“Really?” I asked. Relief coursed through me, like I’d just taken a cool drink on a hot day. This suddenly seemed the ideal solution, not leaving Brad alone in a dark apartment. The dog wouldn’t be by himself, and he’d be with someone who knew and clearly loved him, and who he seemed happy to be with. After having spent all this time with Brad, I was now realizing that this circumstance was the only way I would ever have given him up.

“Do you want to stay with your auntie Margaux?” she asked Brad, as she kissed him on top of his head.

“It won’t be a problem with the museum?” I asked.

Margaux shrugged. “If it is, Zephyr can just take him outside until the shoot is over.”

“I can what now?” Zephyr asked, not sounding particularly thrilled about this.

“Just as long as Mallory knows that she might not be getting him back,” she said, running her hand over his ears like I knew he liked.

“I’m not sure Allison would go for that.”

I looked between them, wondering what I’d missed. “Allison?”

“Margaux’s girlfriend,” Matty said.

Margaux shook her head. “Fiancée.”

“Oh my gosh,” I said. I was suddenly realizing just how much I didn’t know, about either of them, really. But hopefully I’d get the chance to fix that. It seemed like it. “That’s great—congr—”

“Since when?” Matty asked, his voice skeptical.

“Well, technically she hasn’t asked me. But she’s going to eventually, and this way it’s just a nice subliminal reminder for her.” I laughed, and Margaux grinned at me. “But you’ll have to meet her, okay, Stevie? Tonight! Or come over and we can all have brunch or something. I can’t cook at all.”

I smiled at her. Suddenly a whole new world—a whole new way to be with my siblings—felt like it was opening up before me. That maybe—unbelievably—it wasn’t too late to start over. “Sounds like a plan.”

Zephyr’s phone beeped and he looked up. “They need the fountain look.”

“Right,” she said, then pulled me into a tight hug. “See you later?”

I nodded, even though there was no way I would still be in the city three hours from now. And then I looked down at Brad, still in her arms, and realized with a pang that I had to say goodbye to him, too. Even though the problem was being solved—and I knew things would be easier, now that I didn’t have a tiny Pomeranian with me—it also suddenly seemed like they would be a lot less fun.