Even though I want to.
I head over there to meet Percy and his owner. I know Easton’s in Toronto for a game tonight, so I’m not worried about running into him today. Dennis, the dog’s owner, brings Percy down to the lobby. I sit on one of the chairs to wait for him. Javier’s not working today, or I’d go chat with him, although maybe that would be awkward.
The elevator doors slide open and a man steps off. He’s dragging a clearly reluctant and nervous black dog by the leash.
“Otis!” My jaw nearly smacks the coffee table in front of me. I jump up, my heart thumping. I look from Otis to the strange man, then back to Otis. Then I barrel toward them. “What’s going on?” I glare at the man. “Who are you?”
“I’m Dennis.” He frowns. “Lilly?”
“That’s me. Why do you have this dog?”
His frown intensifies. “This is my dog.”
Otis is going crazy over me, jumping and crying. I pick him up. I think he’s grown. He nuzzles his nose into the side of my neck, whining. “No! He’s not your dog. This is Otis. He belongs…ohhhhh. Oh no.” I gape at him. “You’re Otis’s owner?”
“His name is Percy.” He stares at me and Otis, who is now slobbering kisses all over my face.
“Where the hell have you been?” I demand.
Dennis takes a step back, narrowing his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“And don’t you know he’s afraid of elevators?” The sight of Otis being scared and towed out of the elevator breaks my already broken heart.
“He’s fine.”
I take a big breath. The world has spun off its axis here. He’s not the only one confused. I need to get a grip. “He was scared. You need to look after him better.”
Dennis rolls his eyes. “He’s a dog.”
My stomach heaves and I get a sour taste in my mouth. But I need to calm down.
“Otis, I’ve missed you so much,” I croon, rubbing him. Then I set him back on the floor and face the man. “Look, I’m sorry. I know this dog. I know the person who looked after him while you were…”
“In Hong Kong.” He shakes his head. “My girlfriend…er, ex-girlfriend…who was supposed to look after him apparently abandoned him. I just got back and found out.”
Once again, my mouth goes slack. I blink rapidly, processing this. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I snap my jaw closed and press my fingers to my mouth. This is why Easton messaged me that I wouldn’t be looking after Otis anymore? He had to give Otis back to this man?
This man who isn’t fit to pick up Otis’s dog poop.
A million thoughts ricochet through my brain. I don’t know what to say. Or what to do.
“I don’t know if this is going to work out,” the man says, his eyebrows pinched together, looking at me like he thinks I’m a little nuts.
“Let’s talk.” I gesture at one of the seating arrangements and we move toward them. I take a seat opposite him. Otis jumps into my lap. My heart squeezes and I stroke his head and back. “Tell me about what services you’re looking for.”
“I need someone to walk him twice a day,” Dennis says. “Morning and evening. I work long hours.”
“So he’ll be alone all day?”
“Yes.”
I nod, sucking on my bottom lip. I know people have to work; that’s why I have a dog-walking business. It’s not my place to judge people. But I don’t believe this man cares about Otis. “Are you sure you really want a dog?”
He sighs. He looks across the lobby. “I don’t know. I got Percy just before I got sent overseas. I didn’t realize how much work he’d be. The last few days have been crazy. He has to go out all the time or he, uh, has accidents in the apartment.”
“Yes.”
“It was Christmas and I was busy and I kept coming home to messes. And he wants to play all the time.”
“Of course he does.”
“It was better when Karen and I were together. She helped look after him. Then I was so pissed off that she’d abandoned him, and I made such a big deal about making her find him and getting him back, I had to take him back.”
Sadness fills my chest and I nod slowly. “You don’t have to keep him,” I say quietly. “I volunteer at an animal shelter. We could find a home for him with someone who really wants him. But I’m pretty sure Easton would take him back.”
He makes a face and rubs his jaw. He stares across the lobby for a moment. “Yeah. That would probably be for the best.”
My heart leaps. “Really?”
“There’s a chance I’ll have to go to Hong Kong again in February. What would I do then? Do you look after dogs for months at a time?”
“No. Not for that long. I would tell someone who’s going to be gone for months at a time and has to leave their dog that they probably shouldn’t have a dog.” I say this kindly.
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
“I expect Easton will be back tomorrow. You could talk to him then about taking Otis…er, Percy…back.”
“Would you take him?”
For a few seconds I’m confused. “Oh, you mean tonight?”
“Yeah. You could bring him to Easton tomorrow.”
My eyebrows raise. Is he that eager to get rid of Otis? “Okay. Sure. Uh, do you have his things?”
He rolls his eyes. “Oh yeah. He’s got a ton of stuff for a dog. I’ll…go pack it up and bring it down?”
“All right.” I frown. “You’ll come back, right?”
He huffs. “Yeah, I’ll come back.”
Holy shit. I’m going to have to see Easton. My heart is galloping. Tomorrow. I’ll see him tomorrow.
I play with Otis and talk to him for the time it takes Dennis to go up to his apartment and return with Otis’s bag. I recognize it from all the times I’ve taken him back to my place for overnight stays. Today, it’s packed full with every toy and treat he owns. Yeah, it’s a lot. Easton kind of spoiled him.
I stand and set Otis on the floor, gripping his leash. I take the bag from Dennis. “Thanks.”
“Thank you.” He appears relieved, and I’m glad, because I sure wouldn’t want to take Otis away from someone who loved him. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. As a job, I mean.”