Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Audrey hurried along the sidewalk toward Coral Sands’ animal shelter. The small building was painted a clean white, with pink trimmings. Audrey thought that it looked like something out of a children’s book, or an amusement park playland.
I guess that makes sense, she thought. I’m sure a lot of animals get adopted by kids who have begged their parents for a pet. It makes sense to try to appeal to children—and to the child in all of us.
She smiled up at the charming little building just before tugging open the front door. She felt as though she’d come across a magical cottage in the woods and was about to meet the enchanted inhabitants.
She grinned as soon as she stepped inside the shelter.
The place had enchanted inhabitants all right—lots of furry, wriggling, barking and meowing inhabitants.
Audrey gazed around at the ring of clean, comfortable cages and wanted to wriggle herself when she saw how many darling little faces were blinking back at her curiously.
“Audrey!” Harper hurried over to her and gave her a big hug. “Sorry for getting held up—and thanks for agreeing to meet me here first.”
“No problem at all,” Audrey said earnestly. “I’m thrilled to be here.”
Audrey had invited Harper to get dinner with her at Brasserie Belle, Coral Sands’ gourmet, French-inspired restaurant.
She’d gone there with Elaine and Michelle the week before and been blown away by the food, which was even better than she’d remembered.
Since she’d been wanting to grow her friendship with Harper, she’d decided that asking the animal shelter owner to come out to dinner with her at the delicious restaurant made all the sense in the world.
I’m excited to get to know her better, Audrey thought as she watched Harper make an adoring and goofy face at a fluffy gray cat who was blinking at her. I don’t really know that much about her, but I have the strongest feeling that I’m going to like her so much.
“Who’s that?” Audrey asked, stepping toward the cat. She made sure to keep her voice quiet so she didn’t startle the animal.
“This is Mister Mittens,” Harper said, her tone as proud and loving as if the fluffy animal was her own child. “He’s an old guy but a sweet guy.”
Audrey’s gaze traveled to the cat next door to Mister Mittens. She was a black and white cat, a tuxedo, with one bad eye but the cutest little round face Audrey had ever seen. “Oh, I love her,” she gushed. “What’s her name?”
“Nabi,” Harper said. “It means ‘butterfly’ in Korean.”
“That’s adorable. What a sweet girl. Can I pet her?”
“Sure, please do. The more the animals get used to people, the better. If any of the animals don’t do well with petting, we put a special sign on their cages so potential owners know.”
Audrey opened Nabi’s cage and gingerly placed her hand inside. She held it close to Nabi’s face, and after a second, Nabi bumped her forehead against Audrey’s hand as if she was giving her a split-second hug.
Next Audrey visited the dogs and became enchanted by a fat pug dog named Clarence before laughing out loud over the antics of a pitbull puppy who was turning in circles like a spinning top.
“None of the dogs are a cuddly breed,” Audrey noted. “I would have expected more golden retrievers or poodles, dogs like that.”
Harper shook her head. “Dogs like that don’t usually end up in here.
It’s the dogs who aren’t considered as charming—or the dogs who have stronger protection instincts than most people are comfortable with—who often end up without a home.
Or animals who are old or have an injury, like Mister Mittens or Nabi.
” She looked sad for a second but then brightened.
“And that’s why our job is so important.
We get to educate people about all kinds of pets and unite these little darlings with people who will be a good fit for them.
Would I have Dexter here—” she gestured to the pit bull—”go home with a family that has an elderly cat or a new baby?
Probably not, although pit bulls are very trainable.
But I would recommend Dexter to a young married couple or a teenager looking for a friend to go on adventures with.
There’s a perfect match for every pet, just like there’s a perfect match for every human. ”
Audrey smiled at her friend, wondering what kind of perfect match Harper was talking about. Did she mean a perfect match with a pet, or a romantic match between soulmates?
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Harper said eagerly, gesturing toward her office. “This is the reason why I got held up. We have some unexpected new arrivals who need to stay isolated until they’re a little older.”
Audrey gasped in delight. “You mean babies? Puppies or kittens?”
“Puppies,” Harper gushed, gesturing for Audrey to follow her. “Come on and meet them, they’re just the cutest things.”
She pushed open the door to her office, and there on the floor in a gated area, five darling little puppies toddled and tumbled around on several old towels. They were making high-pitched yapping sounds that melted Audrey’s heart.
“Can I pet them?” she begged.
“Oh please do,” Harper said, kneeling down next to the wiggling little bodies. “They might play-bite you a little, but the more we can get them used to humans, the better.”
Audrey and Harper played with the puppies, petting them and dragging toys across their fenced-in area for them to scamper after.
“I haven’t had this much fun in ages,” Audrey said with a laugh. “You have such an amazing job, Harper.”
“I really do.” The animal shelter owner’s expression softened before she perked up and asked, “And what about your exciting new job? How’s the mansion turning into a historical site working out?”
“All approved.” Audrey grinned, feeling again the relief and excitement that she’d experienced when she’d first heard the news.
“Amazing.” Harper grinned back at her. “And how about our grumpy mayor? Has he been helping you with this process?” Her expression was playful, and Audrey could tell that she was hoping for some romantic updates.
Audrey sighed. “Yes, he’s been helping, definitely. And he’s not even really acting grumpy anymore about it, so I guess I should count my blessings. He seems to be finding excuses to spend time with me—he stopped by the mansion the other day, totally unexpectedly.”
Harper watched her face carefully for a few moments, her expression curious. “Is that not what you want? You don’t want him to seek you out?”
Audrey shrugged, pretending to concentrate on looking at one of the puppies so that she could avoid eye contact with Harper.
Her uncertainty about her own feelings made her feel shy about sharing them.
