Chapter 4
‘Morning,’ said Andrea the next day, as Felicity started her shift at Animal Saviours, the animal rescue centre where it all began.
Felicity gave her a tight smile and headed into the break room to put the kettle on.
Andrea, her enigmatic boss, complete with animal-hair-coated fleece and long grey plait, followed her in.
‘Well, you’re a barrel of laughs this morning,’ she said, leaning on the counter to watch as Felicity poured boiling water over teabags, her face aching from lack of sleep.
‘Aren’t I always?’ she said softly.
‘These days, not so much. But who can blame you, eh?’
This was probably a moment where they might have hugged.
Andrea being Andrea was not a hugger though, except when it came to random men off Tinder, and so they just stood in silence for a few moments, Felicity staring at the chipped mugs before her, wishing against all hope there were chocolate biscuits somewhere about the place that hadn’t already been snaffled by her boss.
‘Ooh, I know what will cheer you up,’ said Andrea, eventually.
Felicity didn’t even look up. ‘You’ve finally got Javier tied up? I mean, pinned down? Ew… no, they both sound dirty. You know what I mean.’
‘Ha ha, you know me, I do like my men tied up. But no, that’s not it. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever have him pinned down now. He says he wants to give it one more chance with his wife, the absolute snake.’
‘You’re joking? I’m so sorry.’
‘Oh, I’ll be fine, don’t you worry. I always am.’
‘Still…’
Andrea waved a hand as if she could wipe Javier off the face of the earth.
A shame, Felicity had liked him too. He’d made them all laugh at Christmas with his crazy cocktail concoctions in honour of Andrea, like Wet Dog and Not Another Cat Please.
He’d seemed to really be into Andrea, too, but then what did she know?
Felicity had been too busy trying not to be sick that day to really notice anything else.
Andrea’s gravelly voice drew her back into the room. ‘It is about men though. One man, to be specific. We have a new person starting work this week.’
‘We what? How can we afford someone?’ Felicity felt suddenly numb. This was her happy place, her sanctuary. She was a bit hot and bothered at the thought of someone invading it.
‘We can’t. He’s on… if you must know he got into some trouble with the police and so, well, let’s just call it work experience, shall we?’
‘Oh, great. So, he’s on community service then?’
‘Kind of.’
‘This is not just any new person but a convicted criminal, is that what you’re saying?’
Andrea waved a hand. ‘It was just something minor, probably. Anyway, I know the kid’s family and they asked if we would take him for a few hours a day. Something about trying to increase empathy.’
‘Great,’ said Felicity again, feeling anything but. ‘He’d better be okay around the animals.’
‘Oh yes, it’s nothing like that. You’ll like him.
He’s…’ She cut off and glanced at her watch, an ancient Timex that barely looked like it would still be functioning.
She’d had it for as long as Felicity had known her.
Andrea never bought anything new if she could help it.
Even her bobbly fleece was verging on antique.
‘He’s what…?’ said Felicity.
‘He’s here,’ came a voice from the doorway.
Felicity turned sharply. Leaning against the door frame was a young man with a crooked smile, openly eyeing her up and down.
Although he was dressed a bit like a teenager in cargo pants and a black shirt, he was older than she was expecting.
Perhaps early twenties, she thought, with glossy, dark, almost black hair and a cheeky grin that even then Felicity knew meant trouble.
Andrea waved a hand towards him.
‘Perfect timing as always, Charlie.’
He nodded his head slowly, blue-black eyes flashing.
‘Hi, Charlie,’ said Felicity, trying to remember how to be a normal person. ‘Welcome to Animal Saviours.’
‘That’s my line,’ said Andrea, laughing. ‘But that’s saved me the trouble. Come in, Charlie, grab a drink, you can leave your stuff over there. And then Felicity here can show you the ropes.’
‘Oh, I can, can I?’ said Felicity, turning back to the kettle with a sigh. She was going to kill Andrea later for springing this on her. Charlie was still openly staring at her; she could feel his eyes on her back.
‘You certainly can,’ he said, under his breath.
Felicity gave Charlie the most lacklustre tour of the rescue centre she’d ever given anyone. But even she couldn’t fail to soften when they came to the dog room and she showed him the litter of retriever puppies that had been abandoned at the front door a couple of weeks before.
‘Meet Lilo, Stitch, Mike and Sully,’ she said, a little proudly, leaning over their pen, which was on the counter in the middle of the room. Charlie was standing awfully close, so close she could smell his cheap aftershave. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant.
‘Holy shit. Look at their faces,’ said Charlie, eyes wide. Three little golden faces were staring back up at him, tails wagging furiously. And right at the back, there was a tiny black one struggling to get through the throng, whimpering.
‘I know, right? Aren’t they the cutest things you’ve ever seen? The little black one is Mike. I think he might be my favourite.’
Charlie let out a long breath. ‘I’ve never seen a puppy this close before.’
‘Seriously?’ said Felicity.
‘Seriously,’ said Charlie, with a grin.
Don’t be a bitch, Felicity, she told herself, as she reached in to pick up Mike and snuggle him to her chest. The other puppies were clambering over themselves to try and join him.
‘Do you want to hold him?’ she said, handing him into Charlie’s arms before he had a chance to refuse.
Their hands brushed for just a moment as Mike wiggled into his hands and Charlie bent his face down and the puppy instantly started licking him all over.
He laughed as Mike’s tiny stump of a tail thumped harder, and even Felicity found herself smiling.
‘He suits you,’ she said simply, and he looked up at her then, an expression of pure joy on his face, Mike still virtually attached to his chin.
‘He’s amazing,’ said Charlie, looking her right in the eye. She felt her face heat and instinctively took a step backwards.
‘They were dumped outside,’ she said abruptly. ‘Far too young to be without their mum. We’ve been bottle-feeding them, which takes ages but… well… it’s not exactly a hardship to be fair. I’ll show you how to do it in a bit.’
Charlie’s brow crinkled. ‘That’s awful. Why would anyone do that?’
Felicity shrugged. She was getting more used to it by now although it still cut her heart a little bit in two anytime it happened. She put her hand down to the other puppies and gave their little heads a stroke. They responded by wagging their tails ten times harder.
‘Who knows? It’s money, sometimes, or just people not thinking through the consequences. Retrievers get big, after all. Or it could be puppy farmers, maybe they didn’t come out how they wanted, or the right colours. They were probably trying to get chocolate ones, that’s what usually happens.’
Mike was now licking Charlie’s ear. He was giggling again. ‘How could anyone leave this little guy?’
‘I know. He’s amazing, isn’t he? They all are. But not all people are kind.’
Something must have passed across her face then because Charlie studied her for a long moment, as if trying to figure her out. Felicity was the first to look away, feeling inexplicably cross with him.
‘So… Felicity. Tell me something.’
Uh-oh.
‘Ask me whatever you like.’
‘Have you got a boyfriend?’ he said, too casually, as he gently placed Mike back down in the pen. The little puppy wiggled back into the group and then turned and continued wagging his tail furiously about in their general direction.
‘Wow, you don’t hang about,’ said Felicity, tucking a strand of her long red hair behind her ear and then panicking about them sticking out and pulling it to the front again.
Charlie gave her another flash of that crooked smile. ‘Life moves fast,’ was his only response.
‘Well, yes, yes I do.’
Charlie’s eyebrows lifted.
Felicity went on hastily, ‘I do have a boyfriend, that is. Not move fast. And anyway, I’m far too old for you.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ he said, his grin growing wider.
‘Shall we move on?’
Charlie did a little mock bow. ‘Lead the way.’