Chapter 4
Charlotte sneaks glances at Patricia, who stands by the window, her gaze fixed on the thick curtain of snow that keeps falling as if she hopes it might suddenly stop, melt, and let her retrieve her vehicle to escape. The volunteer is still processing her former college classmate's presence at the shelter—she's the last person she would have expected to find on a day like today and definitely the last one she'd want to be stranded with, because that's exactly what they are, even though Patricia refuses to accept it.
"If someone's waiting for you somewhere, you should call to let them know. I don't think you'll make it tonight," Charlotte suggests before finishing her coffee.
Patricia slowly turns her neck and looks at her in horror, though Charlotte is the one who's really scared, having felt like she was sharing the shelter with a possessed doll for a few seconds.
"I might not make it to where I was going, but I'm definitely returning home as soon as this stops," Patricia states dryly.
Charlotte nods in agreement and turns around to check if the dog Patricia brought in is still calm, unlike its rescuer.
"Why are you patronizing me?" Patricia snaps, and Charlotte sighs.
"I'm not patronizing you, but I can't do anything if you refuse to see what's obvious," she says, pointing at the window.
"And what's so obvious, may I ask?" Patricia demands, growing more agitated.
Charlotte presses her lips together in resignation before answering because she's just realized that Patricia isn't just frustrated because the weather and that abandoned dog ruined her plans—she's furious about being locked up with her specifically, because it's clear that Patricia is angry.
"It's not my fault you're stuck here," Charlotte says, "besides, you should be grateful you found shelter. Imagine if the refuge had been closed."
"I'm not going to thank you if that's what you're waiting for," Patricia wants to continue her senseless attack but stops when the dog gets up and sits beside her, throwing her off balance.
Charlotte looks at them and, despite the awkward situation, smiles at seeing the connection between her former classmate and the animal she rescued.
"Looks like he likes you," she says, trying to lighten the mood.
Patricia gives her a hard look, but then glances at the dog and somehow calms down a bit and decides to use this moment to take out her phone and send a voice note to her friends in Gibraltar to explain what happened. While Patricia records the note, she paces around the small room trying to calm her nerves and avoiding tripping over the dog, who follows her everywhere.
"Where were you traveling to?" Charlotte asks when Patricia puts down her phone.
Her intention isn't to pry, or maybe it is a little, because somehow she feels very curious about what happened to Patricia's life, but mostly, she's trying to create a more pleasant atmosphere between them, because she's certain they'll be spending many hours together.
"Gibraltar," she answers without looking at her.
"Are you hungry?" Charlotte changes the subject. "Luckily, I brought several things, and there's enough for both of us to have dinner."
Patricia's whole body tenses when she hears how easily Charlotte assumes they'll both be staying there together all night, something she can't seem to accept.
"No, thanks, I don't want anything," she says and sits in a chair, facing the window.
The dog sits next to her and rests its head on her leg. Charlotte sighs and decides to bring up the topic she's tried to avoid at all costs because it makes her uncomfortable, but it's much more annoying to endure Patricia's curt and distant behavior.
"Are you really still mad about what happened?" Charlotte asks.
When Patricia turns to look at her, the volunteer again has the sensation of facing a possessed doll.
"Of course, wouldn't you be?" Patricia snaps.
"It's been a decade, Patricia, or more," Charlotte responds, shocked, "and no, of course I wouldn't be. We both applied for the same job with equally good resumes."
"You're wrong," Patricia attacks, standing up from her chair and pointing her finger at her. "It's true we applied for the same position with the same qualifications, but not with equal opportunities because I didn't have any family members working on the veterinary hospital board. They gave you the position because you were Gabi's niece, and that wasn't fair."
"What's not fair is you blaming me for that. We'll never know if my uncle had anything to do with the decision or not, he only has one vote, but even if he did, it's not my fault, Patricia, and it's not right for you to be angry with me."
"I'm not responsible for them giving it to you either, but while you secured a permanent position at the veterinary hospital, I was bouncing around various clinics with awful contracts and schedules for more than five years," Patricia rages.
"I'm very sorry that happened to you, but what did you expect me to do? Give up the position so they'd give it to you? Would you have done that?"
Patricia opens her mouth ready to say yes, of course, but bites her tongue at the last second because she knows it's a lie. Had it happened the other way around, she would never have given up her position to give it to Charlotte or anyone else.
"That's what I thought," Charlotte says. "I'm not asking us to become best friends, in fact, I'm fine with us just continuing to say hello when we cross paths in the city like we sometimes do, but out there a terrible snowstorm is falling and although it's hard for you to accept, you know you're going to spend the night here with me, so I'm asking for a little civility between us. I stayed here so the dogs would be okay, not to be uncomfortable because a former college classmate can't get over not getting the job she wanted and having to find another one."
"I have gotten over it, I'm not a child," Patricia defends herself, indignant.
Charlotte raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms, the dog barks at Patricia.
"You have two options, Patricia," continues Charlotte who, although she's a person who doesn't like conflicts and tries to avoid them, isn't going to overlook this one, "you can stay sitting there in that chair by the window while your body slowly grows numb from cold and hunger makes your mood worse, or you can swallow your pride and come by the heater and have dinner with me, I'm sure you'll have a better attitude with a full stomach. Besides, it's Christmas Eve, you should get into the Christmas spirit a little."
Patricia wants to protest and continue the argument, but she's aware that every word that has come out of Charlotte's mouth is loaded with reason. Right now, she's dominated more by rage at her current situation and hunger than anything else, so she takes the chair and drags it to where Charlotte's is, right next to the heater.
"Much better, what would you like to eat?" she asks, pointing to the cans and containers she has on the table. "If you'd like, prepare whatever you want while I feed the dogs."
Charlotte leaves her in front of the table and walks away to tend to the furry ones while Patricia, grateful for this truce of silence, watches her out of the corner of her eye.