Chapter 14 Where Are They Coming From?
fourteen
Where Are They Coming From?
*GWENDOLYN*
Faye is chasing through the house with the cat hot on her heels. The vet has been here again, completely stunned that another pet has arrived at my door. So far, no one has reported Tuesday as missing, and the cat seems to have been in the wilderness for quite a long time.
“If it’s too much for you, I could try to find someone who would adopt them,” the vet offers.
“No, I will keep them,” my answer came so promptly I surprised myself. “I just can’t help it,” I admit.
The man smiles. “Honestly, Elsa, I feel relieved. They are safe with you, and it’s obvious you care for them.” He hands me a folder. “I prepared these for you concerning the capybara.”
“I did some research, as well,” I admit. “It seems they need an outside area to stay in and shouldn’t be kept in solitary. For now, I have a makeshift area for the capybara in the garden, but obviously I need something more permanent.”
“Definitely,” he agrees. “However, as much as I hate to admit it, this capybara has been domesticated in a way that definitely wasn’t appropriate to the species. Judging by its fur and its behavior, it’s used to being kept indoors.”
“No way!” I exclaim. “The poor little thing! Is this the reason it shows so little fear?”
“In general, these are not fearful animals,” he says. “But it is telling that it was immediately drawn to the other pets. Ideally, you’d keep another capybara with it, but for now, it looks like it’s happy with the other two pets. It’s a male capybara by the way.”
“And what about the cat?”
“Definitely a strong, male cat,” he says. “Very sturdy, pretty healthy, just his fur needs proper treatment. And he had some ticks which I‘ve removed.”
I wrap a finger around one of my locks, tugging at it thoughtfully. “Seems like I have my own little zoo now.”
Another reason to find a pack fast. Either I can stay there together with my pets, or I will need to find my own place. Either way, it has to be somewhere with a large garden. I wouldn’t even mind living on a farm.
This thought almost startles me. It’s the first time my mind ever went to such a possibility.
But why didn’t I think about this earlier?
I love animals; I’m good with them. It would mean I’d have a lot of space.
Maybe I could even open my very own rescue place for animals.
I’ve never had any dreams, but this idea suddenly makes my heart beat faster.
Did I finally find something I’d truly want to do?
The vet leaves me with a new list of things to do, especially concerning Tuesday, and several numbers I can contact for further research, as he is not a wildlife specialist.
“Gwen.“ Faye comes running towards me once we are alone again. “I need to show you something!” She grabs my hand and tugs me to the cat. “Look!” When she pets his head, the cat stretches his neck, revealing a white dot right behind his ear.
“Just like Tulip,” I say quietly. “He had a white dot behind his ear, too.”
“Maybe Tulip sent this kitty to you,” Faye exclaims.
I know she isn’t really aware of what she is saying; it’s her childish innocence talking, but her words still bring tears to my eyes.
I have suppressed most of my feelings since we left the pack.
My sorrow for losing Tulip, the freshly opened wounds of remembering Dad, my disappointment towards Brandon, the humiliation, everything.
“Are you okay, Gwen?”
I pull Faye into a hug. “You are such a little angel,” I whisper into her neck.
Faye giggles. “You are tickling me.”
I smile, blowing air at her neck, making her giggle more. “Why don’t you play with Tuesday and...“ I hesitate. “We need a name!”
“Mr. Dot,” Faye says promptly.
Well, whatever. It’s not like I won a creativity prize with Tuesday and Tiger. “Alright. Play with Mr. Dot and Tuesday, will you?”
“Yes!” she beams.
“Tuesday needs some entertainment. You can run around with him in the garden and here-“ I hand her a banana, which she immediately peels and stuffs into her own mouth. “Okay,” I laugh, handing her another one. “Share it with Tuesday, okay?”
Still having her mouth full, she nods before opening the door and dashing outside, with Tuesday following her curiously, his eyes pinned on the banana.
Mr. Dot, however, sits and looks at me. “You can play with them,” I offer.
He tilts his head.
“Don’t you want to? If you don’t want to, you can stay here with me.”
At that, Mr. Dot gets up and struts towards me.
It’s actually a huge cat, definitely bigger than some small dogs.
I think the vet mentioned that it’s a mix of different breeds.
I get down on my knees, reaching out my hand.
Mr. Dot pushes his head against my palm, purring in delight.
It just warms my heart, like it did when Tulip neighed whenever he saw me, and I guess also when Tiger comes fluttering to greet me.
