Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Danika
The dachshunds are adorable little sausages who scamper around with excited puppy yaps.
Cami is captivated, but when Danika asks if she’d like one, she shakes her head. “No thank you. I’d like something bigger.”
Visions of Irish wolfhounds parade through Danika’s head, and she says, “Not ginormous. Not Shetland pony size.”
Cami giggles. “No. Can we go back to the pound? Now? They’ll still be open.”
Danika raises an eyebrow. “Sure. If that’s what you want.”
Cami nods. “I want to see if Hugo is still there.”
Hugo? Oh, yes, the sad senior dog. “It’s been three weeks, Cami. Someone’s probably adopted him.”
Cami’s chin quivers. “I still want to go.”
It’s a twenty-minute drive to Oakleigh, and the pound is closing in half an hour. Cami rushes to the entrance, slowing to a sedate walk as she approaches the dog runs.
Danika follows, but Cami has been up and down the lines before she catches up.
“He’s not here.” Cami’s lower lip wobbles. “I hoped he would be.”
A volunteer approaches. “Were you looking for any dog in particular?” she says to Danika.
“Hugo.” Cami stares up at the volunteer. “He’s golden-brown, medium size, and he was so sad when we came last time.”
“Hugo’s a darling,” the volunteer says. “He’s still sad, but we think he just needs someone to love him, and he’ll be the bestest doggo you could have.”
“Is he still here?” Cami asks.
“He’s in one of the outside runs.”
Cami grips Danika’s hand. “Mummy, can we have Hugo? He wants to be my dog, I know he does.” Cami’s eyes fill with tears.
Oh no. Cami is not a crier, not unless it’s something important. Danika drops to her knees and hugs her.
The volunteer’s name tag reads Tess. “Would you like to meet Hugo in the run so you can interact with him more?”
“Can we, Mummy?” Cami’s tears are gone, her face so hopeful.
What can she do? Nothing. Cami wants Hugo, and if he’s as good as Tess says, then maybe he is the dog for them. “Let’s go meet him.”
Tess leads them to an outdoor run where another volunteer is asking Hugo to sit, stay, and then come for a treat. He still looks sad, but his tail wags slowly from side to side as he accepts the treat.
With a small sigh, Hugo sits on the volunteer’s feet and leans into her.
Cami’s grip is so tight Danika isn’t sure her fingers will be there when Cami lets go.
“Helen, this family is interested in Hugo. They’d like to meet him properly.” Tess smiles at Cami.
Danika and Cami enter the run. Danika stands by the gate, curious to see how Hugo behaves.
Cami sits on the ground, and Hugo stands for a moment before he comes closer until he’s standing with his forepaws in her lap. Slowly, Cami pets him, starting on his shoulders and then his ears, all the while whispering to him.
For a minute, Hugo is stiff, then with a human-sounding sigh, he sinks down next to her and puts his head in her lap.
Helen stares. “Does your daughter know this dog already?”
“We came once before, and she talked to him through the bars of his run,” Danika says. “Apart from that, no.”
Hugo rolls on his back, letting Cami rub his tummy.
“Maybe she reminds him of someone he loved. We think he had a good home once. Maybe he got scared in a storm and ran off, or maybe he was deliberately abandoned for some reason.” Helen shrugs.
“It happens. A new baby, a landlord who won’t allow pets.
Money worries. Our best guess is he’s a labrador/ staffy cross.
More lab than staffy, I think, going by his nature. ”
Danika goes across and sits on the ground next to Cami. She remains still, letting Hugo look, and sniff, before she attempts to pat him.
His tail wags.
“Can we have him, Mummy?” Cami asks? “Please?”
It’s tempting to say yes, but there’s something else to consider. “Hugo’s nine years old, Cami—”
“The same as I’ll be.” Cami nods confidently.
“In dog years, that means he’s old. He’s like a sixty-year-old man. So you won’t have Hugo as long as you’d have a puppy. Maybe you’d prefer a younger dog? That way you’ll be able to love it for longer.”
“I want Hugo.” Cami’s face sets firm. “I love him, and he loves me. And if you love someone, you want them for however long you have.”
Danika freezes. When did her daughter get so wise?
She’s right, of course. No one can predict the future.
Hugo may live another five, six years, or he may be older than they think and they’ll have him for a lot less time.
But love doesn’t look to an end date. Love lives in the moment. And Hugo is Cami’s moment.
As it is hers and Kim’s. Her stomach twists. She doesn’t know how long she’ll have with Kim: a few months or an eternity.
But it doesn’t matter. What matters is they are together in the here and now. For as long as they have.
