Juniper stayed silent, staring nkly at the frantically paddling turtles.
The turtles seemed to stare right back at her. Sensing a distinct aura of hostility, they fearfully pulled their little heads into their shells.
"Cute, right?" Shanley stepped up behind Juniper, wrapping his arms around her with a smug, tender tone. "Your neenth birthday present."
Juniper turned her head to look at him,pletely utterly baffled.
"Turtles live a long time." Shanley pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, his voice dropping into a raspy, serious whisper. "Juniper, I want you to live a long, healthy life."
Hearing this, the confusion vanished from Juniper''s face, reced by a sh of deep,plex emotion. So that was it. That was the meaning behind giving her two little turtles. It wasn''t about money or expensive jewelry. He just wanted her to be healthy. He wanted her to live a long life.
In an instant, it felt as though she had been transported back to when she was four years old—the first time Grandpa had ever thrown a birthday for her. He had said, *''Grandpa wishes for our little Juniper to be healthy, happy, and live a very long life.''*
Her heart swelledpletely. It felt impossibly soft. Her entire world was suddenly filled to the brim with Shanley.
"There are even letters carved on the shells." Shanley scooped up the prettier of the two turtles, pointing to the ''J'' on its back, showing it off like a prized treasure. "J for Juniper. This one takes your name, it''s J-Turtle."
What on earth was he talking about? Juniper thought his absolute earnestness made him look like a madman. She wanted tough, but she was afraid that doing so would crush his enthusiastic spirit.
"Why are there two?" she asked, rubbing her nose out of curiosity.
"This one is me." Shanley lifted the other turtle. The ''S'' on its shell was distinctly visible. "His name is S-Turtle. From now on, he''s going to keep the long-living J- Turtlepany."
"Is that right?" Juniper choked back her emotion, quicklyposed herself, and replied with a slightly hoarse voice, "Then you''d better take good care of them. Both our lives are resting on their little shoulders."
"I''ll take care of them. I guarantee they''ll survive," Shanley promised with absolute certainty.
After finishing the cake and wandering around the new house a bit longer, the two leisurely headed back to the Cloudscape Community.
When they arrived at the front door, they spotted Kurt Schwartz sitting on the stoop like a lost puppy, dozing off while ying a game on his phone.
"Juniper, you''re finally back!" Kurt
Ce pitifully as he limped to
his feet, his legs stiff from sitting. "I''ve been waiting out here for
exactly two hours Content bngs
"Why are you here?" Shanley frowned, thoroughly displeased. "Why do you keep running over to our ce?"
"To show my gratitude, obviously."
Kurt rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed, before grabbing the bags on the ground and pushing his way inside. "My brother had a ton of clothes sent over to me today, and was absolutely thrilled. So, I came over specifically to say thank you."
He then nced around the room and hesitantly mumbled, "Uh, is Dana off today?"
"She''s on leave." Juniper sat on the sofa, watching Kurt busy himself in the kitchen. She asked out of curiosity, "You know how to cook?"
"As a veteran exchange student, I would''ve starved to death years ago if I didn''t."
"Oh," Juniper replied casually, popping a snack into her mouth. "But we already ate." "You all ate?" Kurt spun around abruptly, his voice pitching higher. "Ebony Fox ate too?"
Juniper, mid-chew, shot him an icy re and said in annoyance, "What, are you trying to poison her?" Was
he still holding a grudge? His petty
mind was narrower than a needle''s eye!
Shanley, who was making a ss of lemon water for Juniper, also turned his head in confusion.
"No, no!" Kurt panicked, holding up two carrots in a gesture of surrender. "I stopped being mad at Ebony Fox ages ago!"