Chapter Eighteen #2
“Sometimes it’s as simple as the dog being in the room,” I reply. “Other times it’s structured—walking them, grooming them, and using the animal as part of a goal-based plan.”
“I forgot you were a real therapist,” Isla says.
I lift my eyebrows as the others laugh. “You thought I was faking it?”
“No!” she insists.
“You almost sound as if you know what you’re talking about,” Beth adds, and Isla giggles.
“I’d give up there,” Tyr says. “They’re clearly going to gang up on us.”
“Damn straight,” Natalie replies.
Beth laughs, her eyes dancing, and it hits me then how relaxed she looks when she’s not trying to carry the weight of Jude’s mood on her shoulders. She looks younger. Lighter. And I have to admit that I like being the reason she’s smiling.
“Actually, Isla came up with a great acronym for what we do here,” she says.
“If it involves the word ‘ass’, I don’t want to know,” Cullen says.
Isla chuckles. “No, seriously. Peace, Awareness, Wellbeing, and Strength. I thought we could maybe stencil it on the walls of the Den.”
“The Den?” I ask.
“Sorry,” she says, “it’s what we’ve been calling the living room.”
“It’s perfect.” I feel an inner glow at the thought of how everyone’s contributing to the creation of the center, and how it’s gradually taking shape. I look at Beth, and she winks at me, so clearly she feels the same.
“So anyway,” Cullen continues, “the idea is to have the large central room—the Den—as a meet and greet waiting area, very relaxed. We’ve had the idea of regular open days, offering coffee and cakes, where people can come and find out what we do here.”
I’m distracted by Beth as she crouches to straighten Queenie’s collar.
Queenie nuzzles her hand and Beth kisses her head, and it feels as if the sun has come out.
For the first time, I can see her here, every day, fitting into this place like she was always meant to be part of it.
Like she was meant to be a part of my life, too.
Conscious of falling quiet, I clear my throat and say, “The offices will be this side—” I gesture across at the left side of the building “—one for me and Cullen, and then they’re going to knock down the partition there to make a large one for hot desks for everyone else.”
“I thought we could have a set of lockers there,” Isla says, “as we’re hoping clients feel comfortable wandering around, so we’ll have somewhere safe for our valuables during the day.”
“Good idea.” I turn and indicate the patio. “Here there will be a much nicer set of table and chairs, mainly for staff taking a break, and we’re thinking of fencing off a training area for the dogs over there.”
“I was thinking we could build a small assault course,” Cullen says. “The dogs enjoy it, it keeps them fit, and it’s good for training purposes.”
“That would be amazing,” I say with enthusiasm.
I turn back to the others. “I see this business as a triangle—it has a therapy side, an animals side, and then an administration side. So, with staffing, our idea is that Isla is Practice Manager, so she’ll run the administration side, including the office staff, coordinate the animals’ medical care and routine treatments, and oversee their daily wellbeing. ”
“I’ll be organizing the animal training side,” Cullen says, “so feel free to come to me if Archer’s busy and you have something dog-related to talk about.”
“Yeah,” I continue, “and I’m thinking of Dane as our in-house vet, and…
Beth as our Senior Veterinary Nurse.” I look at her, and she nods and smiles.
She’s definitely decided to work here. I’m so happy, I could burst. “We’ll hire a couple of others eventually as we grow,” I say, trying not to grin like an idiot.
“Not sure what I can offer,” Tyr says. “I’m not a vet.”
“We need someone under Cullen to help train the dogs and organize them while they’re at the center,” I tell him.
“Our plan is to encourage all members of staff to have a dog and bring them to work. But of course they’re not all going to be seeing clients at the same time.
They’ll all need regular walks and trips outside.
Keeping fit in the assault course, if we build one.
And training is important—all the dogs have to be trained not to jump up, to come when called, and to obey all commands so we can control them in the center. We want relaxed—we don’t want chaos.”
Tyr nods, his expression lightening for the first time. “I can do that.”
“You’ll be perfect,” I tell him.
