She shrugged. “It’s going okay. Spot is getting adopted. His new owners are coming back to sign papers later, so it’s going to be nice to see him go home. We’ve had a few people who were getting interested in Chili, but no one has decided to say yes.”
“That will be nice for spot. Are you going to miss him?”
She nodded. “Of course. I’ve gotten to know all of the dogs. But it’s a warm feeling when they find their forever home. I know they will make him happy.”
She ate a couple more fries. “I want all of them to find homes. They all are so different and deserve to find someone who is going to love them.”
I took in the dogs, having learned their names over the times I’d been here. Nora knew each of their personalities and what they liked and hated. She knew so much about each of the dogs, just proving more that she loved what she did.
“Well, I should get going.” I didn’t want to stick around too long where it looked like I was hovering.
She swallowed a fry…”Unless you want to stay.” She pointed toward the cat door. “I have some kittens I’m watching after. I could use an extra set of hands. I’d ask Mike, but he’s handling the budget, and I would rather not get in the way. Unless you have somewhere to be.”
I felt my heart leap. She was asking me to stay. This was the first time that she had budged, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I can help with that.”
“But I have to get the dogs inside first.” She turned to set her fries down, but I stopped her. I stepped in her way, pulling my hands up.
“No, you eat, and I’ll get the dogs inside. How hard can it be?”
She made a face and started to laugh. “Okay, you can get them in, and I’ll eat.” She sat down on a stool and waved her hand. “Do for it. Get them all in here and in their kennels.”
I tried to rally the dogs inside, but they kept running around. Frank refused to get up. Spot was running around getting to the door and then slipping past me. I only managed to get Chili inside, and that was only because I picked him up. Noneof the other dogs listened, but I could hear Nora laugh from inside.
I finally threw my hands up. I was freezing cold, my fingers were frozen, and my shoes were soaking wet from the snow.
Nora stepped outside, wiping her hands on a napkin with a smug smile. She laughed as she stepped outside, taking in the view of all the dogs. “How hard can it be?” she teased, as she whistled. All the dogs turned and started heading toward us.
I frowned, throwing my hands in the air. “Are you kidding me? I just ran around for ten fricken minutes, and all I needed to do was whistle?” I started walking toward the door, Nora smiling as she held it open.
She chuckled as the last of the dogs slipped inside. “You seemed pretty sure of yourself. I was going to tell you, but I couldn’t help but watch you try to lift Frank. That made my day.”
I followed after her as she locked each of the dogs into their kennels. She waved me to follow her into the cat’s room. The cat’s room was smaller than the dogs’, with ten kennels that lined the wall. The cats meowed as we entered, but my eyes went to a table and the few boxes with blankets in them.
She noticed me looking and frowned. “Those are the sick kittens that we’ve been looking after.”
I walked closer. There were five little black kittens. They were curled up together, looking so small. They looked malnourished, and a couple of them didn’t move as we got closer.
“What’s wrong with them?” I asked, wanting to reach out and pet them, but I was afraid I would hurt them.
“These two were found under an abandoned house. The vet thinks they haven’t eaten in a long time. He warned us they might not make it. The other three are just newborns that need a little extra attention. The vet said they should be able to join their other siblings in a few days, and that some steroids will be needed. We’re trying to get the mother to accept all of them.”
Nora reached down, rubbing her hand over one of them. “They are fighting hard. They are all on some medication, and I’m hoping that by tomorrow, we will start seeing some improvement.”
I reached down, rubbing my finger along one of the kittens. It hardly moved, and I frowned. “Where did they find the kittens?”
“I don’t know the address.” She reached in, pulling one up. She pulled it close to her chest, rocking side to side. “I hope they all make it. They are all so little and just beginning their lives.”
I watched her eyes change as she looked sad, almost afraid of what was going to happen. I reached a hand out, rubbing it up and down her back. “You guys are doing everything you can. If anyone can save them, it’s you and Mike.”
She nodded, resting her hand on my shoulder. “I’m hoping so.” She rubbed her hand over the kitten’s back slowly.
I spent the entire day with Nora. We spent most of the day in the cats’ room. We sat with the kittens, monitoring them. I watched how careful Nora was, seeing how motherly she could be. She held each of them with careful hands and fed them from little bottles.
She hummed as she moved, handing me a kitten. “Are you sure I can hold it?” I asked, not wanting to hurt it.
“Yeah.” She gently put the kitten in my hand. “Body heat is good for them.”
I held the little kitten staring at it. It was different from holding Charlie with me on the couch. This little kitten was so small, its bones so fragile. The kitten meowed, and it was so soft.
