15
I locked the front door,” Leo says when I come down the stairs after closing. He’s browsing the mishmash of our displays, and for the first time ever, I’m ashamed of what the place looks like. Compared to Canine King, we are the dumpy, backwater cousin.
“Thanks, must have forgotten.” I grab my scarf from under the counter but avoid looking at the stack of red-stamped envelopes next to it. Got to shake it off. I have a plan. Sort of. “Okay, ready. Show me your manual transmission ways, master.”
My word choice triggers a glint in his eyes. “Master, huh?”
I blush at my unfortunate choice of words. “Whatever. Come on.”
Leo drives us out of town and narrates his moves as we go. “It’s a flow—clutch, gear, release, clutch, gear, release. Once you’re on the road and you’re giving it enough gas, you’ll have no issue. It’s harder to start and drive slowly.” He pulls into a pharmacy parking lot so we can switch seats.
“How’d you learn to drive stick anyway?” I warily wrap my fingers around the steering wheel.
He buckles into the passenger seat. “Started driving a tractor at twelve.”
“You did not.”
“We had horses and I helped in the stables when I could. Sometimes that included moving bales of hay from one end of the property to the other.”
Royal Equine, I think. That makes sense. “So, not working the fields, then?”
He laughs, his whole face lighting up. The sound makes something long dormant flutter in my chest. I swallow to make it go away. He’s only doing this for Harvey, I remind myself. It’s an agreement, and no one wants it to be anything else. Not me, not Leo. Okay, maybe Micki, but inside this well-loved automobile, she doesn’t count.
“No. Sorry to disappoint. So, you ready?”
“Yes.” I nod once. “Walk me through it?”
He does, and I start the car.
“Now let up the clutch at the same time you give some gas.”
The engine stalls out.
“Fucking thing.” I’m starting to sweat, and there’s a strand of hair stuck to my cheek. I push it behind my ear and pull the neckline of my sweater out to fan my skin. Ah, that’s better.
“Relax.” Leo’s voice sounds oddly strangled. “You don’t have to grip the knob so hard.” He places his hand on top of mine to demonstrate a softer hold. It’s gone before I can react, but the sensation lingers across my knuckles. “A little more gas this time.”
I do what he asks and voilà! “I’m doing it.” I laugh.
“See. It’s not that difficult. Now stop at the stop sign. Stop!”
The car stalls again as I hit the brake hard. “Sorry, I got too excited.”
“Sweet Jesus, you’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
“Please, it wasn’t that bad.”
“Agree to disagree. Now try again, and let’s obey the rules of the road this time.”
I suppress a childish urge to stick my tongue out at him and instead do what he asks. And while I somehow manage to kill the engine at almost every traffic light, which makes the drive take twice as long as it should, eventually we make it to our destination.
I park in the Dalebrook parking lot and grin at Leo. “I did it.”
He feigns exaggerated relief, which earns him a light slap on the shoulder.
“You know,” he says when we’re walking to the entrance, “I think I’m going to need you to say it out loud.”
“Say what?”
“That I’m a good teacher.”
He’s trailing behind me, so I turn around. “Is that still bothering you? Wow, male egos… Fine. You’re a good teacher.”
Is it just me or does his back actually straighten at my words?
“Thank you.” He slows his steps. “Hey, maybe I should wait in the car. If you two have stuff to chat about.”
“Oh, um…” We do, but it’s also cold out, and I have no idea how long this will take. Time to put that civility into play. “You don’t have to. There’s a TV. Plus, Pop likes you. Don’t ask me why. I mean, unless you think coming with would be weird?”
I pause by the front door, deferring to him. He looks back toward the car and then reaches for the door handle. “After you.”
Animated voices reach us in the hallway outside Harvey’s room.
“I thought we’d get dim lights and sleeping elders,” Leo says in a hushed voice.
I smile at him as a female voice calls out, “No way. The brunette, Marissa, suits him so much better.”
“Is she the one with short hair or long hair?” Harvey asks as we step inside. He lights up at the sight of us. “Cora. And Leo?” His eyebrows jump.
“Are we interrupting something?” I ask, setting my bag down on a chair next to Harvey’s bed.
“Sylvia is introducing me to The Bachelor . Have you seen it? It’s a wild ride.”
“I know what it is. Hi,” I say to Sylvia.
Harvey makes introductions, and we learn that Sylvia is there visiting her brother Charles, Harvey’s roommate, who’s recovering from a stroke.
“You’re looking better, Pop,” I say after Sylvia excuses herself and leaves to go finish her show in the common room.
“I feel better. The staff here is great, the food’s great—”
“I brought you your chips.” I fish a bag out of my backpack. “And the robe is in that bag.”
