Chapter Eleven Last chapter!

Sam spent the next six months going to work and sleeping.Every four days she spent the night at her practice with Pootsy and her puppies. Pootsy's puppies looked as if they were very healthy; and would be nice, purebred puppies.
Stacy. Andie, and Ben were thoroughly enjoying their work at the animal practice; and wanted to continue work for as long as Sam was running it.
Business was better than ever, and everyone had money to throw around. (At a minimum.)
Ms. Hayword never came by to see her dog; nor the puppies, she stayed clear away from the practice in general. They never saw her; until six months after Pootsy had her puppies. When she came by because she missed her dog and thought she's lost her.
"No, Ms. Hayword, you haven't lost your dog. She's been here the whole time." Sam had little trouble being frustrated; because she had just figured out that Ms. Hayword had memory problems.
"You're positive she didn't run away?" she asked, looking at Sam with concern.
"I'm positive. And you know, she's probably ready to come home. You can go ahead and take her." Sam went to the back room and carefully took the puppies away from Pootsy. She whined a little and tried to follow, but Sam picked her up and brought her out of the back room to Ms. Hayword, who was waiting patiently for her dog to be delivered to her.
"Thank you." she said, she took her dog in her arms and walked out the door without so much as a backward glance at the room where the puppies were laying looking at the front of the cage after their mom.
"I'm sorry guys." Sam went back to them and pet them until they were asleep. Then she went out to the register and asked Andie when their next appointment was.
"Well, Sam, considering that it's two minutes until closing time, we've no more appointments for today." Andie said, checking her watch for the time.
"You know I could fire you for saying that.Being smart to your boss." Sam replied.
"I know," Andie smiled. "But you wouldn't." Andie closed the cash register and locked it. Then got up and did the customary closing things, clocked out, and said good bye to Sam.
"See you tomorrow!" she said, walking out the door at exactly seven o' clock.
"Stacy! Ben! You guys can go home if you like, it's closing time." She yelled into the back to her two colleagues.
"Thanks Sam!" they yelled back at the same time. Ben was spending time with the puppies and Stacy was cleaning up the needles and organizing the refrigerator.
Sam waited around until Stacy and Ben left, then she locked up herself and slept the night there with the puppies; as she usually did every four nights. They had decided as a group that they should do until all of the puppies were sold.