As if on cue, Tiger comes hopping towards us. She looks so silly when she does it – instead of flying, just hopping over the ground.
Oh fuck!
This reminds me that I have a cat and a bird living together. These are natural enemies, especially since Mr. Dot has probably lived and survived in the wild for quite some time.
However, Tiger just looks at me, then chirps. To my surprise, Mr. Dot turns away from her, his whole body relaxing while Tiger hops on top of his back and nestles into his fur.
I am not sure what happened, but it seems like they solved the issue themselves. Weird, but I‘d better not question it.
“Elsa, please come into my office for a moment.”
I turn around in surprise when I hear the voice of my boss. He is the owner of the night club slash bar slash whatever else he calls it to make it look less shady. He doesn’t even wait for my answer, just disappears into his office, closing the door firmly behind him.
“Do you know what this is about?” I ask Jenny.
“I have no idea,” she mutters.
“Can’t be anything good.”
“You don’t know that,” she says, smiling brightly at me. Her optimism is really something else and usually manages to pump me up, but this time it isn’t working.
I just hope he isn’t going to fire me. I need this job, at least until Amelia has found a pack for Marina and Faye. Without making him wait any longer, I follow him into his office.
“Please take a seat,” he says.
“So…” I start, as he just looks at me wordlessly.
“You are a beautiful woman, Elsa,” he says, startling me.
“What are you talking about, sir?”
“Your beauty might not be as on the plate as others, but it’s there. Very natural. Quite a few of our regulars like you for it.”
My heart sinks at his words. Wherever this is going, it can’t be good.
“You were hired as a temporary waitress,” he says.
Oh fuck, I knew it!
“And while that worked for a couple of weeks, I need you to step up,” he adds.
My heart picks up pace. I have no idea what to answer him, as there is no way I will strip.
I just… can’t. I love the girls working here, and would never judge them for what they do; it’s just that I can’t do it.
How am I going to stall him now? “I can’t dance,” I finally say the first thing that comes to my mind.
“I know, that’s why I wouldn’t send you to the main stage,” he says. “But you could entertain some of our regulars in the VIP area.”
Entertain… some regulars…
“Did one of the girls tell you more about how they work?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“We don’t offer any sexual services, and touching any of the girls is off-limits.
That’s why we have bouncers in the VIP rooms. You would be safe.
All you’d need to do is dance a little, flirt with the guests who asked for you…
a bit like an escort. You wouldn’t need to strip.
Our strippers are all girls who dance on the club’s main stage. ”
My mind needs a bit to process what he just said, then the thoughts start to spiral.
The club pays well, and I need the money if I want to save for the three of us.
I guess I could live on much less and focus on Marina and Faye instead.
Faye needs nutritional food to stay healthy, and she needs to be allowed to be a child without having to worry constantly.
Bad enough I have to drag her around the country, and that she has to see her mother the way she is.
“Elsa?” My boss pushes.
“Can I think about it for a bit?” I ask. I don’t want to decline his offer immediately, well aware that it may get me fired if I do.
I think of the group of regulars who drop by here and usually want me to serve them.
I feel sleazy enough for flirting with them in my job as a waitress; being an escort would certainly push that to a new level.
I would be fulfilling their fantasy. On the plus side, I could earn enough money for Marina, Faye and me to build a new life for us when Amelia finds us a pack.
It means I could leave Faye with the remainder of the money Maddox gave me and add some more to it.
It would certainly help with Marina, too.
As for me, I would be able to have a bit of a backup to start anew somewhere else. I doubt I will find a place in a pack. The moment I know Marina and Faye are safe, I will need to find a place for myself and my own path.
The housesitting barely covers the bills, and the little jobs I do for the neighbors only add a little to my income. There still is Maddox’s money, but I used parts of it already for giving us a head start. She is so little, yet has gone through so much already.
I really don’t want to do it. Part of me is scared that if I cross this line, I will also cross the next… and the one after.
But how many options do I truly have right now?
Later, when I finish my shift, I decide to walk back home to feel the soft, summer breeze on my skin and smell the salty air. I need to go down to the shore one of the coming days, if only to calm my racing thoughts.
A sudden chill goes through my body, making me stop.
What was that?
I felt it a couple of days ago, and now again.
A quacking pulls me out of my thoughts and brings my attention back to the path ahead of me. There, right in front of the door to my house, is a duck. The moment it spots me, it quacks again and starts to waddle towards me.
“No, seriously,” I mutter. “Where do you all come from?”