Daycare

Anya spent the rest of her day finding ways to organize her life. She paid all of her bills, cleaned up the house again, and meal prepped for the next week. She did anything she could think of to fix up the mess she called her life. Feeling accomplished, Anya showered and wrapped her hair in a scarf for bed. After changing into fresh silk pajamas, she slid in between clean sheets and nodded off to sleep.

The next morning, Anya was awoken by Comet yet again being his normal, ornery self. That's it, she decided. Playing tug, ball, and any other game for hours on end the past few days was great for him, but he needed to run and play with his friends. There was a thump in the living room as Anya slipped out of bed. Yes, he definitely needed some intense play time. She padded her way into the kitchen to start feeding him, causing him to immediately squirm with excitement.

After she was done feeding Comet, she walked into the bathroom to do her morning routine. Since she had been back at her apartment, not going outside, her routine had been thrown off kilter. Anya brushed her teeth and washed her face quickly, not making a fuss. She put on a hoodie and some baggy sweats while sweeping her hair into a high ponytail. When she looked into the mirror, she was less than pleased. She hadn't looked at herself in a while, and her self image had warped. Her hair seemed to have gone from a honey gold color to dull brown. Her eyes had bags under them, and her skin was dry and red.

"Oh man," Anya said to her reflection, "you look a little worse for wear." Maybe since she was dropping off Comet at the daycare today she might run into Callen. She definitely didn't want him to think she was a walking wreck. She made the decision to actually get dressed in something other than sweats, and make herself look somewhat presentable.

She dug through her closet trying to find her more... tasteful clothes. She was a performer after all; celebrities gotta dress. She picked out a simple green dress with some black tights and a pair of brown boots. After she had changed, she went into the bathroom and began curling her hair, sweeping some off the side of her face. Anya decided that she would also apply some basic makeup to cover up her busted face.

After she was done, she examined herself in the mirror. Her hair had a shimmer to it and was again golden, falling into gentle curls. Her face looked brighter and more lively. Her dress brought out the emerald color of her eyes, and made her look even more awake. Anya did a small twill, happy with herself. She hadn't seen herself look at least somewhat cute for weeks. She had decided that she would take her life back, so she guessed this might be the first step.

"Comet buddy!" Anya called out the door. Comet came rushing towards the bathroom knocking into the wall. "Careful puppy, or you're going to hurt yourself." She reached down and scratched behind his ear. "Do you want to go to daycare?" To this, Comet went absolutely wild, zooming around the apartment. "O.K., let's go." Anya walked towards the front door and grabbed his leash and her purse. Comet writhed around as she placed his leash onto his collar. The two of them went downstairs and took a cab to the daycare.

Anya was nervous as she opened the door. She had her mask on, but she really didn't want to cause a scene. She stepped up to the front counter where a young mousy-haired woman was working. "Uh, hello. I'm here to drop Comet off for the day."

The counter lady looked up from her computer screen and said, "Hello, my name is Kate." Without getting a reply she continued. "O.K., is he going to be doing a half day or a whole day? May I also have the name of the person picking him up at the end of his play time?"

"A whole day please, and he will be picked up by me." Anya answered sheepishly.

"Alright then," Kate said. May I see a valid form of photo I.D. and we can charge the usual account, correct?"

"Yes.." Anya paused at this. She slowly pulled out her license and placed it on the counter. "The same card can be charged." She tried to plow through the next moment by saying. "So where do I drop him off? He is so ready to play" A nervous laugh escaped her as Kate picked up the I.D. and examined it for a moment.

"Oh..." Kate looked from the license back to Anya and then back again. "Oh! Wait a minute... are you THE Anya?" She looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, my name is Anya, yes." She tried to brush off the question to no avail.

"Oh my God, it really is you!" Kate's face was plastered in excitement, before a shadow fell on her. "Did you really do it? Did you wreck Dayton's marriage?"

Wow, right to the personal questions. Anya moved to quickly change the subject. "I would just like to drop Comet off, and by any chance is Callen working today?"

Kate looked across the counter skeptically. She was going to think what she would regardless of what Anya said. "Yeah, you can just hang up his leash over there." She pointed to the back wall by a glass door." If you put him in that room there, the attendant will take him into the play room." Kate was itching with more questions. Anya could tell. "So, are you really as bad as they say you are because I've read that..."

