Cora stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “Okay, that song was a little weird, maybe keep that one between the two of you.”
“Now that I’ve totally embarrassed myself, it’s your turn. Do you have a Fritz song?”
“Of course! Take any song on the radio right now and sub the wordFritzin it and you have one of my songs. I don’t write my own material for him, I sample. Lots of vintage Michael Jackson, too. ‘Fritzie Jean.’ ‘Fritz in the Mirror.’ You get the picture.”
The stress of trying to figure out what was happening with Eli and waiting for word about the audition made it difficult for Cora to focus. No news felt like bad news, and she was preemptively disappointed. She wanted to take a few days off and surrender to the couch with Maggie, Josie, and Fritz, but her phone never stopped ringing with new client inquiries. She had hoped that her session with Eli would be more chatting than actual work, but it was clear he was going to make her earn her keep.
“Are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself today,” Eli said.
“I thought I was hiding it. How can you tell?”
“It’s one of my superpowers. I can read auras.”
“Seriously?”
“No, not seriously. But I am pretty in tune with people. It’s a safety mechanism I developed from working in an office filled with women.” He paused. “Sorry, no offense.”
“None taken. I get it.” She shook her head. “I’ve just got a lot going on, and it’s hard for me to focus right now. But I’m happy to be working with Nell again.”
“I think she might surprise you today. She’s ready to show off.”
Even though the initial lessons with Beth Ann had been a nightmare, Nell had managed to retain the little Cora had taught her. She was an eager student as they added “down” and “come” to her repertoire, and the hour passed quickly.
Eli looked down at Nell, who stood panting at his feet after practicing recalls. “We can be done for today, I think she’s cooked,” he said.
“Are you sure? We still need to do some leash walking.”
“Nah, you need a break, too. Why don’t you go home and take a nap or something? Let’s schedule our next session and be done for today.”
“Nell might be my least accomplished student this far into my program, but if she makes you happy then I’m happy.”
Eli stopped and looked at Cora. “Right now, I’m happy.”
Cora felt a pinprick of heat on her cheeks. She pulled her phone from her bag and checked her calendar, but not before seeing a text from Charlie that said “Soon ... XO.” She refocused on Eli. “Next week, same day, same time?”
“Works for me,” Eli replied.
Cora peeked at her e-mail before putting her phone away. She scanned through the messages, and in the middle of her endless inbox she saw it. An e-mail from Mia Nguyen with the subject line “Next steps.”
“Oh my God,” she said involuntarily.
“What?”
“I’m freaking out.” Cora put her phone down and stared into space, then looked at Eli with wide eyes. “I didn’t want to jinx myself by talking about it, but I auditioned for a show. A dog training TV show. I’ve been waiting to hear if they liked my audition. I just got an e-mail from them!”
“No way! You have to open it in front of me. Please.”
“I’m scared.”
“Want me to do it for you?”
“No! Yes! I don’t know!”
“Hand it over,” he said. “I’ll be a good buffer, I promise.”
Cora gave him her phone and buried her face in her hands. He read out loud, “ ‘Hi Cora, so nice meeting you,’ blah blah blah.” He skimmed the rest of the e-mail, his lips moving as he read.
“Tellme.”
