Part 53: Who's That Bish?-2

"Hopefully," she said, before punching him in the arm. "You're great for her. Welcome to the family, brother." She turned quickly to get back to Lucy, but not before he caught the tear that slipped down her cheek. He was touched beyond measure. ____________ "And then she said, 'But I rubbed coconut oil on his temples,'" Lucy said, in a perfect Sian Gould imitation. "Oh God," Quinn said, rolling his eyes as they laughed. "I remember her spritzing me with oregano oil, but I don't remember the coconut thing. I must have smelled delicious when they wheeled me into Emerg." An hour later, they had moved to the couches while they sipped cappuccinos. Lucy's legs were propped up on Quinn's and his hand was resting lightly on her knee. "Imagine putting that crap on someone who had blood poisoning, instead of getting him to a hospital," Faye said, shaking her head. "A kid at my school had it and almost died. When staph bacteria enter your bloodstream, it's game over. Your heart and lungs can start shutting down..." "Faye! I don't want to think about it," Lucy said with a shudder. Quinn squeezed her knee. "I'm alright," he said. "Tough as old boots, I am." "Lucky for all of us," Leon said. "Man, I would have brought you back to life and killed you again if you died and left me to run the brewpub by myself." "Thanks, Leon that's touching," Quinn said, with his hand on his heart. "I can't believe you're leaving us, Luce. What do those fancy young ones in New York have that we don't?" Marnie said. "I'm not going far," Lucy said. "We'll do all the marketing for the brewery, pro bono of course. And I'm still an investor, so make us lots of money," she laughed. "Still, though. I'm going to miss working with you," Marnie said. "Me too, girlfriend. But I belong in the corporate world, not a restaurant. I did a hell of a job in New York, and I loved every minute of it. Don't worry, if you're short staffed, I can always run down some night and take a waitressing shift or do some expediting." "Isn't it going to be hard running a New York business from Nova Scotia?" Faye said. "We're a digital marketing company," Lucy shrugged. "We have a virtual office and all the meeting, chat and presentation software anyone could want. People can work from anywhere nowadays." "A toast: To the brewpub and to Phoenix," Marnie said. "May she rise!" "May she rise," the group echoed, lifting their coffee. Lucy smiled and sipped, glancing at the front door while she tapped her fingernails on her cup. "What time is it?" she asked. "Are you trying to get rid of us? It's 10 minutes since the last time you asked," Faye said. "Of course not," Lucy said, glancing at her watch. "You're awfully skittish this evening, Luce. What's up?" "Nothing," she said, before putting the cup down. All eyes were on her. "OK, there's a present coming. An engagement present. For Quinn." He was dumbfounded. "What kind of present?" "Never you mind, you'll find out soon enough. They're about an hour late though," she said, getting up from the couch to peek out the front window. "They should be here any minute." "Who's they?" Quinn got up and followed her to the window. "Go sit down," she said excitedly. "I see them; they're coming up the driveway. Go on back to the couch, now. Shoo!" "You've been shoo-ed," Keith said, as Quinn sat down beside him. He shrugged, unable to think of what would be delivered that late. Did she order him that set of knives he wanted from Amazon? He watched, baffled, as she went to the door. She opened it a crack and then went out, carefully closing it behind her. "And we wait," Marnie said, laughing. "Do you know what this is?" Quinn asked Faye, but she shrugged innocently and looked at the floor. Her dimpled smile said she knew exactly what was going on. The curiosity was killing him, and he fought the urge to go to the door to see what was going on. Finally, he heard the car heading back down the driveway and Lucy came back in, a squirmy bundle in her arms. She bent and set down the most gorgeous chocolate lab puppy he'd ever seen. The little guy made straight for Quinn. He scooped the dog up and snuggled it, as it licked at his face and ears. "Whoa! Who's this little guy?" "That's up to you. And he's a she. Say hi to your new puppy." Quinn could only think of a few times in his life when he felt total and complete shock. This was one of them. "She's mine?" Stunned, he looked down at the precious, tiny baby in his arms and thought his heart would burst. "She's all yours." Quinn laughed, scarcely believing it. Marnie, Leon and everyone crowded around to pet the new little one and Quinn's eyes met Lucy's. "How did you do this?" he said, but she just shrugged. The puppy could scarcely contain her excitement, resulting in a very large puddle that appeared on Quinn's lap as she lapped up the attention, but he didn't mind. He didn't mind one bit. "She's gorgeous! What'll you call her, Quinn?" Marnie asked, picking the puppy up and hugging her. It came to him suddenly. "Bishop," he said. "Bish, for short." "I didn't know you were religious," Keith said, petting the puppy's head. "Or is it a chess thing?" "I do play chess with the old man, but neither," Quinn said. "She's named for Elizabeth Bishop." "The poet?" Faye asked. "You got it," Quinn said. "I discovered her during my college years. She's from Massachusetts, but her heart was in Nova Scotia, just like me," he said, looking at Lucy. Her eyes were warm on his. As the evening went on, one by one, their guests hugged them both, gave Bish a pat on the head or a kiss and headed out into the night. Lucy sat beside him on the couch and put her head on his shoulder. "It was a good night," she said. "I cooked." "It was the best night," he said. "I became a daddy, thanks to you." He gathered the puppy to him. She crawled up to his neck and burrowed in, and he closed his eyes, his hand on her warm back, his arm around Lucy. He'd never felt such love and perfection before; the intensity of it was breathtaking. He was finally where he was supposed to be. And living the life he'd always wanted.