Chapter 26: Chapter 26
The delete button on her keyboard was getting quite the workout. Every time Noelle went to make a post announcing Pooch’s availability, it just didn’t sound right, and she ended up deleting it and starting all over again. She didn’t know why; he was ready to find his forever home. All she needed to do was put up his picture, a few sentences about his temperament, and there was a good chance he’d be gone in a matter of hours.
That was the problem, though. Noelle didn’t want Pooch to be gone. Not with just anyone, anyway. She wanted to know for certain that Pooch would be in the perfect home, with the perfect family.
That wasn’t true either, though. She wanted Pooch to be with her. Or Brady. Or both of them. That wasn’t going to happen because she wasn’t with Brady. Not to mention, as quickly as he’d taken off out of there the evening before it was clear that something was wrong. Since he hadn’t called or sent her a text to let her know he was all right, she had to assume she’d done or said something wrong.
She’d been just as distracted and worried about that all morning as she had been Pooch. Between that and the money she needed to raise for Goldie’s vet bills, she had more on her mind than she could possibly concentrate on all at the same time, and her work was beginning to suffer because of it.
Her stomach rumbled, and she realized it was just about lunchtime. The idea that she should set this aside and grab her sandwich out of the fridge was a welcome one. She was about to do just that when she heard the bell above the door outside of her office jingle and realized that meant they had a visitor. For a moment, she thought it might be Brady. Maybe he’d come to bring her lunch again, to make up for running out of there so quickly the day before. She shook the idea out of her head. That was silly. He probably didn’t even think he’d done anything strange.
Since there was only one volunteer working that day, and she was way in the back giving some of the smaller dogs baths, Noelle went out to see who it was. A smile crossed her face when she saw her mother standing there, holding a bag from the burger joint. “Mom! What are you doing here?”
Doris shrugged. “Well, I thought you could use something more than the soggy sandwich you usually throw together, and I wanted to talk to you about some of the plans the girls and I have come up with,” she said, heading straight into the break room area like she owned the place. That was her mother, though. She never felt uncomfortable anywhere.
By the time Noelle caught up to her, Doris was already spreading her fare out on the table. “Now, I didn’t get drinks. You know how I worry about getting sticky substances on the leather seats of my precious baby.”
“I know, Mom,” Noelle said, going to the little refrigerator and pulling out two bottles of water and bringing them with her to the table. She sat down in front of the spot where her mother had set her food. She knew it was hers because her mom didn’t care for french fries, and the other spot had none.
Doris moved the sack aside and sat down. “How has your day gone, honey?”
Noelle shrugged. “Okay. I guess.”
“That sounds convincing.” Doris unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite while Noelle did the same. Her mom knew exactly how she liked her burgers. It was nice to be treated to lunch so many times in just a few days, but she was going to have to start exercising more if she made this into a habit.
“I tried to call Brady earlier but didn’t get him. I left him a message letting him know I was coming here for lunch, if he wanted to join us, but he never called back.”
Noelle swallowed hard. “He seemed a little… odd yesterday when he left here, like something was bothering him.”
One perfectly drawn-on eyebrow arched over Doris’s eye. “What do you think was the matter?”
“I’m not sure. I’d left him a message about Pooch, telling him that the neighbor was coming to see him, and urged him to come and say goodbye if he wanted to. He ran in just as I was preparing to take Pooch back to his kennel. He seemed relieved that the dog was still here--at first. After a few minutes, he seemed like he couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”
Her mother stared at her for a long moment before she said, “Well, that does seem strange.”
“I know.”
“And the dog is still here? The neighbor didn’t take him to the owner?”
Noelle hadn’t wanted to talk about it when she’d gotten home the night before, so she hadn’t told her mom what had gone on. “No, his owner passed away, and the neighbor said she was a cat lady. So… Pooch is still here.”
“Well, then, I guess you can put him up for adoption now, can’t you?” Doris had that twinkle in her eye that clued in Noelle that she was up to something.
She scrutinized her mother’s face for a moment before she said, “I can. I will. I just… haven’t yet?”
“And why not?” Doris wanted to know. “You can’t take him.”
“I know.” She didn’t need to be reminded of that.
