Diamond In The Ruff

Given the Labrador’s propensity for dashing practically in two directions at the same time, getting a sturdy leash that wouldn’t bite into his tender throat did make sense to her, Lily thought. She certainly wasn’t about to refuse to accept the collar and leash.

“Okay, so what do I owe you for the collar and leash?” she asked.

The answer turned out to be the same. “Nothing,” Erika replied.

She’d heard of nonprofit, but this was ridiculous. “They have to cost something,” Lily insisted.

All of her life, she’d had to pay, and sometimes pay dearly, for everything she had ever needed or used. Taking something, whether it involved a service that was rendered or an item that was given to her, without the benefit of payment just didn’t seem right to Lily. It also offended her sense of independence.

“Just pennies,” Erika told her. When she looked at the young woman skeptically, the receptionist explained, “Dr. Whitman orders them practically by the crate full. He likes to give them out. Just think of it as a gesture of goodwill,” Erika advised.

What she thought of it as was a gesture of charity placing her in debt, however minor the act seemed to the vet.

Lily tried one last time. “You’re sure I can’t pay you, make a contribution to your needy-dog fund, something?”

“I’m sure,” Erika replied. She pointed to her monitor as if to drive the point home. “It says right here, ‘no charge.’” The woman hit two keys and the printer on the stand behind her came to life, spitting out a hard copy of what was on her monitor. She handed what amounted to a nonreceipt to the puppy’s keeper. “See?” Erika asked with a smile.

Lily took the single sheet of paper. Unable to pay for either the office visit or the two items now in her possession, all she could do was say thank you—which she did.

“No problem,” Erika replied. She got up from her desk and came around to the other side, where the Labrador stood fiercely yanking against the rope.

“Why don’t I put the collar on him while you try to hold him in place?” Erika suggested. “This way, he won’t make a break for it.”

“You’re a godsend,” Lily said with a relieved sigh. She’d been wondering just how to manage to exchange the rope for the collar and leash she’d just been given without having the puppy make a mad dash for freedom.

“No, just an animal clinic receptionist who’s been at it for a while,” Erika corrected modestly.

She had the collar on the puppy and the leash connected to it within a couple of minutes. Only at that point did she undo the rope. The next moment, the rope hung limp and useless in Lily’s hand.

Lily was quick to leave it on the desk.

Standing up, Erika told her, “You’re ready to go.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Jonathan made an urgent, insistent beeline for the front door. “I think Jonathan agrees,” Erika said with a laugh. “Here, I’ll hold the door open for you,” she offered, striding quickly over to it.

The instant the door was opened and no longer presented an obstacle, the dog made a break for the outside world and freedom. Lily was nearly thrown off balance as he took her with him.

“Bye!” she called out, tossing the words over her shoulder as she trotted quickly in the dog’s wake, trying hard to keep up and even harder to keep from falling. Jonathan seemed oblivious to any and all attempts to rein him in.

Erika shook her head as she closed the door and went back to her desk. “I give them two weeks. A month, tops,” she murmured to herself.

* * *

The second she and her energetic, furry companion returned to Theresa’s catering shop, Lily found herself surrounded by everyone she worked with. They were all firing questions at her regarding Jonathan’s visit to the new animal hospital. He was the center of attention and appeared to be enjoying himself, barking and licking the hands that were reaching out to pet him.

To her amazement, Lily discovered that of the small band of people who worked for Theresa’s catering company, she was the only one who had never had a pet—if she discounted the two-day period, twenty years ago, during which time she had a live goldfish.

Consequently, while keeping Jonathan out of the kitchen area for practical reasons that in no small way involved the Board of Health’s regulations, the puppy was allowed to roam freely about the rest of the storefront office. As a result, Jonathan was petted, played with, cooed over and fed unsparingly by everyone, including Theresa. He became the company’s mascot in a matter of minutes.