“I don’t really know how I feel about it,” she admitted after a moment.
“I’m struggling with identifying and accepting my emotions. ”
“Do you not really like Evan all that much? I mean, he’s handsome, but he is pretty uptight sometimes. His grumpiness must be kind of a hard pill to swallow if you’re considering dating him.”
Audrey shook her head. “It’s not that. I—I think I do like Evan.
I mean, you’re right that he’s handsome.
He’s very handsome. And he wasn’t grumpy on our date or when he came to the house.
That’s not something that bothers me about him.
” She sighed, letting the puppy lick her hand as if it adored her with its whole heart.
She smiled, feeling comforted by its sweetness as she acknowledged the hurt that was still buried in her heart.
“After being totally blindsided by my husband, I don’t know that I’ll ever be in a position to open my heart up again. I’m scared that I won’t be.”
Harper’s mouth curved upward a little into a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Audrey. I completely understand.”
“You do?” Audrey asked, feeling a twinge of concern for her friend. “Did—did you get your heart broken as well?”
Harper inhaled slowly and then sighed. “I haven’t had the easiest time with love either. Once I… well, let’s just say that my sister is now dating my wealthy ex-boyfriend.”
Audrey’s jaw dropped open, and she placed a sympathetic hand on Harper’s arm. “Harper, I’m so sorry. That must be awful for you.”
Harper shrugged. “I had two choices: I could dwell on it and let it ruin my life, or I could focus on cultivating optimism for the future that I want for myself.” She gestured around her with a smile.
“This is my future. All these little darlings. The work can be really hard, but it’s so rewarding.
I’m choosing to be happy in this life I have, and most of the time, that’s become really easy to do. ”
“You’re amazing,” Audrey said, meaning it sincerely. “I admire your courage and strength so much.”
Harper smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you. That means a lot. And the truth is that I wouldn’t want to still be dating my ex either.
I thought he was a different kind of guy, but he wasn’t.
I’m glad I found out what he’s really like before I did something dumb like marry him.
” She stared into space for a second and then gasped, turning to Audrey in alarm.
“Oh no! I didn’t mean—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said—”
Audrey tilted her head back with a laugh, dispelling the tension instantly.
“No harm done. My husband and I had a lot of good years before I found out he wasn’t the upstanding man I always thought he was.
Besides, my incredible daughter Michelle came out of my marriage.
” She stared into space for a moment, mourning the life that she’d had before.
Does it hurt more or less, knowing it was all a lie? she wondered. Knowing that Clark wasn’t the man I thought he was makes our marriage ending easier, but it does cast a shadow over all the years we spent together.
She thought of family vacations with Michelle, driving along Route 66 or skipping along the sidewalks of New York City.
She thought about carving pumpkins at the kitchen table for Halloween and making a messy but spectacularly elaborate gingerbread house.
She thought about cheering Michelle on in her high school play, and of celebrating her graduation in their enormous back yard.
After a few seconds of gazing down memory lane, she realized with a jolt that the main character of all of her best memories was Michelle.
Clark had been there and he’d been kind and fun to be around, but she didn’t have clear pictures of his smiling face or the way he’d sounded when he’d laughed, the way she did with Michelle.
She’s always been the most important person in my life, Audrey thought, tears filling her eyes. I’m so grateful that I still have her even after my marriage ended.
Harper, seeming to misunderstand the source of Audrey’s tears, placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “Are you okay?” she said gently.
Audrey nodded, smiling. “I am, really. I just… well, in spite of everything, I’m grateful that I’m here with my daughter and my mother.
It’s been really healing—at least as far as my day to day goes.
” She stood up briskly, her go-get-’em attitude fully returned.
“Come on. Let’s go get some delicious dinner at Brasserie Belle. ”
“Sounds great.” Harper stood up, smiling warmly. “Let me just duck into the bathroom to change from these scrubs into a nice sweater. I’ll be back in two seconds.”
Harper grabbed her sweater from where it was hanging on a coat hook near the door of her office and headed toward the bathroom. Audrey, finding herself alone in Harper’s office, allowed herself to release the last of her tears that were trying to get out.
This is all more complicated than I thought it would be, she thought, crossing her arms and strolling over to the window to look out at the vibrant hues of the pink and golden sunset, which was accented by gossamer clouds.
I knew it would be painful, of course, but I didn’t expect to have this uncertainty about my own emotions.
She didn’t know if her hesitancy toward Evan was because she couldn’t see any kind of a future between them, or because she was scared of getting heartbroken again.
In the past, she’d always known her mind and understood her emotions, and the uncertainty she was facing was new, uncomfortable territory for her.
She closed her eyes for a second, trying to picture Evan’s face. She thought about the way he’d smiled boyishly at the flea market, and the eager look he’d had in his eyes when he’d wanted to help her work on getting the hooks set up in the porch.
She smiled slightly, feeling a warm kind of glow rise up in her heart. Behind her, the puppies started yapping and running around in excited circles. She opened her eyes and turned to them with a smile.
“That’s how I feel too,” she whispered, crouching down and letting them lick her hand. “When I think about Evan, I get really excited—when I let myself.”
She sighed, standing up straight and looking around Harper’s office.
It was cozy, decorated in bright colors, and although parts of it held the mess that inevitably came along with a busy life, for the most part it was charmingly organized.
Audrey could tell that Harper loved where she worked, and that she’d made herself a home there.
I’m so sorry that happened to her, but I’m so impressed with her, Audrey thought. Her resilience is legendary. Could I possibly muster some of that kind of resilience for myself? Can I dare to see a way forward toward romance even after such heartbreak?
She took a deep breath, feeling unsure but hoping with all her might that she would be able to manage it.