MARCH OF SPRING SEMESTER/Three months after the fight and make up sex.
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"I'm glad you ladies agreed to come to supper at my apartment," I said.
"Well, Tom says you're a good cook and I've been dying to see those puppies everyone's talking about," Anne Marie laughed.
"You mean, those puppies Tom adopted for us and left me to do all the work?"
"That's a lie," Tom protested playfully. "I've done my share of the work caring for them. It's just that you live here all the time and I can only come over once a day."
"Now, boys," Louisa teased. "No fighting. We're here for a peaceful supper. So where are the puppies?"
On cue Angel and Aramis came racing in the living room.
"Oh, how sweet," the girls cooed.
"I still can't believe you've got such tiny dogs," Anne Marie said. "You'd expect two big tough guys like you to have Dobermans or Rottweiler's or some such. These are teacup toy dogs, a Chihuahua and a poodle."
"Not exactly everyone's idea of He-Man mastiffs," Louisa laughed. "So tell me how it is you've got these two, Lucas? I've heard the hall gossip but I want to hear it from your lips."
"A buddy of Tom's is in the army and the dogs belonged to his wife. They got transferred to Germany and the wife had made arrangements with an old lady down the street to take the mother dogs and their puppies on the day they were to leave the States. On the same day a mongrel dog got in their back yard and killed all the dogs except these two puppies."
"Oh, my god," Anne Marie exclaimed. "The poor babies. How old were they? They're so tiny."
"Angel, the Chihuahua, was two days old and Aramis, the poodle was a week old," said Tom. "Carol, the army wife, bred purebred Chihuahuas and toy poodles and sold them with pedigree papers. We've got the papers on both of them."
"And you ended up with them, Tom?"
"Yeah, Louisa, it was a sickening story. Richard and Carol were upset but they had to leave that day. The old lady was not able to take care of the newborns without the mamas so I volunteered to take them."
"Tom called the Animal Shelter and they were full over the max. They told him that if he took the dogs to them they'd put them down for him. So he showed up here at the apartment and I thought the big guy was going to burst into tears if I didn't take these two."
Tom blushed and Anne Marie patted his arm.
"You're a brave man, Tom. I would've been hysterical if I'd been told they were going to kill the puppies. You did the right thing. Everyone knows Lucas acts tough but he's got a heart of gold and a big weak spot for animals. You should have seen him the day Ricky Harper kicked that poor stray dog on the green. I thought Lucas would go to jail for attacking Ricky."
"Ricky was lucky I didn't break his goddamn leg! She was pregnant and due any day. I still can't believe that bastard kicked her in the stomach."
"Well, you're lucky those campus security guys are dog lovers or you'd have been arrested," Anne Marie laughed. "I mean, two black eyes, a broken nose, and a busted lip! Come on, Lucas, you're lucky Ricky didn't press charges."
"Anne Marie, I persuaded him that the animal cruelty charges he'd face were far more severe than any repercussions Lucas would suffer if he filed charges against him," Louisa smiled. "It helped that the guys in his fraternity threatened to kick him out if he filed."
"The science department helped with an incubator and a couple of biology professors and graduate students monitored to make sure everything was okay," Tom laughed. "I think they thought the puppies would end up dying on us if they didn't help so they took pity on us. Both of them could fit in the palm of my hand and my middle finger was bigger than Angel. Who knew a Chihuahua was so tiny at birth? They're like little puppy guppies."
"One of the graduate students, Jill Stillman, wanted to take them away from us but Dr. Yawn told her to butt out, that Tom and I would do just fine. I think she thought it would be a good experiment to see if two engineering students could actually keep newborn puppies alive," I laughed.
"It's a good thing, too," Tom grinned. "I think I'd have had to kill somebody if they tried to take 'em away from us. I've been raising dogs all my life and so has Lucas. Of course, we both have Labrador Retrievers at home, not these little guys. Plus, Lucas spent about five hundred dollars on formula and stuff for newborn dogs. He was even going to buy an incubator but the girl at the Petco is a graduate student in biology and she's how we got their help."
"So it's like you two are a family with puppies instead of children," Louisa smiled knowingly.
"I think so," Tom said seriously.
He was not about to back down although we were both still deep in the closet on campus. His declaration of love at the top of his lungs that Saturday had not been overheard. We didn't do anything openly but it was no secret that we were the closest of friends. He also didn't give a damn if anyone read anything more into it than that.
Anne Marie fed the dogs and put them in their little bed in the kitchen. While she and Tom played with them, Louisa set the table and I made the salads to go with the pot roast.
We laughed and joked as we ate the salad but Tom had a purpose in inviting them and was determined to carry it out. As we were eating the pot roast he spoke up.
"Anne Marie, Louisa, I've got something to say and..."
He paused and the two of them looked at him expectantly.
"Yes?" Louisa smiled. "Is this the declaration, the reason why we're here? Don't keep us waiting, Tom."
"Yes," he faltered.
Tom looked at me desperately, his resolve wavering.
"You can tell us anything, Tom," Louisa said. "ANYTHING. It goes no further than here."
Louisa's eyes were all knowing. Anne Marie looked a little nervous. I'm not sure how I looked but I'm sure everyone could see I was uneasy. I hated to see the man I love about to turn our world upside down but it was his announcement, not mine.
"Anne Marie, I like you more than any girl I've ever known in my life but we'll never be more than friends in our future. I'm in love with Lucas and I intend to marry him one day."
He spoke softly but with determination. He looked down at the table but before he did I saw the mixture of bravado and fear in his eyes. There was such a dead silence I was afraid this was not going to go the way we wanted. Anne Marie was sitting next to Tom and she touched his arm.
"You need to be careful, Tom. If I can see how much you love Lucas in your every move I'm afraid someone else will too."
Tom flushed and we could all see the emotion in his eyes.
"It's hard for me. I love Lucas more than anything in the world. I never thought I'd say someone is the reason for my existence but he is. I'm sorry if you're upset but I just wanted you to know."
"And you, Lucas?" Louisa asked. "You haven't said anything."
"Tom doesn't want to live a lie with the two of you. I don't either but I love him too much to be the one to out him to you. It had to be his doing. After all, he stands to lose a lot more than I do."
The way I looked into Louisa's eyes made it clear that I knew about her and Anne Marie but I would leave it to them to speak of it.
"Does this mean that you don't want to date me anymore, Tom?"
