She fell asleep that night with her phone in her hand, a half-written text to Alyssa glowing on the screen.
You
Thanks for letting Bug visit. He’s…
She deleted it. Tried again.
You
I’d really like to visit the sanctuary. How’s next…
Deleted that too.
In the end, she sent nothing. But the wanting was there, bright and terrifying and impossible to ignore.
Monday morning arrived with the usual dread, but this time it was tempered by something else: anticipation.
Evelyn got to the office early, made herself a coffee, and left her door slightly ajar. Just in case.
At ten o’clock exactly, Bug scratched at the door.
Evelyn rolled her eyes at the pup’s insistence that he be formally greeted, instead of just walking through the gap Evelyn had left him. Smiling, she opened the door further and gestured for him to enter, which he seemed to appreciate. He trotted in like he owned the place, heading straight for his spot by the window.
“Morning,” Evelyn said.
Bug stepped onto his cushion, turned in a circle, and flopped down with a contented sigh.
Evelyn sat beside him, her back against the wall, her coffee growing cold in her hands.
Outside, the city hummed with its usual chaos. Inside, everything was still.
“You know,” Evelyn said quietly, “I think you might be the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time.”
Bug opened one eye, looked at her, and closed it again.
Evelyn smiled.
11
Guinness, Glutes, and Grumpy Snuggle Bugs
Alyssa
November was flying by. The partnership with Crawford’s was sailing along brilliantly. All the dogs were being spoiled by their volunteers, and it made Alyssa’s heart sing to watch some of her more timid dogs come out of their shells.
The offices were now decorated to the nines in Christmas apparel. Crawford’s Pet Supplies really took the festive season seriously. Best of all, Evelyn had gifted each of Alyssa’s dogs abrand new coat, fresh off the production line. The only pooch not happy about the new winter wear was Bug. He was not impressed at all, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Bug liked things a certain way, and getting jammed into a fluffy coat was not how he wanted to spend his time.
“Al, have you seen Bug?”
For the past three weeks, that sentence was asked daily by Lil. Alyssa had long stopped worrying about Bug’s Houdini act. She knew exactly where to find him, and she wasn’t about to stop him from going there.
Evelyn had said nothing about the little dog travelling up to her office daily. In fact, Alyssa had noticed Evelyn had started to leave her door ajar, which made her smile.
Sure, Alyssa could just ask Evelyn outright if she wanted to be Bug’s new volunteer, but that meant Alyssa wouldn’t have much of an excuse to go up to the twentieth floor daily. As it stood, Alyssa would let Bug go for a few hours, then wander up to Evelyn’s office to “check in.”
Nine times out of ten, Alyssa would catch Evelyn on the floor with Bug, rubbing his head or belly. Sometimes they would be standing together looking out over London. Occasionally, Alyssa worried Evelyn probably didn’t have the time to be entertaining Bug, but then she’d stop and flip it over. Maybe entertaining Bug was exactly what Evelyn needed. Who was Alyssa to decide otherwise?
“You know where he is,” she chuckled, shaking her head at Lil.