“Thanks, kiddo. How about you? Anything new?”
Leo excuses himself. “I’m going to go find a vending machine or something.” He takes a step toward the door.
“Leo.” Harvey says his name as if he’d forgotten he was there. “How was your first week?”
“Leo’s helping me remember how to drive your car,” I say.
“Is he now? Whoo boy. Not the easiest task.” Harvey winks at Leo.
“Thanks a lot, Pop.”
“I care too much about my life to confirm or deny,” Leo says. “But the week has been good. Eventful.” He turns to me with a smirk. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Once Harvey and I are alone, I sit down next to him, and for a few minutes, we watch the muted screen in silence. I haven’t been following this season’s show, so I don’t know who anyone is, but Harvey seems satisfied with the outcome of the rose ceremony.
“How are you really, kiddo?” he asks after turning off the TV. “You look tired.”
I give a pointed glare to his bed. “You’re asking me?”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t realize I’ve put you in a bit of a bind. Obviously, I have complete faith in you handling things like a champ, but I do feel bad.”
I take his hand. “You just worry about healing. I actually got an order on Etsy two minutes after I posted one of my Scarlett O’Haras the other day.”
I tell him about my costumes, and we talk about the Halloween decorations in storage and how I’m helping Micki study for her physiology exam.
“Oh, and I completely forgot. I’ve signed up for the booth and the dog show at Winter Fest this year.” I lean in and lower my voice. “Pop, the grand prize is fifteen thousand dollars.”
His eyes go round. “Is it really? The whole thing will be so much bigger then. People will come from out of state and—”
Leo pushes open the door. “Junior Mints anyone? Or Funyuns?” He holds up the packages. “Pickings were slim,” he says to explain the mismatched loot.
And yet he was gone for over half an hour. He must have stayed away to give us time to talk.
“Everything okay?” Leo asks. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Um, no. It’s nothing,” I say. “We were just talking about Winter Fest.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Leo rips open the snack bag. The pungent smell of fried onions fills the room.
“The county holiday extravaganza in December.” I steal a quick glance at Harvey, who’s adjusting the collar of his nightshirt. “Think flea market meets Santa’s village meets carnival fair. People come from all over, and we always have a booth because of…” My voice trails off. He doesn’t need to know about the dog show, does he?
“Cat got your tongue?” Leo nudges me with his elbow.
“Um, what? No. We do decent business there. That’s all.” I put a smile in place, hoping Pop won’t see it necessary to amend my description. “Anyway, we should probably get going. It’s getting late.”
We drive the first five minutes of the way in silence. I stall the car only once, so a definite improvement. But the longer we’re in the car, the bigger the risk of Leo bringing up Winter Fest again. I need to distract him until we’re home.
“You’re on social media, right?” I ask.
Leo frowns. “Sure. Why?”
“Do you get new customers that way? Like, is it worth it?” I glance at him. Is he taking my bait?
He tilts his head to the headrest. “It absolutely makes a difference. A website makes you more accessible, it makes you findable, and a social media account lets potential customers interact with you, get updates, get to know what you’re about. Nowadays, your community isn’t simply your immediate physical location but a much wider network. Who’s to say you wouldn’t get a follower who lives downtown, but because of something particular that you have to offer, they’re willing to make the trek out here? I don’t know, that’s how I think of it.”
I nod. This is more interesting than I thought. “I guess I’m a bit overwhelmed with it. Stuck in the ‘olden days’ as we are at Happy Paws.” I cringe at my corny attempt at a joke. “Any-hoo. So, say I wanted to get on Instagram. What would I put on there?”
“Well… you need to stand out. What’s something unique about Happy Paws that could make customers talk about you?”
I slow down and swivel the steering wheel a full three-sixty, pondering this. “That’s actually helpful.”
He smiles. “Guess I’m losing my edge, giving advice to the competition.”
“You’re finally willing to admit we’re competitors, then?” I put the car in park.
“No. No, that’s not what I meant. And you can’t give me shit here because, if you didn’t notice, you now drive stick. You’re welcome.”
I look around, noticing for the first time where we are. I’ve parked behind the store. How about that?
“See, I’m not evil incarnate.” Behind the levity, there’s a pleading look in his eyes. One I haven’t seen before.
I look away. “I never said you were.”
When the silence stretches, we both unbuckle and get out of the car, but for a moment, our eyes come together again across the roof. His lips part as if he’s about to speak, but then he clamps them shut.
“I should head inside,” I say.
“Yeah, me too.” He starts walking.
I call his name, even though I’m not sure why. All I know is that this abrupt ending isn’t right. “Thanks for tonight. I do appreciate it.”
He must feel differently because he waves without turning around, and then he’s gone.