Four
Rhett
Calix was a saint. Not only did he give me a huge tumbler of tea, but he also came in and helped me put a cat tree together. I’d chosen to take the kitty to work with me because I’d always wanted a shop cat, and I had an appointment after work to get her looked over.
I should probably be nervous about being a new business owner, since I’d taken this place over a few weeks ago. Honestly, I was too tired to be nervous. I’d had so much to deal with recently: my aunt’s funeral, processing her estate, moving from apartment to house—and now ghosts.
The ghosts were really, truly intent on giving me heart failure. Between hearing steps behind me and things being moved about, I felt like I was in one of those haunted house mazes. I’d love to blame some of this on me being scatterbrained. Like the having things moved on me—I would love to blame myself, but I literally saw my coffee mug get put into the sink this morning, so…clearly ghosts.
I’d spent half the night coming awake at every sound, so today, I was too tired for this shit.
Work went about as expected. My day oscillated between being crazy busy to really slow, and there wasn’t much middle ground. It was the slow hours in the shop that about killed me because it was so, so tempting to curl up somewhere and take a nap.
I hit a lull at about two in the afternoon and chose to call home rather than risk a nap. Video chat, actually, as it was what my siblings preferred.
August picked up on the first ring. We had a six-year age gap between us but it didn’t really matter much. We were still pretty close. In fact, August was determined to come out here for college—which was another two years off—so he could live with me. Which I absolutely didn’t mind.
He looked like my stepdad, with dark auburn hair and all the freckles, dimples winking as he grinned. “ Heya, bro . How’s the new house ?”
“Huge. I can’t believe Aunt Ruth lived there alone for decades. Really cool, though. She kept it up really well.”
“ Then why do you look like something the cat—whoa, there’s a cat !”
Said cat had hopped onto the counter and sat near my arm, regarding the person on the small screen curiously.
“Yeah, she was in the house. I found her sitting on the stairs.”
“ Ohhh, she’s the cat Mom mentioned. Hi, kitty. She seems sweet .”
“She is, very affectionate. Still trying to come up with a name for her.”
“ Lucy ,” August said definitively.
Uh. “What?”
“ Lucy. Full name, Lucy Fur .”
The cat gave a merp sound and I just about lost it right there laughing. “August, that’s terrible, and you! Cat, seriously, you like that name?”
Proving a point, August said it again. “ Lucy Fur .”
Cat once again meowed back.
“I give up. I was going to go a more dignified route, but if that’s what you’re going to answer to, fine.”
August looked pleased his name had been accepted. “ So you are keeping her ? I thought you wanted a dog .”
“I want both, really. She’s a really good companion, and I like the idea of a cat to keep the pests at bay, so she’s mine now. I’m taking her to the vet in about two hours.”
“ Good. I know she’s fluffy, but she looks kinda underweight to me .”
“Yeah, she’s bone thin under the fur. She’s eating good, though. I think she was abandoned and had a hard time surviving on the streets. She’ll be a pampered princess from now on.”
“ Cat distribution system working good, then. ”
At that moment, Lucy Fur chose to hop down to the carpet, then raced for the back door. Bemused—I’d never seen this cat move quickly anywhere—I followed her. “Hang on, August, she’s reacting to something.”
Lucy Fur went to the back door and started pawing at the doorknob. Uh. I didn’t really want to let her out. But maybe something was back there?
“August, hang on. Gonna put you down for a sec.”
“ Sure .”
I propped the phone up on one of the many supply shelves I had in the back, then bent to scoop up Lucy Fur into one arm. I didn’t want her taking off. Only then did I cautiously open the back door, as I had no idea what the cat sensed or heard out here.
Huh, I didn’t see anything.
A shuffle sound came from my right.
I quickly looked in that direction and found a…dog? It was hard to tell under all of the mud and grime, but it looked like a dog.
Lucy Fur wiggled out of my arms and jumped to the ground.
“Shit. No, Lucy, get back here!”
She ignored me, going right up to the dog and touching noses with it.
Uhm. Were these two friends or something? My shop wasn’t that far from the house, so it was possible.
The dog gave a little tail wag, so he was friendly with cats, at least.
Lucy Fur turned and led the dog back to me. I kid you not, she had him right on her tail like there was a leash attached. She slipped past my legs and into the shop like she’d done her job, and this was all me now.
I looked down at the dog, and honestly, this was the biggest fucking dog I’d seen in real life. He was waist tall on me, easily, and had to be a hundred pounds. He also looked really matted, anxious, and not sure if he was welcome here.
“Oh, you poor guy.” I extended a hand carefully to him. “Hi. Are you a good dog?”
I got another little tail wag and he sniffed my hand before pushing his nose into my palm.
“Oh, you are. Will you come in? I’ve got beef jerky and water. That sound good to you?”
“ Bro, what is going on over there ?”
I spoke to the phone but I focused on getting the dog inside. “Lucy apparently has a canine friend. She guided him right inside the shop.”
“ Get out .”
“Is there a dog distribution system?”
“ Apparently so if your cat’s in charge. Uh, well, congrats on your new dog ?”
“You’re funny.” I picked up the phone so I could show him. “But see his condition?”
“ Yikes. Poor thing has been on the streets for a while. Tell you what, I’ll hang up. You’ve got your hands full. But call me later tonight. I’ll think of a good name for the dog .”
“Thanks, bro. Chat at you later.” I hung up absently, pocketing the phone, because he was right about me having my hands full. I encouraged the dog to come with me into my very small kitchenette/break room. I filled a bowl of water and set it down, and the dog immediately drained it. Shit, poor thing was likely dehydrated.
The jerky was half empty, so I fed the dog some of it because he was starving. Not too much, though. I didn’t want him getting sick. Then I filled the bowl again.
Okay, let’s put things into priorities. This dog needed a vet too. Probably more than Lucy did.
I called the vet, explained the situation, and the woman on the other end was very sympathetic. She moved the schedule around and said to bring them both in—they’d make it work—which I really appreciated.
Hanging up, though, I realized I couldn’t take him in this condition. He’d destroy my car, he was so filthy. And him hanging out in the shop like this wouldn’t do any good either. Uhhh…shit, what to do.
Wait. Didn’t Calix live above his shop?
I quickly called him.
“ Hey, man, what’s up ?”
“Calix, you’re not going to believe this. My cat apparently has a dog friend. She just had me open the back door to let him in.”
Calix huffed out an incredulous laugh. “ You’re kidding .”
“I’m totally not kidding. Dog’s sweet but filthy. Can I please, pretty please, use your tub to give him a bath?”
“ Of course, man, bring him over. Tell you what, while you’re washing him, I’ll grab some supplies from the pet store next door. ”
“I owe you, man, thank you so much.”
Calix was seriously the nicest guy I’d ever met. Also one of the hottest men I’d ever laid eyes on. I think he was about five years older than me? He had this kind of African shaman air to him, what with the alternative store he ran and the style he had. His black hair was always in these braids past his shoulders, with all sorts of crystals and beads woven into them. Most of his shirts showed a good section of his chest, too, and it was all mahogany skin and muscle. Honestly, he looked like a fantasy character brought to life in many ways. If I had any inkling he was interested, I would have tried flirting by now.
I looked down at the dog, which had finished yet a second bowl of water and was looking up at me expectantly.
“Under all that dirt and grime I think there’s a really handsome dog. Let’s find out, shall we?”