Four Months Later

"Hey Sam! My birthday is in about two weeks. Do you think you could help me plan a party or something like that? Star said she would help, and Auntie and Joe said that they would be more than happy to have it here." Jake asked her.
"You're turning 26 already?" she asked, looking at him. He sure did look 26. Jake was at least six feet tall; he had a young yet old look to his face.
"Yeah, I mean no, I'm going to be 27! You're 24, and Star's 27 too! Will you help?" he kept coming back to this question.
"Yes, I will Jake!" she said, laughing at his persistence.
Auntie and Joe agreed to let Jake have his party at their mansion, and Star helped buy all the food that was needed. Jake and Sam went around to party shops and got supplies that would be needed for the party. Like streamers, balloons, and other things of that sort.
Auntie ordered a large cake that would be suit for at least 50 people to eat. Jake invited all of his friends; and they invited their friends.
Sam was so excited about the party that she totally forgot that it was the next day. Star woke her up motioning her to come down to Auntie and Joe's after she had had her shower. So Sam took her shower and then went down to Auntie and Joe's house just as Star had told her to do.
"Ready for that party tonight, Sam?" Auntie asked as she helped herself to the pancakes that were sitting on the burner of the stove.
Wow, I'm already 24 and I didn't even realize it! And Jake is going to be 27!
Sam remember that Alex would be turning 27 some time that year and instantly new that that fact would be weighing over her for the rest of the night.
"Well, let's get this party started!" They spent the remainder of the day putting up all of the decorations.
About an hour before their first guest was due to arrive, Sam went to visit Neptune and Luna at the aquarium.
She spent a while there then decided that she should probably get back to the party to do her job: greet the guests and answer the door.
She ran to her apartment and changed into dry clothes before speeding over to Auntie's house just in time to park and meet the first guest.
"Hi!" she said as she opened the door. "Welcome, just make yourself at home. Jake and Star are right through there if you want to talk to them." She said, motioning into the other room.
Andie, came, then Stacy, Ben, and all of Star's friends.
Jake's friends seemed to be the late ones. They all arrived at least an hour late. Sam's friends were the first to arrive, and then Star's.
They all stood around and talked for several hours. Dark had almost fallen when Jake announced that they would go outside and go in the water. It was almost three hours before it would get totally dark; so everyone went outside to surf and hang out on the beach.
Sam had bought a light blue surfboard and decided that she would like to go surfing with all of the people at the party; so she paddled out into the water and waited for a wave.
A large wave came into view and Sam took her lead. She surfed the wave to shore amid applause from the guys on the beach.
"You surf well for a surfer chick, dude!" One guys said, patting her on the back.
"Thanks," Sam shook her head, inwardly laughing at the way Jake's friends talked.
"Sam! Over here!" someone was summoning her to the other side of the beach.April!
"Hey girl! What's up?" April asked as Sam came to a halt in front of her.
"Nothing really, you?"
"I'm just hangin' around.Wanna' teach me how to surf?" she asked, her heavy Irish accent blending with Sam's.
"Sure!" Sam had answered April before she had finished talking, hence their voices blended together.
"Wow! You guys sound the same when you talk together like that!" someone said.
"Ok." Sam motioned for April to follow her across the beach.
They found a nice empty spot where no one would scare April off the water.And Sam began to teach her how to surf.
"Ok, here's the board. What you do first in paddle out into the water.Then you hoist yourself up onto the board and balance your weight on the board. Got it?" Sam went through the instructions carefully and thoroughly several times before April thought she was ready to try it on the sand. So she did, and Sam thought that she looked like a natural.
"Go out there April!" Sam pushed her out into the water; then threw her surfboard after April.
April surfed horribly; she never managed to get up onto the water; but she did manage to stand, and fall; stand, and fall.
Sam finally told her to come in when she saw everyone else on the beach moving toward the house; and it was beginning to get dark.
She flagged April in from the water and April handed her the surfboard.
They walked to the house together; and Sam told April to go talk to people while she took a shower.
"I'll be back in a while." She said as she climbed the stairs to the burgundy bathroom. She quickly took a shower, put lotion on, shaved (before the lotion), and clothed.
She went to her old room and looked around, she noticed that there was a small plastic box in the closet.
That's odd.She went over to it and opened it. Laying in front of her was her old 'always' necklace. She stuck it in her pocket as a reminder to throw it away; then she traveled down the winding staircase to talk to the guests.
Half an hour later, Auntie declared that dinner was ready. So all 36 people traveled to the porch to get their dinner.
They ate and laughed for at least an hour; Sam curled up in the corner fingering the necklace in her pocket. She thought of all the things that she and Alex had done on their dates. Like the first one where they had to escape through the back door when they saw Star and Jake walk in.
After a while people started to leave, or fall asleep on the couch.
And after about two hours, everyone had left.
"I want to have a party like that for my birthday." Star wrote as they were going to the apartment complex.
"Well, we'll have one like that." Sam said. Sam and Star had decided to go in Sam's car while Jake drove alone.
"Awesome!" Star said, smiling.
They rode the rest of the way in silence. Jake driving right behind them.
Several days later it was Star's birthday.and they had to plan yet another party. They different foods than Jake's such as cookies, sodas, hot dogs, etc. They got purple streamers to hang on the ceiling and in the entry ways of all the doors in Auntie and Joe's house.
They cooked the food before all of the guests came; and then warmed it up if it was still cold.
Sam had washed her clothes and was wearing the same jeans shorts as she had been at Jake's party. She wore a red tank top with a white cameo underneath. The tank top was low cut so the cameo showed underneath.
She jumped into her car 15 minutes earlier then she was supposed to do; and arrived ten minutes early. She was able to greet the first guest when they arrived precisely at five o' clock.
"Hey! How are you Stephanie?" she asked as she recognized the person at the door.
"I'm great! And you?" she replied, stepping inside and handing Joe her scarf when he asked to take it.
"I need a break from all these parties!" Sam said, smiling.
"I bet you do!" Stephanie nodded toward Star and then left Sam to wait for more guests to arrive.
They came in groups from then on; most of them Sam knew, but some she didn't. There were at least 50 guests by six o' clock; and Sam was starting to get overwhelmed when Jake came to her and said that that was everyone that would be coming.
So, Sam went and talked to all of the guests in turn. She got several questions about Alex; people wondering where he had gone.
"So Samantha! Where in the world had Alex gone to?" one girl asked; sipping at her punch.
"He joined that army.And he isn't coming back. I'd like to stop thinking about him if you will." She added, nodding to herself.
"Well all right, if that's what you want." the older girl's voice trailed off as she began to back away from Sam.
"Thank you!" Sam called after her. The girl glanced over her shoulder at Sam; she smiled sweetly and then continued her conversation with Jake.
Sam continued to patrol the living and dining room; saying "hello" to people that she new. She talked with some of them for a long time; but eventually moved on when they found more interesting people to talk to.
"Hey! Sam! Do you have 50 cents?" someone asked her.
"I might.Why?" she asked, looking at the guy who had asked her.
"I just need to make a phone call." he said, looking at her with a hurried manner.
"Hold on," Sam stuck her hand into her jeans pocket, and found that she still hadn't thrown away her necklace. Her thoughts strayed for several seconds before she remembered that she had told him she would try to find 50 cents for him.
She eventually fished out the due amount and handed it to him with a smile and an apology about how slow she had been to get his request.
He nodded politely and hurried off to a pay-phone down the street from Auntie and Joe's house.
Why didn't he just use their phone? Guess it's time to get rid of this necklace.
She pulled the silver chain and charm out of her pocket and began to make her way toward the kitchen pull out trash can.
She was about half-way there when the doorbell rang. She sighed and went back to the door. Staring at the necklace in her hand.
She pulled the door open and looked up to see who had come so late and uninvited.
"I heard that there was a party here tonight so I decided to come check it out."
Sam breathed, "Alex! Alex?!"
Alex didn't answer with words, but pulled her into a strong embrace.
"I-I.Why are you here? I thought you left!" her mood went from immensely happy to severely mad.
"I couldn't stay with those people any longer." He said, "that letter that you got from me was left on your bed by me. I didn't write it while I was there.I dropped it off here when Auntie was home and told her to give it to you. She didn't ask why, I guess she just figured that I was leaving some of the plans for the wedding because I didn't have time to talk."
Alex glanced down at her open hand. He carefully pulled the necklace from the creased palm and put it around Sam's neck; fastening the clasp behind her head.
"Mad at me?" he said, taking her hand.
"How could I be?" she said through tears.
"You couldn't have really thought that I was leaving, Sam. I would never leave permanently. At least I won't now."
"Come see Star and Jake." she whispered, pulling his hand toward them, "they won't believe that you're finally back."