth. “What’s this all about?”

  “Can’t a girl just want to French kiss her man?” I ask before getting back to my kiss. I open the car door to the Jag to get out of the pouring rain but then I hear screaming.

  “Help! Help!” A little voice comes rushing towards us in a panic.

  Luke and I turn towards the plea for help. Running towards us are two little boys.

  “What’s the matter?” I watch Luke take on the role of protector in just a second as he bends down closer to the boys.

  “There’s, there’s,” the one little boy, who I’d guess is about eight, rambles his words together, “there’s barking from the dumpster!”

  “Come on!” the second little boy pulls on the bottom of my raincoat, tugging me towards the alley next to the hospital.

  Luke and I look at each other and then towards the boys as we follow behind them. I have no idea what we are walking into but whatever it is we need to help them.

  Approaching the dumpster, that’s when we barely hear it: barking. Luke lifts the lid and we all step back as the smell of rotten trash hits our nostrils.

  “Ew! That’s disgusting!” one of the little boys screams as he plugs his nose. He’s right about that. If green smoke could seep out of this trash, it would be happening right now.

  While the boys and I are plugging our noses, Luke is taking off his jacket and handing it to me.

  “Luke, what the hell are you going to do?”

  He doesn’t answer me with words; instead, Luke hops right into the dumpster. He moves the trash around as the barking gets a little bit louder. Then Luke dives under the trash and it’s like he’s disappeared.

  “Oh my god! The trash ate him!” The little boys are now shouting frantically until we see an arm lift through the trash—in it a tiny dirty puppy—followed by a filthy Luke.

  “Can someone help me here?” Luke asks, handing the puppy towards us.

  Grabbing the tiny puppy from him, I cuddle it to my chest—dirt, trash, and all. His barks have changed to little moans. Luke jumps out of the dumpster and the little boys laugh. He’s a sight for sore eyes! His expensive suit smells like death and is covered head-to-toe in trash. Luke sees the boys laughing at how ridiculous he looks and he busts out in a deep belly laugh too.

  “We should get this little guy to a vet,” I say, busting the laughter bubble.

  “Do you guys know who this puppy belongs to?” Luke asks the boys.

  “No clue,” one boy says.

  “We just heard the barking,” the other boy chimes in.

  “Do you boys mind if we keep this puppy?” Luke asks.

  “No,” they both say as I lower the puppy in my arms so they can pet him a few times before we get out of here.

  “You boys did a great job by coming to find us for help,” Luke encourages them. “Where are your parents?”

  And as if on cue, a curly-haired redhead sticks her head out of one of the windows above the alley and shouts, “Frankie! Mikey! Get your butts up those stairs this instant. Did you finish your homework?”

  Frankie and Mikey look at each other in panic before quickly saying goodbye to us and dashing up the fire escape stairs.

  “I know a vet. Let’s go,” Luke says as he guides us back to the car while I wrap the little puppy up in my scrub shirt to keep him warm.

  On the way out of the city, Luke calls a veterinarian. It’s definitely after hours but, like he said, he ‘knows a vet.’ As we are pulling into the parking lot, lights turn on inside and a woman in a white lab coat stands at the door waiting for us. Luke tells me her name is Vivian and she’s his former business partner’s sister.

  “Luke, how can I help?” Vivian asks, holding the door open and ushering us inside.

  “Vivian, thank you for this. We found this puppy in a dumpster,” Luke says as I unwrap the puppy from the little blanket I made out of my scrubs. The pup makes a little moan and Vivian jumps into action.

  “Follow me,” she says as we enter an exam room. “I’d like to take this little guy in the back for a bath and examination. Is that okay?”

  “Yes,” Luke and I both say in unison.

  Vivian takes the puppy from my arms and leaves us behind in the exam room to wait. My arms feel empty without the warm little body to cuddle close to me. I feel like I’m missing something I’ve known my entire life—but it’s only been 30 minutes.

  “I’m really proud of you for what you did. You jumped into action so fast,” I say facing Luke who is sitting down on a long bench in the room. He gives me a smirk and shrugs his shoulders. Is he … blushing?

  “It’s no big deal, Ariana.”

  It’s then I take a look at him and realize he’s still in the dirty dumpster clothes. Upon noticing the clothes, the smell hits my nose. If he didn’t just save a puppy, I would definitely toss my cookies. But somehow his act of kindness masks the trash smell.

  Vivian opens the door and in her arms is a playful, adorable, clean puppy. If we weren’t the only people in this animal hospital at this time of night I would not believe she brought back the same puppy.

  She sits down a King Charles Spaniel on the exam table and the little guy runs with his white and brown fur flopping in my direction. My heart stops. I’m in love.

  “Don’t you look so cute,” I coo at him as I pet behind his ears before he rolls over for me to rub his belly.

