Chapter 13 - Scarlett #2
I hear Nico’s loud laugh as I squat to better scratch behind Boss’s ears. He sounds like a pig with the way he’s breathing, but his little nub of a tail is shaking so hard it’s moving his entire bottom half. With another snort, he launches himself at me.
I collapse on my butt with a delighted giggle.
“Looks like Boss more than likes you,” Nico says with a chuckle. “You might have to be the one doing this interview.”
I send him a half-baked glare even as I scratch Boss’s butt where it’s still planted in my lap. “Not happening, but good try.”
In the end, the interview is mostly a bust, solely because Boss can’t focus on Nico for long enough to stay in the shot. He keeps trying to escape his foster to get to me.
“Sorry, folks, I might have to edit some footage into this video,” Nico says, amusement coating his tone. “It looks like Boss has a big thing for our camera girl and can’t seem to stay focused.”
With perfect timing, Boss yanks the leash out of his foster parent’s hand and bolts for me. I let out a shriek of laughter and drop Nico’s phone as I grab for his collar.
I’m still laughing as I watch Nico pick up his phone and turn the camera toward his face. “Well, folks, there you have it. Boss is clearly a loverboy. He’s escaped the interview in favor of kissing our camerawoman.” A pause as he looks at me. “Not that I can blame him.”
My jaw drops. Nico’s cheeks pinken and he quickly shuts off the video.
“Alright, moving on,” he mutters, handing Boss’s leash back to his chuckling foster parent. Then he extends a hand to help me up.
“You’re cute when you blush,” I whisper.
“Thank God, because you seem to bring it out of me,” he mumbles. When he meets my eyes, his expression softens. “Are you having fun?”
I smile, a real, genuine smile. “I am.”
He looks relieved at that. “Good. We have a few more and then we’re done.”
For the next forty minutes, Nico introduces me to more dogs, and I film more interviews.
It’s the most fun Sunday I’ve ever had.
“How’d it go, you two?” the organizer asks when we return to the front desk. “Get some good footage?”
“A lot of good footage,” Nico confirms. “I’ll have my PR girl edit everything tomorrow and then start posting them. Is there anyone we should tag besides the rescue?”
“Nope, that should be enough. We just want to get some eyes on the dogs available for adoption. We’re nearing max capacity, unfortunately.”
“Well, that’s my cue,” comes a voice from behind us.
I turn to see a pretty brunette woman wearing blue scrubs walking toward us. She sends me a warm smile as she slides her hands into her pockets and trains her focus on the organizer.
“I’m Nova,” she says. “We talked yesterday about one of your medical fosters?”
“Oh, yes. You’re from the Philadelphia Vet Clinic. Nice to meet you, dear.” She opens the half-door to get into the building and gestures for the girl to come in. “This way, I’ll introduce you to Cheesecake. You’re going to love her.”
I watch the pair walk into the hallway where I can see they have the kennels. For a minute, I can only stare after the girl, who’s clearly a veterinarian, and wonder what kind of life she leads. About the value she brings to the world, and the good she does in it.
About the sense of accomplishment she must feel at the end of a long day.
What would that feel like?
Could I do that with a psychology degree?
The sudden thought is a shocking one. Maybe I should’ve had it when I first picked my major, but that was never why I registered for college. I did it because I was good at it, because it was fun and gave me something to do with my time. I didn’t have a purpose with it.
Now I’m wondering if I should.
I’m shaken from my thoughts when another volunteer appears from the kennel and asks Nico, “I’m so sorry, would you mind shooting one more? I just had an idea that might really help the organization out.”
Nico doesn’t even hesitate. “Of course. What do you need?”
An excited grin appears on the girl’s face. “How are you with cats?”
Ten minutes later, I, along with three other volunteers, are trying desperately to smother our laughter as we watch Nico crawling with kittens. There’s one on his shoulder, one hanging from his shirt, two in his lap, and two in his hands.
“Ow! Motherfu—” He catches himself before we can let our laughter explode. With a glare at the offender, he gently extracts the kitten that just hooked onto his nipple. “We might need to hurry this up,” he mutters. “I think I may have just discovered I’m not a cat person.”
The girl who brought us takes two of the cats from Nico with a chuckle. “Maybe we just leave the one sleeping in your lap and give you one to cuddle.”
Nico sighs. “That might be a good idea. My nipples thank you.”
One of the volunteers takes the two orange kittens wreaking havoc on Nico’s clothes, another one trying to climb on his head, and I grab the black one trying to escape from his hold. Once he’s left with two kittens, he’s able to record a somewhat peaceful adoption video.
When the volunteers take the last two kittens from him to put them back in their crates, I take the opportunity to sidle up to Nico and murmur in a voice only he can hear, “So does this mean pussy doesn’t like you?”
His eyes widen as he turns to me. I’m trying to bite down on my smile, but I can feel that I’m failing. For a moment, he only stares at me.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he finally says.
It’s so obviously aimed at me that I duck my head with a smile and shift away.
I’m trying to figure it out, too.