Applesauce was gone.
No, not dead. Margot and Alana would not have been able to handle it if she was. No, their very cheeky dog had decided to run away when Margot accidentally left the door open a little too long. Usually, Applesauce never went outside without permission, but it seemed that today, Applesauce had decided to step over the line, metaphorically speaking.
As well as literally speaking, since Alana had taped a line in the carpet to signal where the border was between where Applesauce could and could not go without permission.
Applesauce knew when things were serious enough to obey her mothers’ instructions but it seemed that she had finally discovered her rebellious streak.
When Margot and Alana had emerged separately from their bedroom that afternoon, it was to find the big mansion utterly devoid of Applesauce’s excited yapping and paws clicking on tiles. They didn’t think much of it, until Margot noticed that the door hadn’t been closed properly.
Everything clicked into place and suddenly Margot was yelling for Applesauce frantically, while Alana came out of the kitchen to see what was wrong. “Applesauce is gone!” Margot yelled. Alana was a little taken aback by her vehemence, but given that Margot was very emotionally unstable, she didn’t comment on it.
Alana shook her head; it was just like Applesauce to hide from Margot for fun. She couldn’t possibly have run away. Her fiancé must have been overreacting. That was until she saw paw prints in the snow outside, leading away from the house. Alana screamed Applesauce’s name for ten minutes, before deciding that the sensible thing to do was to drive out and look for her.
Two hours later, she returned home in tears. She was unsuccessful in her mission to find her beloved pet and now both women were extremely devastated.
They agreed to put fliers up to advertise in town as well as closer to home, but for now, they were just going to cry it out, with Alana holding tightly to Margot for reassurance and to make sure her queen didn’t hurt herself in her grief.
Eventually, they fell asleep on the couch together, a peaceful reprieve from the stress of the afternoon. When they woke up a few hours later, it was with determined mindsets. They were going to find Applesauce. If they couldn’t do it themselves, they would rely on strangers.
Money, of course, was never an issue, but they only put out a modest reward, anyway. They didn’t want anyone filching Applesauce for ransom. After a few hours of printing out and posting flyers about Applesauce, the two future Verger-Bloom women headed home, exhausted, once again.
As soon as they passed the threshold of their manor, Margot broke down crying. It seemed she and Alana felt as if Applesauce had abandoned them, maybe for good. Applesauce had never been away from them for this long, even on a playdate, which she had sometimes with her friends from the nearby parks.
Margot stood up and almost ran to her room. Sensing what Margot had in mind, Alana held tightly to her once she had been caught, whispering sweetly into her ear and kissing the top of her head, trying to reassure her that it was alright and that they would see Applesauce again.
They both slept fitfully that night, with Margot holding tightly onto Alana, as if Alana needed more comfort than she did. They were both suffering equally, and they each knew it, but they mostly thought about the other first. Except when it came to certain foods. Like salmon.
Margot smiled into Alana. How in the world she got off track thinking about salmon was beyond her. Alana probably would not be able to explain it either, despite being a psychiatrist. Her love for salmon clouded her instincts and judgement.
Well, she could judge whether the salmon was good or not, but that was about it. When salmon was involved, both girls only thought with their stomachs. Anybody that was unfortunate to get in the way would regret it.
Margot got up, not sleepy one bit. Alana had managed to drift into a very tumultuous sleep, however, kicking about and mumbling nonsense about how she was going to be very mad at Applesauce when she showed her face again. Margot could imagine that speech: “I’m not angry, Applesauce. I’m just disappointed.”
It was a classic cliché line that Margot knew Alana would definitely use if she could. Her sense of humour went beyond cheesy, sometimes. By the time Margot pulled herself out of her thoughts, she was in the kitchen and had a plate in front of her. She blinked in realisation as she remembered that she wanted salmon. She looked in the fridge only to find none. This set her off on a tantrum.
Alana woke up suddenly to the sound of smashing plates and yelling. She was still partly unconscious and thought it was Margot yelling at Applesauce. Then she heard an inhuman screech, the likes of which she would attribute to a banshee or Margot pulling her hair out.
Alana suddenly rolled out of bed, which she only did when she didn’t want to get up. Or couldn’t get up. This time, it was a bit of both. As her head hit the floor, she realised the noises were coming from the kitchen.
The absence of Margot beside her meant that either they were being robbed by the most amateur thieves in the country or Margot herself was causing the ruckus. And she was yelling at Applesauce, despite her disappearance.
Alana hurried to the kitchen, not bothering to put her dressing gown on. She found Margot amidst an explosion of shattered porcelain, digging through the fridge and freezers as if the contents were not already strewn across the floor. She stopped in the doorway, shocked speechless. She had never seen her girlfriend in such a rage before. She tentatively spoke up, “Margot, what’s happened, dear?”
Margot turned to her with such a look of fury, it was as if she truly was an inhabitant of hell. Alana stepped back involuntarily, before Margot yelled out, “I can’t find any fucking salmon! How could we be out of salmon, for fuck’s sake?!”
Alana burst out laughing. She had no idea that all this was caused by Margot’s want for salmon. She knew that they both liked salmon a little too much, but this was a little extreme. Although, taking in account the lack of Applesauce and her fiancé’s emotional instability, and Alana could understand the drastic kitchen assault.
Margot bristled at Alana’s laughter, but then chuckled a little. Her princess’s laughter was contagious. Alana spoke again, between gasps for breath, “Mar-Margot… We…I…” Her laughter resumed full force as Margot joined in, suddenly aware of the absurdity of the situation.
As they laughed amongst shattered plates and excavated freezers, Alana had enough strength to say, “Margot, we have plenty of salmon! Did you not check the other kitchen?” Margot’s face froze, as she realised her mistake. She had destroyed so many plates and upturned the fridge and freezers for nothing! Well, at least she got to be destructive and still get salmon in the end!
Margot relayed this to Alana, who giggled, which set Margot off giggling. As they giggled, they got off the floor, each too absorbed with thoughts of salmon to take notice of the mess around them. On the slightly longer walk to the other kitchen, Margot laid her head on Alana’s shoulders as they walked.
They were both spent from laughing so much. Oddly enough, Margot realised, smashing the plates didn’t help nearly enough as laughing with Alana did. As they made and ate their salmon, they both resolved that the coming hours would be spent happily, as well as in search for their missing family member, for that is what Applesauce was to them.