Before Aaron can answer, a middle-aged Black woman appears at the other end of the hallway and beams at us. “Mr. Scott-Perez, hi! Woody’s almost ready to go, I’m just finishing up the papers.”

“That’s great,” he tells her. “Take your time.”

What the heck? I look around, my gaze landing on the old dog’s crate, Woody written in bold letters at the top of the crate’s door.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Well, you’re almost ready to be the new owner of a cute dog.”

“What? But… But I can’t own another one.” I always told myself that after Molly and Maybelle, there wouldn’t be any others. Not when my situation is so precarious. It’s not like I don’t want more dogs, especially one like Woody, who melts my heart with a simple look and who I’m sure could bring me a short lifetime of infinite love, but it’s not that easy. What if one day I forget to take care of them properly and they’re left to their own means? What if I die before them?

Reading my thoughts like only he can, Aaron says, “If ever you couldn’t take care of him anymore, I’d be there, Wren. I’ll always be there.”

I ignore the last part of his sentence and shake my head. “I don’t understand. How did you know…”

“That you would pick him?”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I nod.

As he leans against the cement wall, he says, “Oh, that was the easiest part. You always choose to help the ones who need it the most. Woody was the oldest one and the one who seemed to be the frailest. A clear choice for you.”

It’s in this moment I realize how well Aaron has gotten to know me. Not just the parts I shared with him, but also the parts I tried to keep hidden. He’s opened all my hidden closets, no matter how hard I worked to keep them locked.

Aaron takes a step toward me and parts the fingers I’m wringing together, taking each hand in his own.

“Now, cariño, I only want to ask you for one thing.”

I blink, my heart beating lightning-fast.

“That you extend that same beautiful compassion toward yourself.”

My breath stays stuck in my throat. I can’t speak. It feels like he always finds the way to make me speechless.

“You don’t care that Woody has a limited amount of years to give you love,” Aaron continues. “You see his love as being just as worthwhile, if not more. You’ve understood the truth. That the depth of one’s love does not equal to the time it will last. And that’s exactly how I feel about you.”