Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Arriving at the shelter a little earlier than normal, Noelle pulled into her spot and checked her phone one more time before she went in. Still no response to the message she’d sent the night before. Frustrated, she slipped her phone into her pocket and turned off her car, grabbing her bag and heading to the front door, her keys in her hand.

That familiar smell of animals who had been in cages all night hit her lungs. She groaned. What she wouldn’t give for kennels that allowed the dogs to go outside overnight if they needed to! As long as it was secure and there was no chance they could get loose, it would be a great way to make sure the animals that came to her already house trained stayed that way and keep all of them from having to mess where they lived, which most dogs hated.

“At least the cats have litter boxes,” she muttered, taking her bag to her office and locking it in a drawer before she took her coat, hat, and gloves off. She shoved her hat and gloves in her pocket and hung up her coat, carried her lunch to the refrigerator in the break room, and then headed out to start cleaning kennels, fill food bowls, and do all of the other things she didn’t have time for, and also run the shelter. It was really too bad there wasn’t a full-time staff to take care of these sorts of things. If she had more time to do her administrative jobs, there was a good chance she could get more pets rehomed.

“Or maybe I could collect enough money to pay Goldie’s vet bills,” she also said under her breath as she approached the first cage.

Rhonda would be there soon to help with the kennels, but she wanted to get any messes cleaned up quickly. There were also some dogs that needed bathed and litter to change. There was always so much work to do and just not enough people to do it.

A few hours into her work, Noelle noticed her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out. She saw that she had a message from the same social media app she’d gotten the message from Irma Walker through the night before. She’d responded to the message from the woman the night before to see if she might be Pooch’s owner. Irma’s initial message had just said, “I think I might know who this dog belongs to.” Noelle had messaged her back and asked her what information she had available, but the woman hadn’t responded. Until now.

“Hello, Ms. Snow. Thank you for getting back to me,” the message read. “I believe this might be my neighbor’s dog. I will come in this afternoon to see if it is him.”

Noelle felt her pulse quicken as she read the message. Could Pooch be leaving that soon? Before Brady even got a chance to see him one more time? The idea hurt her heart, even if she would love to see Pooch get to leave his tiny pen and go back home.

Quickly, she messaged back, “Thank you so much for getting back to me. Please come by the shelter any time. We are open until 5:00 this evening.” She had no idea who Irma was, which was strange since she knew just about everyone in town. But there were those apartments on the other side of town that were built specifically for older people. She knew they were some of the nicest, least expensive apartments in the area, and since residents had to be over the age of sixty-five, many older people from nearby towns moved there. The waiting list was quite long, from her understanding.

It would make sense that Pooch might belong to someone older who couldn’t get out and come to the shelter and didn’t use social media. He or she might not have any family members who could help them look for their pet, either.

With a heavy heart, Noelle tried to go about her work, but she was distracted. When Rhonda took over the cleaning, she headed to her office, hoping she could get some work done in there.

Sitting behind her desk, she opened the mail and did a few other things, but she really wanted to call Brady and let him know he should come in as early as possible. Unfortunately, she’d failed to get his phone number. The urge to talk to someone about the pup was overwhelming, though, so she picked up her phone and called her mom.

“Hi, honey. What’s the matter?” Doris said, clearly sounding distracted. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Are you busy?”

“Am I busy?” Doris exclaimed. “Of course, I am! Someone just dumped a huge amount of work on my lap, remember?”

Noelle grimaced. “Sorry, Mom. You’re working on the events already? What if we aren’t able to get the council to approve it?”

“Well, then we’ll have plans in place for next year, dear. Now, how can I help you?”

Noelle knew that tone. That was the “hurry up, I’m busy” tone her mom used sometimes when she wanted to be a loving, concerned parent but didn’t have the time. It had been pretty common in their home before her stepdad had come along and taken over some of the financial responsibility that previously weighed her mother down.

“I just… a woman is coming by in a few hours to see if Pooch might be her neighbor’s dog, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Her mother’s tone changed. “Are you happy about that? Wouldn’t that be good for him?”

“Yes, of course it would be. I suppose we could always go and visit him. I mean… I.”

“No, you meant we,” her mother said, seeing right through her. “You meant yourself and Brady.”

“Okay. I guess I did,” Noelle admitted. “It’s just.. I know he’s going to miss the pup, too.”

“Well, of course he is. Did you tell him yet? Will he have a chance to come and visit before the woman gets there?”

“He hasn’t come by yet today, and I don’t have his phone number,” Noelle said, shaking her head, even though her mom couldn’t see.

“Do you have a pen?”

Her forehead crinkled. “Yes….”

Her mom rattled off a phone number before Noelle even had a chance to pick the pen up. “Is that Brady’s number?”

“I wouldn’t be telling you to call anyone else, would I?”

“How do you have his number?” Noelle asked, getting a sticky note and a pen so she could ask for the number again.

“Because I asked him for it, silly. He just asked me to head a very important event for the city. I figured I might have questions! Why do you not have it?”

Noelle swallowed hard. Her mother’s answer made perfect sense. “I don’t know,” she admitted.

A snicker hit her ear. “I’m surprised he didn’t ask for yours.”

“Mom, please. It’s not like that. You really need to stop pretending to be a matchmaker.”

“Pretending?” Clearly, Doris was offended.

“Can I have that number again, please?”

Her mom gave it to her once more. This time, Noelle wrote it down, read it back to her to make sure it was right, and decided she needed to get off of the phone so she could call him. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Good luck, honey.”

Noelle told her mom goodbye and then dialed Brady’s number, thinking she’d put it into her phone when she had a chance. The phone went to voicemail. “Hi, Brady. It’s Noelle. I hope you don’t mind me calling, but I got your number from my mom. I wanted to tell you a woman is coming by soon to see if Pooch might be her neighbor’s dog. I wanted to let you know, in case you wanted to try to come by sooner to see him. Just in case… he goes home. Okay. I hope you’re having a good day. Bye.” As she was hanging up, the door outside chimed. She heard Rhonda’s chipper voice and then froze.

“I’m here to see Noelle,” an elderly voice said. “I’m Irma. I’m here about the black and white Havanese.”

Slowly, Noelle rose from her chair, wishing she would’ve gotten a hold of Brady. Because, if Pooch did belong to Irma’s neighbor, by the time Brady got to the shelter, it would be too late.