  “This little guy is about two months old. Once clean, I got a good look at him and he doesn’t seem to be hurt. The noises he was making were out of starvation. I don’t know when the last time this little guy ate. His belly should be as full as it could get for tonight,” Vivian says before petting him on the head. He sticks out his tongue to lick her hand. “Have you guys ever had a dog before?”

  I can only imagine the deer in headlights look both Luke and I are giving her.

  “Oh um, we aren’t, we haven’t,” I mumble, not knowing how to address this dog. Is it really our dog? Would Luke even want to have a dog with me?

  “This is our first dog,” Luke exclaims quickly.

  Our dog.

  “I thought so,” Vivian says as she winks at us before taking out a packet and putting it on the exam table next to the puppy. “Here are some of the basic things you’ll need to know with your first puppy. I’d like to get an appointment set up to get him up-to-date on his shots. We aren’t able to do that tonight.”

  “Whatever he needs,” Luke tells her.

  “I’ll have one
of the techs call you in the morning. For tonight you are good to go. I put together a little goodie bag with some essentials—puppy food at least,” Vivian says, handing us the packet along with a bag full of dog things, much more than just food.

  “Thank you so much!” I rush around the table to embrace her in a hug. When I pull myself back I can’t help but laugh. I’ve never been so thankful to hug someone … ever.

  A few months ago I wouldn’t even let someone touch me. Now I’m the one embracing someone.

  Luke, puppy, and I get into the car and drive back to the penthouse. It’s a quiet ride home as the puppy falls asleep in my arms and I just stare at him as if it’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen.

  When we get inside, Luke immediately showers off all the mysterious pieces of garbage. Puppy and I couldn’t be happier to have him clean and no longer smelling like absolute death.

  Luke sets a bowl of water on the floor and then collects entirely too many blankets to create a huge bed for the pooch in his bedroom.

  “We are going to need to give him a name,” Luke says as he looks up at me from the floor.

  I sit the puppy down in the center of the mound of blankets, and he instantly looks even smaller.

  “What about … King?” I ask, proud of my suggestion—a play on words for his breed.

  “Oh come on, we can do better than that,” Luke teases me as he strokes the puppy’s head. “What about … Oscar?”

  Oscar? Why would he pick that? Then it hits me. “Oscar the Grouch, who lives in the trash can!” I bust out laughing; that is an adorable suggestion from such a hard ass man with his tattoos.

  Joining my boys on the floor makes me feel so at peace. “Okay little Oscar, welcome to our …”

  I stop myself before I say the word that was about to spill out.

  “Welcome to our …?” Luke asks, raising his eyebrows at me, egging me on to finish my thought. Now I’m nervous.

  “Family?” I ask, the word with an anxious question mark at the end.

  “Welcome to our family!” Luke exclaims, picking up Oscar and giving him a kiss, before pulling me into his side and doing the same to me. Looking up to see a smile on his face the confusion I was feeling just a minute before fades away.

  “Let’s leave him here and get in bed,” Luke says as we hear Oscar let out a snore.

  We slip into the bed as quietly as possible, as if a sleeping baby is in the room, and cuddle into one another. Finally … I’m in Luke’s arms.

  “Have you ever had a puppy before?” I whisper to Luke, trying not to wake our baby.

  “No, my dad wouldn’t let us have a dog even though we begged for one. My sister would have done anything for a puppy; she’s obsessed with animals. She’s the girl who would feed the stray cats and once a possum until we told her to knock that off because they are gross. Did you have a dog?”

  “My mom had a dog she’d carry around in her purse.” I roll my eyes remembering Princess FeFe. “That dog was a demon and only loved mom. No one could even go by her without her trying to snap at us. She lived to be 15. So … no I didn’t personally have a dog,” I laugh.

  When Oscar is non-stop snoring we feel safe to turn our cuddling into the hot and steamy lovemaking I’ve missed so very much.

  What a night this has been.

  What the hell.

  I don’t want to open my eyes, but I know it’s the morning by the orange light shining into the room. Then it happens … something licks my face. Luke? I’d do so many things with my lovely Luke but this is something I’m not into. Face licking? It just seems … unhygienic and sloppy.

  I hear a little noise, barely even a bark, forcing me to open my eyes finding a brown puppy pair staring straight back at me. Last night’s dog rescuing experience flashes through my memories. Lying on my chest is little Oscar nuzzling into me. How the heck did he get up here? Bless his heart. I laugh at how stinkin’ adorable this is when I hear Luke laugh too. He walks into the room wearing his gym shorts and no shirt as he carries a tray with breakfast foods over to me.

  “Now that’s a sight I didn’t think I’d ever see,” Luke chuckles while placing the tray on the bed for me.

  “Me holding an adorable puppy?” I scoop Oscar up to smooch his little puppy face.

  “Well, yes, that’s true. I also meant seeing a woman sleeping in my bed and knowing we have a puppy,” Luke says as he smiles. He takes Oscar from my arms so I can enjoy the delicious breakfast spread he has for me: scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and a fruit plate.

