Bark! Bark!
Pearl threw the ball.
Baby Blue ran over to the fence, where the ball bounced, and he picked that ball up. Visibly proud of himself, the Pit Bull pranced over to her and dropped the ball onto her waiting palm.
"Good boy!" She stroked and rubbed his head. Then she threw the ball again. Loyal and energized, Baby Blue went over to get it.
She heard the back doors being opened, then Darren's voice. "Hey!" He was home much earlier than normal. Did he get anything done?
"Hi! Dinner's cooking in the Crock Pot!" Again, Baby Blue put the ball in her hand.
"I know. It smells great." A short pause, and then Gunner ran past Pearl to get some pets from Darren. "Hey there! Want to go through the course?"
The weather was cool, but not as cold as it once was. Still, Pearl wanted to take a break. She put the ball on the ground and stroked Baby Blue's back. "Good Boy. You want to come inside?" The pretty white dog seemed to think that was a fine idea because he trotted over to the back entrance and waited for Pearl.
Inside, Pearl wiped some of her messy hair down and washed up. Then she checked on the Crock Pot. Totally fine. The house was fairly clean, although she could've wiped the windows and mirrors. She seriously folded her arms and nodded to herself. That could be done. Windex and paper towels were two of her favorite things.
All the mirrors were done when Darren popped over to her and asked, "Hey, want to go shopping with me?"
After a quick sneeze (Windex could do that to you), Pearl rubbed her nose on her sleeve and said, "For what? We have everything right now."
"Well, we're going out tomorrow." Some of his curly hair flopped over one of his eyes as he beamed down at her. "And I think you could use a pretty outfit and some makeup.
"I wish you'd told me we were going out sooner," Pearl said as she walked over to the nearest window and pulled the curtains back. "I want to wipe the dust off all these curtains tomorrow."
Snorting, Darren countered that with, "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day, and I haven't seen you dressed up yet, not even at church." Funny thing, since Pearl had moved in with him, she'd gone to church maybe twice. Darren still went sometimes, but even then his attendance dropped, much to his mother's irritation. And yes, Pearl had forgotten all about Valentine's Day.
"I guess you're right." She set the Windex bottle and paper towels on a sideboard and pulled her hair loose. Her fingers combed through the clean yet wild mass. "My hair could use a trim too. Split ends and all that."
Darren picked up a bundle of her hair and flicked the ends with his thumb. "There are a few walk-in beauty shops in town. You could get your hair trimmed and buy some nail polish there."
"My mom would love to trim my hair." She slipped her hair out of his fingers and stuck her tongue out at him. "And I think I have some old nail polish somewhere."
He bent down and kissed her cheek. "Humor me and get yourself taken care of."
Pearl shrugged. "Okay."
It was settled right there. Pearl made sure the Crock Pot was still on the lowest setting, the safest setting, and made sure she looked neat. Then she went with Darren off to town to get herself a temporary makeover.
While Darren boldly and unashamedly sat in the waiting area of a beauty shop, reading stuff on his phone, Pearl got a quick trim. Then she went over to Darren and asked if he wanted to help her pick out a nail polish bottle. Some minutes later, he'd picked up an adorable bright pink color. There was a hint of red in the shade, making a sort of electric crimson color. Some clear base polish was taken too.
They didn't go to Walmart for clothes shopping. Darren believed you could find sturdy clothing at Walmart but you wouldn't find much of anything that looked good on a five foot tall woman who refused to wear children's clothes out of pride. But Walmart did have decent makeup options ... and emergency last minute candies for Pearl to buy for Darren. The couple went to more specialized stores for the clothes and shoes.
On Valentine's Day, Darren took Pearl out to an Italian restaurant. He was wearing Pearl's favorite black jeans on him, so slimming. There was also a nice button up shirt that made him almost look like he came from a big city, the kind with skyscrapers. His hair was as fluffy as ever, which was just how Pearl liked it.
As for Pearl's look, she was a bit fancier. Knee-length, green dress. Thin, black, button up sweater. High tights. Black kitten heels. And a face of light makeup, no stuff on the eyes, just some foundation and blush with pink lipstick.
She couldn't remember the last time she went on a date.
It was warm and satisfying. The food was particularly wonderful, as it should've been. Pearl had some pasta dish with shrimp and marinara. Darren had a meatball dish with a side of vegetables. They shared bites with each other. They chatted about silly things. Jokes were told. Childhood stories were given. It was a lovely evening out.
Pearl had to go to the restroom soon. Darren thought this was a good time for him to go too. Some moments later, Pearl returned to the table, and she saw Darren walking there too.
A red rose was in the middle of the now messy table.
Darren sat down first. Then Pearl. She was the one to pick up the rose. "You didn't put this rose here before you left, right?"
"I don't know where the rose came from." He took it from her and examined it. "No note. No wrapper. Nothing."
"There aren't any roses on anyone else's table," Pearl said as her brow wrinkled. "I don't get it."
When their waitress happened to walk by, Darren got her attention and asked about it. "I didn't see anyone put it there," the waitress said, "but I've been serving a lot of people. It might've happened while I was busy."
Shrugging, Pearl said, "It's nothing, I guess. Could've been meant for someone else. I don't want to take someone else's present."
They left the rose alone when they had to go. Pearl pretty much forgot about it. Darren likely did too.
At home, Pearl made sure the dogs got fed. Then she washed her face and put on her normal everyday wear. She thought to do a quick chore, but before she could open the cabinet of cleaning supplies Darren had her arm around her waist, lifting her up, his nose on the side of her neck. She had to giggle.
There wasn't much of a warning. He carried her like she was already a bride. No more giggling. True, heavy laughter instead. "Hey," Pearl gasped out, "all you had to do was ask and I'd be in the bedroom real quick."
"Let me have my fun," Darren said as he proudly marched on. "You're a cute little thing and I want to eat you up."
Upstairs, on the bed, that's where she was finally let down, but he went down with her and held her tightly. Smiles and kisses. He called her a sweet girl, his little honey, and even cute little daddy's girl. That was when Pearl frowned up at him and said, "Hey, I don't want to call you Daddy."
That heart wrenching expression in his eyes, that tense and frozen look, it made Pearl think he was genuinely frightened. The muscles in his arms and fingers seemed to lock up. Even his belly felt harder. Pearl wanted to comfort him. She didn't even wait for him to think of a defense for himself.
"I'm not trying to kink shame you." She held onto a loving, warm tone. One of her hands slid up to his cheek. "It's just the word I don't like. Makes me think of my father, you know? Can't I just call you something else?"
His lips twitched, but the panicked lines in his face were smoothed away. "Is that all? It's just the word you don't like?" The fingernails of his right hand tapped and scraped on her hip. "I didn't creep you out, right?"
