“Ugh, why do people get dogs if they can’t take care of them? At least the puppy will be easy to adopt out.”
Making my first round through the shelter, I make sure all the animals have water and that their cages are clean. There isn’t much I can do for all these poor creatures, but at least I can make sure they’re taken care of while they’re here. Make sure they’re fed, warm, and get some human interaction.
Stopping at the last cage that holds the new puppy, I smile. It’s some kind of shepherd mix, but its breed doesn’t matter, not when it’s as cute as it is.
“Yeah, you definitely won’t last long, not with that face.” The pup is looking at me with big, brown eyes and a wagging tail. It isn’t unusual for me to talk to the animals. I don’t feel bad or weird about it. Not when the truth is, I’d rather talk to them than to another human.
“Did you see him?” Sasha coo’s when I head back to my desk.
Withholding an eye roll, I nod. “Yes, I saw him, and no, you cannot take him home with you. Henry would shit bricks if you brought another dog home.”
Her lip curls into a frown. “Maybe I should get rid of him then? The dogs never let me down.” This is an ongoing thing with Sasha, she loves Henry, and he loves her, but they’re always fighting about something.
“Tell me, are you on or off again?”
“Neither.”
“Right…” I shake my head.
“What about you? You find anyone to share that huge apartment with yet?” I shoot her a look that says, really?
“I don’t date, Sasha. You know this.”
“Sorry, I thought maybe you met someone the other night, and that’s why you left so early. I didn’t even get to ask you what happened?”
Goosebumps pebble my flesh at the reminder. “Yeah, about that, I, uhh… I left because there was this guy that wouldn’t leave me alone. He followed me when I left, and then right before I was going to call 9-1-1, he disappeared.”
Sasha stares at me wide-eyed. “Holy shit, are you okay? Why didn’t you call me and tell me what happened?”
Truthfully, calling Sasha wasn’t even something I’d think to do. All my life, I’ve been alone. I didn’t know how to rely on someone else because it had only ever been me.
“I don’t know. I just… I was thankful that I had gotten away. I’m really lucky… it could’ve been much worse.”
The thought of being raped and beaten, and then left in a gutter somewhere makes my stomach churn. You hear about it all the time in this city, but no one ever thinks it will happen to them, not until it does.
“Not to sound like a total bitch because I do care about you and would never want anything to happen to you, but you’re the luckiest person I know. I mean, the guy just disappears? That never happens, and now that I’m thinking about it, you seem to be lucky all the time.”
My brow furrows in confusion. “What do you mean? I’m not lucky.”
Sasha gives me a disbelieving look. “Really? You don’t actually believe that, do you?” When I don’t say anything, she continues, “Let’s take your apartment, for example. It’s in one of the safest, nicest areas of the city. The rent there is insanely low, and the waitlist for that place is like a mile long. Yet, you somehow got in, and on top of that, you got a discounted rate on your rent.”
“Yeah, I still don’t know how that happened either.” I truly don’t. All I did was submit an application and hope for the best.
“What about how you got your car? The guy just wanted it gone so badly, he gave it to you for a fraction of the cost? Then, after all of that, even brought it to you because you didn’t have a way to get over there. Come on, you’ve got to see it too?”
“I mean, I see it, but I don’t know if I would consider it luck.”
Sasha rolls her eyes. “Girl, start playing the lottery because you’re a good luck charm.”
All I can do is shake my head and laugh at her. I’m not lucky, not really, right? As we work throughout the day, answering calls and setting the animals up to find their forever homes, I can’t shake the conversation away and come to the conclusion that I truly am lucky.
I escaped death the other night, or at least something that would’ve been close to it. I went to college and got a nice place to live, and a car for a really good price. This job even fell into my lap, so I suppose I agree with Sasha a little, though I won’t tell her that.
It’ll go straight to her blonde head.
Doing our final walkthrough, I stop at the new puppy’s cage. “Don’t worry, buddy, you won’t be here for long.”
“Who are you talking to?” A voice startles me, and I jump back half a foot and grip onto my chest, my heart beating right out of it. Looking to the side, I see Shawn standing only a few feet from me.
“Jesus, Shawn, you scared me,” I say, the words coming out in a rush as I try and calm myself.
Giving me a dimpled grin, he says, “Sorry, didn’t mean to use my ninja skills on you.”
“Next time you scare me like that, I might need to use my ninja skills on you. Which consists of a punch in the face.” I say, smiling.
“Whoa.” He puts up his hands, showing me his palms in surrender. “Easy killer. I’ll try not to sneak up on you anymore.”
“You better, for your own safety,” I joke. Shawn has been working here for a few weeks now, and we’ve quickly become friends. We joke and laugh together all the time, which are two things I always welcome. Plus, it helps that he’s good looking, not that I spend my day checking him out or anything. It’s hard to ignore his dreamy, blue eyes, and model-like features.
“So… I was actually wondering what you’re doing tonight?” he asks as we are walking back to the front.
“Tonight? Ahh...” I look at him wide-eyed. Is he trying to ask me out? “Nothing, I guess,” I finally say.
“Cool, I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat… with me?”
“Yes,” I blurt out before thinking about it. Way to sound desperate, Dove.
Shawn chuckles. “Okay, I guess that’s a yes. Do you just want to meet there, or I can swing by your place, and we can go together?” He shoves his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. I should probably meet him somewhere, but I’ve always dreamt of going on a real date where the guy comes to the house and picks you up, so I push the paranoia away. Plus, it’s been forever since I went on a date or was asked out on one.
I smile up at him, my belly filling with butterflies. “Yeah, that would be great.”
“I’ll pick you up at six. Send me a text with your address.” We pause in the foyer, and when he smiles at me, my heart skips a beat.
“Uh, yeah…” I stutter. Jesus, I need to work on my skills. Shawn waves goodbye to Sasha and then winks at me before walking out. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Sasha pounces.
“Oh, my god, he finally asked you out. Jesus, I never thought that was going to happen. The boy has been watching you since he started.”
My cheeks start to warm. “He has not!”
Sasha nods. “Yup, and now you’ve gone and made his dreams come true.”