“What about the therapy side of things?” Natalie asks. “How many therapists are you thinking of?”
“We’ll have six rooms that can be used as therapy rooms, workrooms, meeting rooms, whatever.
We can work it out as we go. I’d like it if we could find people to cover a wide range of therapies and disorders.
I’m a bit of a Jack of all trades but I lean toward clinical psychology.
You specialize in marriage and family therapy, and child and adolescent therapy.
We could do with someone who has an interest in addiction counseling, and someone else who can cover geriatric counseling, and I’d like to make sure we cover most of the main types of therapy like CBT, DBT, EMDR and so on. I’ll start advertising in a few weeks.”
“How long before you’re up and running?” Tyr asks.
“Isaac the builder says six to eight weeks. I have the budget to employ you all from today, or as soon as you want to start, and thought that way we can all be involved in getting the center set up. Cullen, you and Tyr can sort out what you want for the assault course and get it set up, and begin the dog training when you’re ready.
Isla and Beth can work on a plan for animal care, and organizing the office.
Dane, we can talk about the Healing PAWS therapy bus—I was hoping you’d help me source the vehicle and fit it out. ”
He nods. “Sounds great, happy to help.”
“Nat, you and I can talk over how we want the therapy part of the business to look, and maybe interview candidates together.”
She smiles. “I’d like that, thank you.”
Beth’s eyes meet mine, and she gives me a small, private smile, the kind she doesn’t give anyone else. My heart warms; it’s nothing and it’s everything.
“To be safe, I thought of planning the grand opening for Monday the twentieth of April—just over eight weeks.”
Beth’s gaze slides past me, and her eyes widen. I turn to see Jude walking through the front door. Damn, I’d forgotten that I’d told him to drop by.
As he walks up, Jude glances at Beth, his eyes briefly registering surprise—he hadn’t expected her to be here. He obviously spots where she’s standing by my side, and his jaw tightens. Beth obviously spots it too because she moves away from me. But it’s too late. Jude saw.
Well, we’re not doing anything wrong. So I smile and say, “And here’s our Ark go-between. Jude, come and say hi.”
He nods to everyone. His gaze slides over Beth, but he just gives a general smile and says, “Hey.”
“Most of you know that Jude works in the Ark’s Forever Home,” I say.
“He’s going to be our main contact for sourcing any rescue dogs who look as if they might be suitable therapy dogs.
If at all possible, if you don’t have a dog and are thinking of getting one, it would be great if you could rehome one. ”
“I was clearing out the old storeroom,” Jude says, “and Cullen had mentioned you’re starting from scratch here, so I have some bits and pieces for you.” He backs away and gestures with his head. “Come and take a look.”
Everyone exclaims and follows him back outside. I glance at Beth as we walk. “You okay?” I murmur.
She nods. “We’ve got to get used to this.”
“Yeah.” I reach out my hand, though, and she looks at it, then slips hers into it. I squeeze her fingers, and she smiles at the touch before we separate and head outside.
Jude’s parked in front of the center, and he has a trailer attached to his Toyota. Tyr helps him undo the tarpaulin over the top, and we crowd around and investigate the stash.
There’s a fold-out trestle table and a set of fold-up chairs that would be great for events where we don’t need permanent furniture like training workshops.
There are half a dozen dog crates of various sizes, and four baby gates that’ll be useful for sectioning off the kitchen and other no-go areas.
A basket contains leads and harnesses, and there’s a pile of towels and blankets.
There’s also one box with things like snuffle mats, lick mats, puzzle feeders, Kongs, and tug toys, and another box with a dozen packs of treats and six of the biggest, fifteen kilogram packs of dry Royal Canin food.
“Donated by the Ark,” Jude says, and I can’t stop the surprised sound that escapes me.
“Oh Jude.” Isla looks at the last two items in the corner of the trailer—a washing machine and tumble dryer. “These are perfect.”
“We bought new ones a few months ago, but there’s nothing technically wrong with these. I thought they could tide you over until you bought some.”