  But first, coffee! Sipping on my java, I grin in delight realizing it’s just the way I like it. Luke remembered! I don’t know if it’s this adorable puppy now cuddled into Luke or the fact this powerful CEO, who came from an extremely tragic past, remembers a tiny detail many would forget … but my heart would smile right now if it could.

  After finishing this meal, I curl myself into Luke’s side with Oscar in his lap. We sit in the stillness of each other’s presence. Then I grasp what this … dare I say … family truly is.

  A family of rescues.

  A rape victim, an orphan, and a dog literally thrown away … now loving, tending to, caring for, and protecting one another. I guess that makes each one of us rescuers as well. It feels good to be saved and protected … for once. The power of salvation makes me feel alive.

  Squeezing my arms around Luke’s chest, he pulls me closer to him. Oscar has drifted back into sleep and we quickly join him.

  It’s been the laziest Sunday of my life. I love it. We woke up around ten and haven’t stopped playing with Oscar in the living room, which Luke turned into a giant playroom. I can’t believe I’m not freaking out because I didn’t pick up a shift at the hospital. Instead, I’m relaxing with my guys in a gorgeous penthouse overlooking the Chicago skyline.

  Luke throws a tennis ball back and forth as Oscar runs after it with his cute floppy tail wagging behind him. It touches my heart to watch Luke care for this little pup. He’s scrappy in his efforts to bring the ball back to Luke. In Oscar I see a fighter and in Luke I see love. It’s the same love reflected in his eyes when he’s with Lisa and Eric. Pure love. I want to be a little jealous of that look but I can’t be. One day he’ll look at me like that … I hope. I know Lisa says he gives me that look now but I don’t believe her.

  A knock at the door interrupts playtime as Oscar dashes toward the loud noise, letting out his little barks as if to protect us from whoever is here. Luke follows behind the white and brown blur of fur; he scoops up the puppy to stop him from running out the door as he opens it.

  “Oh my god!” I hear Lisa shrill, “Who is this little cutie pie?” Luke’s sister walks into the living room with Oscar in her tight embrace as he plants kisses all over her face. Luke heads into the kitchen for who knows what. “Ariana, hello! Does this sweet guy have something to do with you?”

  “No, it was all Luke,” I say as she takes a seat on the couch next to me. “He jumped into a dumpster to rescue him.”

  Her face drops as if I’ve said the wildest thing she’s ever heard.

  “Shut up. He did? Don’t tell me he was wearing one of his super expensive suits?”

  I bust out laughing because yet again she sees the truth without me giving her any details. She takes my laughter as the answer before joining me in a fit of giggles.

  “What’s so funny, ladies?” Luke asks, entering the room with an armful of dog treats.

  “Just heard you jumped in a pile of garbage to save this little guy,” she coos, lifting Oscar into the air before planting smooches all over him. This little puppy seems like he’s in absolute heaven and nothing makes me happier.

  Luke steals Oscar right out of his sister’s arms to give him treats as he attempts to teach him how to do tricks. Not that he needed any help securing himself as the favorite—he just made it clear to all of us that he’s eyeing the spot.

  “So … a puppy. What’s next?” Lisa asks winking at her b
rother.

  Where’s she going with this? We just got back to an okay place—please don’t make him run away.

  Luke takes his eyes away from Oscar for one moment to give us a completely blank stare. “What do you mean … next?”

  I can’t tell if he’s saying the word like it’s poison in his mouth or if he’s really confused as to what the hell could be next after a couple gets a puppy. Do I even want this conversation to be happening? Do I want ‘what’s next’ for us?

  “You’re so clueless my dear brother. They say a puppy is a good test for a baby.”

  Luke’s face turns ghostly pale.

  “A baby? Ariana doesn’t want to have a baby. She’s just starting her career as a doctor.” Luke says the statement with such assurance even I believe what he said.

  Hell yeah I’m a doctor. I have lives to save. I won’t have any damn time to have a baby. And if I did have a baby I wouldn’t have any time to take care of it.

  But … a baby.

  A cute little baby.

  A cute little baby that will be the perfect mix of Luke and me.

  My heart is swooning, but I have no time to add in my thoughts because Lisa pounces in support of this baby dream.

  “So what? You don’t think there are doctors out there taking care of families? You don’t think any are married? I mean come on,” Lisa scoffs at her brother.

  Luke is silent. He’s giving up the battle but Lisa won’t let it go.

  “Maybe we should just ask her,” Lisa says, turning to face me straight on. “Ariana, what do you think? Do you want to have a baby?”

  It’s so quiet in the apartment you could hear a pin drop. Even Oscar is looking at me, waiting for me to answer. If I answer, that changes everything. I have no clue if I want to have a baby. Up until these last few months I didn’t want to share any part of my life with another person. I wanted to work and that’s it. That’s as far as my plans for the future went because I was so closed off by my past to even entertain the idea of allowing anyone in.

  Then everything changed in my entire life.