Six months had gone by but it still felt like yesterday that Ayla had walked out of Dan’s life, the only man she had ever truly loved. With a deep sigh, Ayla dove back into the stack of paperwork on her desk, staying busy was important. After finishing her work day, she made her way to Fooley’s Bar and Grill to grab some dinner. After she placed her order at the bar, she made her way to the back corner where she always sat, this corner had the best view of the door. She waited for him to walk through the door like he had so many times before. She knew it was him from the sound of his footsteps. Ayla never made an attempt to talk to him, she only watched him and listened to him talk about his day, his friends and someone named Beast. Ayla missed Dan so much but she just couldn’t handle the mistreatment from him. It was easier this way, she could still keep tabs on him, to see how he was doing, what he was up to and to make sure that he was taking care of himself.

Ayla sipped her coffee while she listened to him talk about his day and about Beast, who she still had no clue what or who it was. She glanced up to find Dan looking at her. He flashed her a smile that still melted her insides. Ayla looked away, a tear forming and threatening to make its way down her cheek. Dan couldn’t figure out why she didn’t smile back. Maybe he should go and say hello to her. Dan had noticed her weeks ago, she was always sitting in the same booth, in the corner, always sipping coffee, and always alone. Just as he had worked up enough confidence to approach her and start a conversation, she stood, made her way to the bar, paid her bill and left. Just as she walked out the door, she glanced back over to him and that is when he noticed the pain in her eyes.

Ayla glanced up at the sky noticing for the first time that it had started to snow. The flashback hit her hard, the snowball fight they had the first time it had snowed since starting their relationship. The kiss they had shared while the snow fell around them, the laugh they had shared at each other’s red noses, freezing hands warmed by the mugs of hot chocolate that she had made them. The cups of hot chocolate forgotten as they made love on the couch, in front of the bay window while it continued to snow outside.

The sound of a horn brought her back to reality, how had she ended up standing in the middle of the street? She made her way home, completely exhausted from the flashback. She sat on the couch, Moose, her over sized lap puppy jumped up beside her, nuzzling her arm and asking for scratches. Moose has been what kept her going these last six months. Kicking off her shoes, Ayla pulled the throw blanket over herself and fell to sleep. Moose laid beside her, his head on her lap, his soft snores and occasional growl filling the quietness of the apartment.

The next morning, Ayla decided to take Moose for a walk and then to the dog park. It was the weekend and she had no other plans. It had snowed all night, leaving the streets covered in about six inches of snow. Moose loved the snow and as they made their way to the dog park, he would dive head first into the heaps of snow piled up by the occupants of the buildings. Ayla laughed at his antics and continued to steer them to the dog park. Ayla only realized that she had forgotten her phone at her apartment when she went to take a picture of Moose, his nose covered in snow, while some hung from his chin, giving the illusion that he was a dog version of Santa. It didn’t matter that she had forgotten her phone, no one ever contacted her anyway. She had no one but Moose and she was fine with that. Moose truly was her savior.

Once at the dog park, she allowed Moose to run and play with the other dogs. Ayla thought back to all of the times she had asked Dan for a dog. There was always a reason why they couldn’t get one. The morning after she left Dan, Moose was the second purchase of her new life. The first was her studio apartment. Moose began to bark and she noticed that he had made a human friend. It was the last person she ever thought it would be, it was Dan. Why was he here? Ayla jumped up from the bench, calling for Moose so they could leave. To her surprise, Moose ran over to her with a companion, a blue pit with a name tag that read Beast. Ayla attached the leash to Moose’s collar when Dan appeared in front of her, attaching a leash to Beast. When had he gotten a dog?

“Hello, I see our pups have become friends. My name is Dan.” Ayla looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes and took a step back. Dan giggled, sending shivers to her knees and making them go weak. Even after all this time, he still had that effect on her. Ayla’s heart started to beat harder and she took another step back, making sure to hold onto Moose’s leash.

“Yes, it seems they have. If you will excuse me, I was just leaving.” Just as she went to walk around Dan, he touched her shoulder, sending a shockwave straight to her heart, making it skip a beat.

“How about I buy you a coffee sometime? I noticed you yesterday at Fooley’s but you left before I could introduce myself.” Dan still had his hand on her shoulder, hope shining in his baby blues.

“Thank you but no.” Ayla replied as she brushed his hand off of her shoulder. Dan once again noticed pain in her hazel eyes when she looked up and made eye contact with him. Ayla rushed out of the dog park, taking a quick glance over her shoulder at Dan and noticing him watch her walk away. Once inside her apartment, she took the leash off of Moose, who bound to his food dish and gobbled down what food was leftover from earlier in the morning. Ayla sank down onto her couch, the tears a constant stream down her face.