“It’s very generous,” Beth says softly.
He helps Tyr fold up the tarpaulin. “Not generous, just surplus.”
Beth glances at me, picks up one of the boxes, and takes it indoors.
Jude watches her go, then looks at me. I wonder whether he’s going to comment on her being here, but instead he says, “Have you got a sack barrow?”
“Isaac’s got one,” Isla says. “I’ll go and get it.”
“I appreciate this,” I say to Jude as we wait for Isla to return. “It’s really helpful.”
He shrugs. “It’s pointless it all sitting in the storeroom. Might as well put it to good use.”
“Thanks, anyway.” I turn away and gesture to Tyr. “Help me with the washing machine?”
We maneuver it inside to the small laundry room, and then Jude and Dane bring in the tumble dryer to sit beside it. Isaac’s still working on the plumbing but promises he’ll have them hooked up in the next day or so.
Tyr helps me carry in the trestle table and chairs, and we put those in one of the therapy rooms we’re using for storage until everywhere is plastered and painted. The others bring in the gates and crates, and it doesn’t take long before everything’s done.
“One more thing,” Jude says. “Dane, give us a hand?” They go out to his car, extract two big boxes from the back seat, bring them in, and place them on the counter that separates the kitchen from the Den. “These are from Noah,” he says.
One of them contains a large, rather flash coffee machine. The other has a brand-new kettle, a dozen mugs with pictures of various dog breeds on them, a box of teabags, a couple of cartons of coffee pods, a bag of sugar, two cartons of milk, and a few packs of chocolate biscuits.
We all cheer at the discovery, and the guys immediately open the biscuits and dive in.
“Just what the doctor ordered,” Beth says happily, and she plugs in the coffee machine, while Tyr finds some water bottles and tips the water into the machine and the kettle.
We all make ourselves a drink, Isaac’s men included, pick up a biscuit, and then go outside onto Cullen’s freshly mown lawn.
Everyone stands around chatting, watching Cullen tossing a ball for Ghost, while Tyr practices Queenie’s recall again.
A sense of peace settles over me. People are talking in groups, and I can hear them discussing PAWS, coming up with ideas and plans.
Everyone seems to be getting on great, and there’s already a pleasant atmosphere at the center, which is what I wanted more than anything.
I don’t want anyone to dread coming to work.
I want everyone to be excited to get up in the morning, and to come here eager to get started.
“Cullen was saying he was thinking about an assault course for the dogs,” Jude says, appearing beside me. He sips his coffee. “That’s a great idea.”
“Yeah, we want to give them something to do in between therapy sessions, and it’ll help with their training as well.”
“You’re doing a great job here,” he says. “You should be proud of what you’ve achieved.”
Touched, I say, “Thanks.” I hesitate, then add, “You could have been a part of it, you know. Still could, if you wanted.”
But he shakes his head, his lips twisting. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?” He glances at Beth, then looks away, across the garden at the view of the sea beyond. “I’m happy at the Ark,” he says. “And you need someone to sort out the dogs for you.”
I’m both disappointed and relieved. “That’s true.”
He finishes off his coffee. “I’ve got to get back; I have a couple coming in to pick up a Dalmatian soon.”
“Okay. But thank you for all the stuff. It’s really appreciated.”
“No worries. I’m glad I could help.” He glances at Beth again, but she’s talking to Natalie and Dane, and so he walks back into the center.
As a therapist, I know that few people enjoy change.
Buddhists say it’s a refusal to accept change that causes suffering, and I feel that right now.
I want the center to work, and I’m excited to see it grow.
I want to be with Beth, too. But it means letting go of the past, and accepting that my relationship with Jude is probably never going to be the same.
It makes me sad, but the doors behind me are all locked, and the only thing I can do is take the path forward, even though the future will always be obscured by forest, and it’s difficult to see through the trees.
I pin a smile on my face and join the others, enjoying the sunny afternoon and the pleasant company, and trying not to worry about what might come.