Chapter 1
“Aren’t you precious?” I cooed as I rubbed behind the ears of Mary Queen of Scots, the little Shih Tzu on the table before me.
Her tail wagged happily, and she panted as I gave her lots of doggy attention. Matteus Browning, her owner, hovered nearby.
“You don’t have to stay, you know. There’s a waiting area outside.” I cleaned Mary’s ears and then started on her nails.
I worked as a pet groomer five days a week. I even had my own private room so I could give specialized attention to each animal in my care, without distractions from other workers. Though sometimes the owners preferred to stay and watch over their little Fifi or Mumsie.
“But she gets nervous when I’m not around, you know?” Actually, hewas the nervous one, but I wouldn’t say that, of course. It was cute, if a little bit overkill.
“I understand, but your precious Mary will be fine. So, unless you want to get wet when I bathe her, please take a seat in the waiting area. I promise she’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” I dealt with anxious owners like Matteus on a daily basis, and the man was practically wringing his hands.
“Absolutely positive.”
“Okay.” He petted Mary one last time, and reluctantly left the room.
“All right, your majesty. Let’s make you the prettiest dog ever to grace canine royalty.” I got to work, and after a little while, presented a clean, well-groomed Shih Tzu, worthy of a gold medal at a dog show to her owner.
“Thank you!” he gushed. “She looks fantastic!” Mary gave a happy little bark as I handed the leash to her human, and the little dog turned her head to lick my hand when I petted her. Sweet pooch.
“I’m glad you think so. Make sure you bring her back to us. You get a free grooming coupon after the fourth visit.”
“You bet!” I watched as Matteus walked proudly with Mary past the other dogs, cats, and owners awaiting their turn. It always made me glad to have satisfied customers. I checked the sign-in sheet to see who was next. It amused me to no end when owners gave their pets a last name.
“Calvin and Peaches Chandler?”
* * * *
By the time I got home, it was seven in the evening, and my feet and back ached. I lived in a tiny studio apartment ten miles from my job at Pet Store Universe. While I loved animals, my lease didn’t allow for them, and the place was too small to take care of one, anyway. Instead, I had pet rocks.
The upside of this was my “pets” didn’t need to be fed, cleaned, trimmed or told to stop chewing my shoes—and they would never die. The only attention they ever needed was a new painted persona from time to time, typically miniature dog and cat motifs. Hey, it was a thing. I used them as stress release from the inane and crazy pet owners that hounded me—so to speak—regularly.
The downside was a lack of true companionship. Still, I got to see my furry babies, as I liked to think of them, at work, and on Saturdays when I volunteered at a pet shelter. That would have to do until I could get out from under the crushing debt my ex left me with and move into a bigger space. Word to the wise…Don’t ever have a joint anythingwith a sociopath.
My cell phone rang as I stepped out of the shower fifteen minutes later. I wrapped a towel around my waist and ran to the bed to grab the mobile out of my pants pocket.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Barry!” It was my baby sister, the pest.
“Trixie, you called me this morning before work. Nothing’s changed since then.”
“Don’t be like that, brother mine. I’m just worried about you.” And her worry would be the death of me.
“I’m doing the best I can, under the circumstances.”
“You’ve been saying that for almost two years now. Have you eaten, yet? Why don’t you come over for dinner? Sid and I are having lasagna, and that silly mutt Macy misses you. The baby wants to see his uncle and I really think you should—”
“Trixie! Take a breath, hon.” It was always this way with her. Sidney Mason had been a saint to marry such a headstrong chatterbox, though she was the sweetest chatterbox on the planet.
“It’s too late for me to come over now, and I just got out of the shower. Rain check, okay? Maybe Friday night? I’ll bring a new toy for Macy.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think you’re taking care of yourself. And that asshole prick Winslow deserves to be sawn in half for what he did to you. What a user! He leaves you with these huge bills and a mortgage…Have you sold the house yet, by the way? You know, if I ever corner him in a dark alley, I’ll rip—”
“All right, okay!” Trixie was like a dog with a bone. And the idea of her tiny frame taking on my ex-boyfriend was like a Chihuahua with a Great Dane. A Chihuahua with the heart of an Akita.