Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74554 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“I think I am. I recently got a townhouse, and it’s got a lot of light. And feels kind of empty.”
I’d gotten some new furniture in, but I hadn’t gotten around to any of the painting or hanging art or anything like that.
“Well, we can certainly put all that light to good use. Maybe it’s time to invest in a big plant,” she suggested, gesturing toward the giant plants and trees at the front of the shop.
“You mind if I cut out early and hit the kiln for—oh, hello there,” her employee, Traeger, said, coming to a stop behind the counter, his eyes going round when he spotted me.
“Hey,” I greeted him.
“Go ahead, Traeg. I know you’re drowning in orders.”
“You’re amazing. Make sure he buys a planter or two,” Traeger said before rushing out the door and heading around the building.
“You don’t have to buy pots.”
“Nah, I like to support artists. We’ll pick out some once we choose some—what the hell is that?” I asked when a metallic slamming noise sounded somewhere in the back.
I stepped automatically in front of her, standing between her and what I figured might be some sort of intruder.
Then the source of the noise came into view.
Ernest was toddling in with his metal food bowl hanging from his droopy mouth.
“He picks up and slams his bowl around when he wants to be fed. It’s the most active he is all day,” Rue admitted. “Want to come back and have a coffee? Or, you know, you can totally just browse if you want.”
Her voice had gotten tight and high, like she was uncomfortable with the idea of me turning her down.
“I can go for coffee.”
“He, uh, eats better than I do,” Rue admitted as she added kibble to a bowl and then started scooping extras in: bone broth, Greek yogurt, a few baby carrots, blueberries, mushed orange stuff that was maybe pumpkin or sweet potatoes, and some shredded turkey. “But he deserves it.”
The second the bowl hit the ground, Ernest was going to town on it, pushing the damn thing around the room.
“I should probably get him a stand for it,” she said, catching me watching him. “But he’s so lazy that I figured any movement he gets a day is good. Plus, it forces him to slow down so he doesn’t get a bellyache.”
“He seems to enjoy the process.”
“Do you have any pets?” she asked.
“I help take care of a macaw that kind of belongs to a bunch of buddies and me. And by ‘take care of,’ I mean slip him snacks he’s probably not supposed to have because it’s hard for me to say no to him.”
“Is he friendly?”
“God, no,” I said with a laugh. “He was a rescue, and it doesn’t sound like he came from the most loving home. So he doesn’t really want to be handled. He just wants to eat and watch the goings-on.”
“So, you’re into birds?”
“I never considered it before. I was more of a dog person. But I would be open to a bird, I guess.”
“I fall down rabbit holes of cute birds doing crazy things. Like that one Amazon that cries like an actual baby. Can you imagine? Sixty years of listening to a ‘baby’ cry.”
“Mackie heard a fire alarm ring once for all of fifteen seconds when cooking set it off. He still makes the sound on occasion, years later.”
“Do you know it’s him, or does it make everyone rush for an exit?”
“I think everyone has realized the need to listen for a couple of seconds before we decide to investigate or flee.”
“Ernest lets me know when there is a fire siren going off anywhere in a twenty-mile radius. Even dead asleep, he will just start howling. It’s actually kind of cute, not annoying.”
“Was he always so lazy, or was he a normal puppy?”
“Even as a puppy, it was almost impossible to get him out of bed. But that was okay with me.” Something deep and sad crossed her eyes then, like the memory of that wasn’t a great one. Though I couldn’t understand what was bad about that. Unless maybe she’d wanted a puppy who would be more interactive and playful.
“And now he is calm enough to be with you all day.”
“Exactly. He’s perfect. And the customers love him.”
I finished my coffee as she washed the dog’s bowl, then she sent him out the back door to do his business while we debated the plants, hemmed and hawed pots, and discussed care requirements.
“Shit,” I said when she let Ernest in, making me realize that the sun had fully set.
“What?”
“I’ve kept you from closing on time, haven’t I?”
“Oh, only by about an hour,” she admitted, flipping the sign.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I honestly had nothing planned. And you saved me from staring at the list that has been driving me nuts all day,” she admitted as she moved behind the desk.