Angus' suitcase stood by the front door. Brian was picking him up that afternoon so they could go to the airport together. It still hurt to look at but I managed to stay calm. He would come home. He always did. 

And we'd pick up right where we left off. 

All morning I had been working at the table. Angus cooked breakfast and made tea and sat next to me, watching. I showed him the finished result. 

It was a card decorated with a bit of pink ribbon and a message on one side. It was addressed to Wanda Popplewell and her husband. 

Mostly Wanda. 

Angus looked it over and started laughing. "You givin' her this?"

"Yep," I said. "I'm putting it in her letterbox this afternoon."

"I wish I could see her reaction," Angus said drinking his tea. "You'll tell me tonight on the phone?"

"Every last detail," I said. I looked over my work, exceptionally proud of it. The dogs ran around the house, Cooper having started up a game of wrestling. Atlas wasn't as interested and tried to get away. The knocked over a chair and crashed into the wall. 

"Jesus, boys," Angus said getting the chair fixed. "Have fun with that while I'm gone." Cooper grabbed Atlas' neck with his teeth and Atlas yipped. Angus went over to break up the fight while I thought about our next adventure. Our wedding. Our small, unimpressive wedding with my black dress and all of Angus' friends and family. I'd invite Maude and Brett over of course but...I wasn't sure I'd invite my family. 

I loved them. But it was complicated.

It would have to wait until after the tour. But we didn't mind. We weren't in any hurry. 

Angus was excited to tell everyone when he saw them. They were all invited of course. 

"An' Mum will be happy," he said. "She'll be seated front row."

We sat on the couch with the dogs waiting. Brian would be there any minute. Angus held my hand and stroked my knuckles with his thumb. I leaned my head on his shoulder. Atlas slept soundly. Cooper snored. The sun shone through the window, putting a spotlight on our fancy teacups and saucers. 

"This is it then," Angus said. 

"Yeah," I agreed. 

Quiet.

"Ya' gonna be alright?" Angus asked.

"I think so," I said, not entirely sure. "But I'll tell you if anything's wrong." 

Angus stared at me and played with the ends of my hair. "I'd like that," he said. "An' if anythin' happens on tour....or if anyone catches a flu...don't worry about it, alright?"

I sighed. "Okay." Easier said than done. 

Brian's car pulled up to the house and we watched through the window as he clambered out. We could see he had a few suitcases thrown in the backseat as the boot had no more room. Angus answered the door when he knocked. "Hi, Jonna," he said as Brian waltzed in.

"Angus," he said. "Hannah." He nodded at me. "Should be back in a couple of months, ya' know?"

"Don't remind us, Brian," Angus said grabbing his things. "We'll be back in no time."

"Course, no time at all," Brian said. "For the holidays at least."

"I'll be back for Christmas," Angus said. "I promise."

At that moment the dogs woke up. They stretched and yawned, Cooper bolting for the door when he saw Brian. "There they are, the pups!" Brian knelt down and held his arms out and Cooper lunged for him. Atlas trotted up slowly, wagging his tail. "Come 'ere ya' buggers!"

**********

After getting Ang's bags situated in the backseat he turned to me. "I'm gonna miss ya'," he said. I grabbed him for a hug. His jumper was soft and his arms were strong as he embraced me. I tried not to cry until they had left but I was starting to fall apart. 

They would come back. He would come back.

Atlas and Cooper watched from the window, wondering where their owner was going. Angus had given them treats before leaving the house. 

"I'm going to miss you too," I said.

"Don't let the boys chew up Mr. Kincaid," he said. We had put the little bear on a high shelf so they couldn't get to him. 

"I won't," I said. "Don't let anyone mess you around."

Angus hit his fist against his open hand. "Don't worry, love, I won't." Brian got in the driver's seat and rolled down his window to let in some fresh air. I hugged Angus again. "Love ya'."

"Love you too," I said. With a couple lasting kisses Angus finally pulled away from me and joined Brian in the car. Both of them waving goodbye, they pulled away from the house and drove out of sight to the airport. 

**********

I fixed my pigtails and hair bows as I stood outside the Popplewell mansion. Sheryl was in school and I suspected Wanda had the day off from work as the Rolls Royce was parked out front. After knocking on the door I expected Annie to answer but it was Mrs. Wanda herself. Dressed in her usual curlers and monogrammed dressing gown. "Oh...Hannah, what a...pleasant surprise," she said. "And what brings you here? So early in the morning?"

I put on my best smile, trying not to seem too giddy. "I was just here to give you something," I said and handed her the card I spent hours working on. Wanda took it and looked it over, her eyes moving back and forth, her face becoming more and more displeased. She looked up at me then back down at the card. 

On the card I had written,

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓦𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓪 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓗𝓸𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓟𝓸𝓹𝓹𝓵𝓮𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓵

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓝𝓞𝓣 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭

𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓾𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓪𝓱'𝓼 𝔀𝓮𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰

𝓓𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮: 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓯𝓲𝓮𝓭

𝓑𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓣𝓻𝓾𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓖𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓤𝓹

𝓛𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓛𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓬𝓴 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓡𝓸𝓵𝓵!

Wanda's mouth was wide open. She almost dropped the card. I smiled and waved at her, then skipped back down the street to my house, leaving her to stand there in shock. 

I couldn't wait to tell Angus McKinnon. 

The End.