"So!" Anya clapped her hands together in a breath. "Callen, is he working today?"

Kate's face contorted into an expression of annoyance, but answered in her customer service voice. "Yes, I could go get him if you'd like." Anya nodded. "O.K., I'll be right back." She disappeared into another door back behind the counter in a huff.

People normally didn't like it when Anya wouldn't answer every little question she had about her personal life. Some people had absolutely no shame, and would be way more rude than Kate had been. Normally, Anya would have answered questions like hers, but she really didn't want to deal with any busybody today.

She looked over as the door Kate had just exited through swung open. From it emerged Callen wearing a blue checkered flannel with the sleeves rolled up. He was dressed in plain jeans and tennis shoes. Anya backpaddled for a moment as she beheld him. He was, to say the least, A LOT more attractive than she had remembered from his visit to her apartment. His physic was muscular with broad shoulders, and his arms were thick, heightened by the rolled sleeves. Callen's silky hair was such a dark brown it was almost black and was neatly combed with a slight wave. He had a strong jaw with stubble lining his chin.

"Hello," Callen said waving in front of his face. "I was told you wanted to see me? Kate said it was important."

Anya's face heated as she realized he had been staring at his face. "Y-Yeah, I brought Comet here, and I thought that you might want to see how he was doing."

"Oh, yes!" He came around the counter to a dancing Comet. "Yes, it's nice to see you too!" Comet jumped up on his legs as Callen rubbed his back. "Yes, hello! Hello to you too!" There was a moment before he looked back at her. "Oh, yes, Miss celeb. That must be why Kate was acting all funny. Anya, right?"

Feeling extremely awkward, Anya replied, "Yes." At this point, Anya became very aware of the way she looked. She thought she had looked cute this morning, but she was feeling unsure in front of a handsome man. Maybe she was too plain. Maybe he could see how much she had been struggling. Just calm down, she told herself, it's not like something is going to happen. She had seen, even dated more attractive men than Callen. Yeah, she thought, he wasn't someone to get all rattled by. There was a few more beats of silence before Anya said, "He seems to be really excited to see you."

Callen gave Comet one more pat before standing straight. "Yeah, but it's more likely that he likes me because I hand out the afternoon treats." He chuckled as Comet whipped his head up at the word 'treat'. "Not right now buddy." He looked back at Anya with a smile. "He does seem to be doing great. Did he get too crazy for ya at home?"

"Well... not exactly," Anya commented with a small smile. "I just figured the other dogs might need some guidance from their alpha." Now, Comet was chewing on his tail with a lasting determination.

"It seems that he was able to bring his favorite toy with him today as well." Callen tried to distract Comet with a stick he pulled from his pocket. He dropped it on the floor for Comet to chew on. "Well I'm glad to see he's still his wild self. I'll take him back to play with the other dogs. Thanks for updating me on the little guy." He turned toward the glass door on the other side.

"Wait," Anya didn't know what was coming out of her mouth. "So, um, I'm very grateful for you taking care of him for so long..." How much courage did she have left for today? "I was wondering if I could thank you in some way?" Callen opened his mouth to answer, but she went on, "Maybe I could cook you a meal?"

Callen scratched his head and sighed. "I don't know if that's the best idea. We don't normally do things with customers."

"Oh, I didn't mean anything weird by it, it's just..." Anya tapped her boot on the floor, "I just don't really have any friends right now. I really do want to show my appreciation." She looked at him with the biggest and brightest eyes she could muster.

"Ah," Callen hesitated. "Well maybe just a dinner between friends wouldn't be too bad, but just as a thank you, right?"

"Yes, of course." It seemed that Callen was a very gentle-hearted person. "Maybe this Friday?" Maybe Anya could have friends that weren't so obsessed with their image that they would ditch her as soon as anything negative came out. Maybe they could be friends. They at least had a love for Comet in common.

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

"Here," Anya dug into her purse to pull out a pen and paper. "Here's my number. Text me and we can plan it out further later." She handed him the slip with a big smile. "I look forward to it."

"Yeah," he took the paper and put it in his pocket. "O.K., I need to get back to work. I'll see you on Friday." With this, Callen and Comet disappeared into the next room.

Anya headed out the door feeling a hundred percent better. She called a cab, and thought to herself that maybe, just maybe, things were going to get better.