“And Brady doesn’t want him.”
Noelle blew out a hot breath. “Are we sure about that?” she asked. “I mean… I’m not convinced that he doesn’t want him. I think he does.”
“But he can’t take him, right? Didn’t he say he couldn’t have him in the place where he’s staying?”
Popping a fry into her mouth, Noelle chewed and nodded. “That’s right,” she said, after she swallowed. “I just feel like Pooch is meant to be his dog, and I can’t see putting him up for adoption when he is meant to be with Brady.” There. She’d said it. That’s why she hadn’t posted the announcement yet.
Her mom gave her a sympathetic smile. “I understand that, honey, I do. But Brady is an adult. If he wants the dog, he’ll figure out a way to have him. And if he doesn’t get him, well, doesn’t Pooch deserve to have a loving home for the holidays?”
“Of course he does, Mom. All of these animals do. It’s just….” She thought back to the bill she owed the vet, how the cages were too small and crowded, how there wasn’t enough room to run around or a way for them to go outside. Letting go a loud sigh, Noelle said, “We need a bigger facility. And a bigger budget.”
“And more volunteers.” Doris reached across the table and put her hand on top of her daughter’s. “I know, honey.”
“Mayor Jenkins doesn’t care about any of that. All he wants is that stupid parking garage so his father can make some more money.”
“Well, I can’t help with all of those things, but I think I can with some of it. I was just talking to Martha and some of the other ladies. They’ve agreed to do a fundraiser with their knitted animals to raise money specifically for the shelter. Every penny they raise during the craft fair will go directly to you.”
Noelle’s face lit up. “That’s great, Mom!”
“Yes, and considering Martha and some of the others have quite a stockpile of critters they’ve knitted over the years, they’ll have a lot to sell. They’ve also agreed to make replicas of the animals you plan to take with you to the fair, so while I’m here, I’d like to get some pictures to send them, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Noelle agreed. She had planned to do that anyway, after Brady had mentioned the possibility, but she hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
Noelle wondered if her mom should take Pooch’s picture. Depending upon when the craft fair would be held, he might still be here--if she waited a few more days to make that post….
“I think we are all ready to go. All I need is the green light from the city council. It’s too bad I haven’t heard from Brady. I wonder if he’s been successful in getting the other board members to agree. Martha said she thought Ruth would approve. That means they only need two other people.”
“Harry and Kent will likely vote yes. I think it will work out, Mom.” The idea of bringing Christmas back to town did make her breathe easier, even though it didn’t solve all of her problems. She was excited about the prospect of having a fundraiser just for the shelter, though. If they could make a dent in Goldie’s vet bills, that would make her a lot less anxious than she was at the moment.
“I am banking on it,” Doris said with a nod before taking another bite of her sandwich.
Brady had been smart to put her mom in charge of the Christmas events. If anyone could get it done, it was Doris Snow.
“You know,” Doris said, setting her burger down on the wrapper. “You could use a little Christmas spirit around here, Noelle. I didn’t see any Christmas decorations outside. Don’t you have a speaker system you can use to pipe in some Christmas music?”
Noelle raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t even thought about doing either of those things, which was a real shame. “Yeah, I think we could fix both of those problems pretty easily.”
Doris grinned at her. “I’ll send your stepdad over later with a ladder to string some lights.”
Noelle laughed. “He’ll just love that.”
Doris shrugged. “He loves me, so he’ll do it. That’s how you know they love you, Noelle. When they’ll climb a ladder for you in the dead of winter to hang Christmas lights, they’ll do just about anything else, honey.”
A smile spread across Noelle’s face. There was no doubt Cliff loved her mother. Noelle had always longed for a love like the one they had, but the older she grew, the more she started to think it would never happen for her. At least she knew it existed. That was something.
“Thanks for lunch, Mom,” Noelle said. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
“All right, dear. We’ll chat soon.”
Noelle gathered her trash and threw it away, sweeping up her mom’s as well since she was finished now. She hugged her mom, and Doris kissed her cheek. It wasn’t often that her mom came to have lunch with her, but she’d picked a good day to do so. After Doris left, Noelle returned to her work with a renewed spirit and the hopes that all of her troubles just might work themselves out after all.