But things had changed.Thomas knew he was doing too much, but he didn’t see a way out of it.He didn’t want to quit his job.He wasn’t sure he’d be doing it for the rest of his life, but he wasn’t ready to give it up.It wouldn’t be smart, but beyond that, he just didn’t want to.He liked his job.
What he liked less was having to study for hours every evening.
He took another sip of coffee.This wouldn’t last forever.Soon enough, he’d get his GED, and he’d be able to relax.He could get a full night’s sleep again and never have to think about books again.Things would be hard until then, but he’d known they would be.He’d decided to do it anyway, and now, here he was.
A door banging somewhere close by made him jump.He glared at the open break room door, listening to the footsteps of whoever had banged that door coming closer.His glare didn’t vanish when Rowan appeared.He didn’t have anything against the man, but did he really have to make that much noise?
Rowan frowned when he noticed Thomas.“What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing’s going on with me.”
“Why are you staring at me like I killed your dog, then?”
Thomas shook his head.“You banged the door.I have a headache.That’s all.”
Rowan slowly nodded.“I see.Well, sorry about that.I won’t do it again.”
Thomas snorted.“Of course you will.It’s fine.”
“Did you take anything for the headache?”
“It’s not my first time having a headache, so yes, I did.You can stop mothering me.I’m not one of the animals here.”
Rowan blinked.He was probably surprised by Thomas’s tone because Thomas was.He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh.Rowan wasn’t doing anything Shane hadn’t already done.Thomas had said that he was in pain, and both of them had wanted to know if he’d tried to make things better.It made sense.
“Right,” Rowan said.“Sorry again.”
Thomas shook his head.He didn’t have anything against Rowan.In fact, even though he’d been keeping a certain distance between them, he’d been watching the man.He knew that Rowan was good at his job.He was gentle with the animals, and Thomas had caught him playing with Finley the other day.It had been good to see the dog finally out of his kennel, even with his leg still all wrapped up.Rowan had apologized, but there had been nothing to apologize for.This was part of their duties, too.They took care of the animals in all ways, including making sure they were happy.Finley had definitely been happy.
“I’m sorry,” Thomas said.“Like I said, I have a headache, and I didn’t sleep well.”
Rowan grabbed a mug from the cupboard.He poured himself some coffee, and while Thomas tried to focus on his own mug, he could feel the man watching him.He wondered what Rowan would ask when he finally opened his mouth, and thankfully, he didn’t have to wonder for long.
“You generally don’t sleep very well, do you?”Rowan asked.
“I don’t sleep a lot.”
“Why not?I mean, I get that we have to get up early to come to work, maybe earlier than some people, but still.You could go to bed early.”
Thomas wasn’t sure he wanted to tell Rowan about his GED, but he didn’t have an excuse ready.He was about to tell Rowan that it really was none of his business when they both heard the sound of the front door opening.
The front room was usually empty because they had things to do, but it was close enough to the break room that Thomas could get there quickly.There was also a bell on the counter in case no one heard the newcomers, but the man on the other side of the counter didn’t have the time to ring it before Thomas appeared.The man jerked backward slightly, as if Thomas had startled him, but he quickly smiled and held out a cardboard box.
“Hey.”
They didn’t have people dropping off wounded animals every day, but it happened way more often than Thomas liked.“Hi.What do you have there?”
“I found this bird on my balcony.The way its wing looks, I’m pretty sure there’s something broken, but I’m not a professional or anything.”
“But you brought it to the professionals.That’s good.”
The man grinned.“Great.I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing.”
“Helping an animal in distress is always the right thing to do.”
Thomas reached for the cardboard box.The man didn’t hesitate to give it to him, and when Thomas peeked inside, he was relieved to see that while the pigeon in the box did seem to have a broken wing, it was also alert and moving as normally as possible considering the circumstances.The pigeon would need to go to the vet, but it would be fine.
“Thank you,” Thomas said.