She smiles down at Cami. “Then let’s see if the shelter will let us adopt him.”
“First we’ll have you fill out an application,” Tess says.
“We take into account how Hugo behaves with potential adopters, your home situation, fencing and so on. Hand in the application now, but we won’t meet until Tuesday to decide.
So if you want to come back tomorrow and drop off anything extra, you can. ”
“Like what?” Cami caresses Hugo’s ears.
“Photos of your house, fencing. Even a personal statement saying why you want Hugo in particular. Give us your best.”
Cami nods. Danika knows that once they’re done here, Cami will be hustling them home so she can write something for the shelter.
“I have to take Hugo back now,” Helen says. “I have a family waiting to meet another dog.”
Cami stands and walks with Helen as she puts Hugo back in his run.
Helen goes off, and Tess turns to Danika. “If you come with me, we can complete your application.”
“Can I stay here with Hugo?” Cami asks.
“Yes, but don’t go in the run. Stay outside.”
Tess takes Danika to the office building, and into a small room off reception.
She hands her a sheaf of forms. “If you complete this and pay the adoption fee, I’ll get it in immediately.
We refund the fee if you aren’t successful.
” She grips Danika’s shoulder. “I remember your daughter talking with Hugo before. I hope you get him.”
Danika fills in the forms. Yes, she owns her home, yes, the yard is fully fenced. No, she’s never had any conviction for animal mistreatment. The form goes on for four pages. Eventually, she’s done, and she hands it to Tess, who is hovering at reception.
“When will we hear?”
“Probably Tuesday afternoon,” Tess says. “Good luck.”
Cami is crouched next to Hugo when she returns, but leaves willingly.
“I’m going to write a letter,” she says. “Saying why I’m the best person for Hugo.”
Danika suppresses a smile. Exactly as she thought.
Cami’s letter turns into the longest thing she’s ever written. Four pages in her uneven handwriting. She refuses to let Danika write it, and that’s probably a good idea. Play the cute kid card.
Danika leaves Cami at the dining table—tongue sticking out in concentration as she laboriously writes out the reasons she’s the best person for Hugo—and goes into the bedroom with her phone.
Kim answers on the third ring. “Hi, I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. Mum says she’ll look after the two of them anytime we want. So let’s take advantage of that before she changes her mind.”
Kim hums in agreement. “Bella had the best time. She loved the steam train. And my cooking isn’t as good as Paul’s, apparently. He built them a jumping course in the garden.”
Danika’s eyebrows raise. “So Cami said, and I’m surprised. His garden is his baby. He must like Bella a lot.”
“Anyway, do you have a cute dachshund in your house today?”
“No. Cami is holding out for Hugo. We’ll find out on Tuesday if we have him.” She outlines what happened at the shelter.
“How can they not let him go to Cami?” Kim says.
“And how can I not choose you?” Danika whispers the words into the phone. “Let’s make that next date soon. Maybe something with the girls. Let them see us together as girlfriends.”
“Bella told me she’s thrilled we’re girlfriends,” Kim says. “She already asked me to marry you so she and Cami can live together.”
Danika stills and swallows hard. She hasn’t—couldn’t—look that far ahead. But Kim is joking, repeating the words of a nine-year-old.
“Cami hasn’t really said anything. But I guess I take second place to a dog right now.”
“I’m sure you do. It’s not unusual to Bella, though—there’s a kid in her class with two mums, and another with two dads.”
“How about we have a sleepover soon?” Danika suggests. “You and Bella could come here.”
“Are you suggesting we all four bunk down in Cami’s room?” Amusement tinges Kim’s voice.
“Let them see us as we are. How about next Saturday? There’s soccer in the morning, though.”
“I’m sure that will be a yes.”
“Nearly a week away.” Danika sighs. “I wish I’d thought of inviting you back tonight.”
“Hugo, remember? I bet you our next dinner out that Cami makes you go back to the shelter tomorrow to drop off her letter. She won’t let you scan and email it.”
“You could be right.”
Kim is right, and the next day they’re back in Oakleigh. Cami begged to be allowed to go late to school, and Danika called them first thing. Cami’s wearing her most respectable school uniform and hat.
She made Danika hold up nearly everything in her wardrobe before approving of a pair of dark jeans and a fitted blouse as acceptable responsible-dog-parent wear.
Tess finds them as Cami is again sitting outside Hugo’s pen.
“I wondered if you’d be back today,” she says.
With a final pat for Hugo through the bars, Cami stands and holds out her hand to Danika like a barrister asking for a court brief.
Danika puts the folder they compiled last night into her hand, and Cami hands it to Tess.