Because their next catering event wasn’t until the next evening, the atmosphere within the shop wasn’t as hectic and tense as it could sometimes get. Alfredo and his crew were still in the planning and preparation stages for the next day’s main menu. Zack Collins, Theresa’s resident bartender, was out purchasing the wines and alcoholic beverages that were to be served at the celebration, and Lily was in the semifinal preparation stage, planning just what desserts to create for the occasion.

Checking on everyone’s progress, Theresa observed that Lily was doing more than just planning. She was also baking a tray of what appeared to be lighter-than-air crème-filled pastries.

“Did you decide to do a dry run?” Theresa asked, coming up to the young woman.

“In a manner of speaking,” Lily replied. Then, because Theresa was more like a mother to her than a boss, Lily paused for a moment and told the woman what was on her mind. “You know that vet you had me bring Jonathan to?”

Theresa’s expression gave nothing away, even as her mind raced around, bracing for a problem or some sort of a hiccup in Maizie’s plan.

“Yes?”

“He wouldn’t let me pay him for the visit,” Lily concluded with a perturbed frown.

“Really?” Theresa did her best to infuse the single word with surprise and wonder—rather than the triumphant pleasure, laced with hope, she was experiencing.

“Really,” Lily repeated. “I don’t like owing people,” she continued.

“Honey, sometimes you just have to graciously accept things from other people,” Theresa began. But Lily interrupted her.

“I know. That’s why I’m doing this,” she told Theresa, gesturing at the tray she’d just taken out of the oven. “I thought that since he was nice enough to ‘gift’ me with his knowledge by checking out Jonathan, I should return the favor and ‘gift’ him with what I do best.”

By now, Theresa was all but beaming. Maizie had gotten it right again, she couldn’t help thinking.

“Sounds perfectly reasonable to me,” Theresa agreed. She glanced at her watch. It was getting to be close to four o’clock. Maizie had mentioned that Christopher closed the doors to the animal clinic at six. She didn’t want Lily to miss encountering the vet. “Since we’re not actively catering anything today, why don’t you take a run back to the animal clinic and bring that vet your pastries while they’re still warm from the oven?” Theresa suggested.

Lily flashed her boss a grateful smile since she was perfectly willing to do just that. But first she had to take care of a more-than-minor detail.

Lily looked around. “Where’s Jonathan?”

“Meghan’s keeping him occupied,” Theresa assured her, referring to one of the servers she had in her permanent employ. In a pinch, the young, resourceful blonde also substituted as a bartender when Zack was otherwise occupied or unavailable. “Why?” She smiled broadly. “Are you worried about him?”

“I just didn’t want to leave the puppy here on his own while I make a run to the vet’s office.” She didn’t want to even begin to tally the amount of damage the little puppy could do in a very short amount of time.

“He’s not on his own,” Theresa contradicted. “There are approximately eight sets of eyes on that dog at all times. If anything, he might become paranoid. Go, bring your thank-you pastries to the vet. Sounds as if he might just have earned them,” the older woman speculated.

At the last moment, Lily looked at her hesitantly. “If you don’t mind,” Lily qualified.

“I wouldn’t be pushing you out the door if I minded,” Theresa pointed out. “Now shoo!” she ordered, gesturing the pastry chef out the door.

She was gone before Theresa could finish saying the last word.

* * *

When the bell announced the arrival of yet another patient, Christopher had to consciously refrain from releasing a loud sigh. It wasn’t that he minded seeing patients, because he didn’t. He enjoyed it, even when he was being challenged or confounded by a pet’s condition. Plus, his new practice took all his time, which he didn’t mind. It was paperwork that he hated. Paperwork of any kind was tedious, even though he readily admitted that it needed to be done.

Which was why he had two different receptionists, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, to do the inputting and to keep track of things.

However, on occasion, when one or the other was away for longer than ten minutes, he took over and manned the desk, so to speak.

That was what he was currently doing because Erika had taken a quick run to the local take-out place in order to buy and bring back dinner for the office. He looked up from the keyboard to see just who had entered.