She points a finger to the barn. “Go inside.” Slowly, he moseys back inside. “You too, Thumper.” The black lab just looks confused, but listens to the command nonetheless.
“You’ve got some characters,” I say.
“Those two are nothing compared to the princess you’re about to meet.”
My heart swells as I follow Jo into the larger barn. I’ve been looking forward to spending time here since agreeing to help yesterday afternoon, but not only because of the chance to spend time with adorable animals. As I wrestled to sleep last night, lying next to Jamie, I realized I don’t have anyone to talk to about everything that’s happened. If this were any other situation, I would go to Jamie, but for obvious reasons that’s notan option. I’ve never truly confided in Joanna before, but right now I really need another woman’s advice. Afterall, she told me herself that she’s a great listener, so I want to take her up on that.
She leads me to the back of the building where there are two rows of spacious kennels, each with a lattice fence serving as a door. The moment we approach, I expect to be met with enthusiastic barks and the sound of paws tapping against the barriers, but it’s mostly quiet, other than the sound of mouths scarfing food from bowls. It seems I arrived just after breakfast was served.
At the end of the first row, in kennel number five, is the small pit bull Joanna mentioned being the newest resident. She’s a mix of tan and white and has the cutest little rolls I’ve seen in my life. I lean over the door to let her sniff me and after hesitating for only a few seconds she starts licking the inside of my arm.
“She’s so sweet,” I coo. “What made those people think she was aggressive?”
“I’m pretty sure all she did was bark a little too loudly at their baby, but I have no doubt it was warranted. Children are way more unpredictable than dogs. The baby probably screamed all day and she was just trying to scream along with it.”
I can feel Joanna’s frustration. Taking care of abandoned animals is a hard job, especially when you have to face the humans that do it and keep a professional manner. I’m sure Jo has had to fight the urge to punch people like that on more than one occasion.
The pit bumps her head against my hand signaling for me to pet her, so I scratch the top of her head.
“If you can’t properly take care of a dog, then don’t get one,” Joanna declares. “She just needs training, that’s all.” I wholeheartedly agree. “They named her Lucy, but she doesn’t really respond to it, so I’m going to start calling her Juno.”
“Why Juno?” I ask.
Joanna smiles down at the dog. “Because I’m gonna treat her like a queen.”
I spendthe next hour letting Juno warm up to me before giving her a bath. I take her on a long walk around the perimeter of the rescue, letting her stop and smell everything that peaks her interest. With such a round body and short legs, she has to move quickly to keep up with my longer stride, but that doesn’t stop her from darting ahead and attacking piles of leaves whenever they seem to offend her.
After I’m sure she’s gotten out her energy and we’ve formed a good connection, I take her back to the barn into one of the bathing rooms. Joanna has a station already set up with all the tools we’ll need. I adjust the knobs to the perfect temp and fill the tub with about four inches of water, then I coax Juno into the bath. To my surprise, she jumps in willingly, excited to splash about. I scrub her down and rinse, moisturize her nose and paws, and add a fresh smelling dog safe perfume to her fur. When we’re all done, she looks happy and sleepy, so I take her back to her room so she can take a nap.
By the time I’m done, Joanna enters the barn after finishing whatever tasks that have kept her busy. There are a few strands of straw in her hair and she reaches to pick them out as she asks, “How did it go?”
“Juno was great. We really bonded over our shared love of stopping to smell the flowers. And leaves. And the grass.”
Jo coughs out a laugh. "I knew she'd be great. She's a sweetheart. I'm so tired of people labeling puppies as difficult simply because they are puppies." She looks toward Juno's stall thoughtfully. "I have a bunch of leftover charcuterie board shit at the house if you feel like sticking around a bit longer."
“That sounds fantastic.”
I follow her to the main house and up the steps. She leads me to a large farmhouse style kitchen complete with a massive sink and exposed hardware. Jo places crackers, cheese, a mix of veggies, and a jar of olives on the counter, and we both assemble our own snack plates. I make mini cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese and buttery crackers, and we sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes while we eat.
I decide now is as good a time as any to have that heart to heart. But before I can open my mouth to say anything, Joanna speaks up first.
“Listen, I’m sorry for being so pushy about you and Jamie yesterday.”
Her apology is unnecessary, but based on the look she’s giving me, she seems to be genuinely concerned about upsetting me.
“You don’t need to apologize,” I tell her.
“Yes I do. I thought about how I acted on the way home, and I realized I might have made you a little uncomfortable,” she admits. “I don’t know the situation between you two, so it’s not my place to joke about it. I just thought you guys fit so well together, and…I don’t know.” She shrugs in defeat and pops an olive unceremoniously into her mouth.
“It’s okay. I swear.”Here goes nothing.“If I’m being completely honest,” I say, “you were right.”
Jo’s ears perk up and she tilts her head. “I was?”
“Things between Jamie and I have changed recently, and we hooked up for the first time the other day.” I rush on before I lose my courage, “He kinda got me off on the kitchen counter and now things are weird and I don’t want them to be weird and I’m not sure what to do.”
“Wait,kinda?”
It’s not the first question I thought she’d ask, but I should have been more clear about that part.
