Chapter Nine
1660 Words
The cats proved considerably easier. There were seven adult cats, which they let out of their small, cubicle-like pens and released them in a larger play room for some exercise while they scooped the litter boxes and filled their food and water bowls.
“Umm Nailah, isn’t it bad for a pregnant woman to scoop litter boxes?” Eleanor asked as they got started, recalling something she read long ago.
“Oh, not you too,” Nailah sighed. “I already had this conversation with Gus. The fear is toxoplasmosis. It’s a rare parasite that can infect cats, especially ones that are allowed outside to hunt rodents and birds. Indoor cats very rarely get infected with it. There is an incubation period, so as long as the boxes are cleaned daily, it’s really not an issue, especially if I wear gloves.”
Eleanor nodded, trusting her expertise on the subject. Once the felines were settled, they went out to the front to clean the little play area. Using a handheld vacuum, they cleaned up the small, carpeted area and the pup beds. Then Nailah selected toys from a bin and spread them around before they brought out the pups now fed and walked and placed them in their protected area. Two of them immediately started tugging on a rope toy.
“Do you always put the puppies in the window?” Eleanor asked.
“If I had a litter of kittens I’d switch them every other day,” Nailah said.
“Not any of the adult dogs?”
“A couple of little dogs maybe, if I don’t have puppies,” Nailah shrugged. “It’s not good for puppies to grow up in a shelter, but I do wish people would look at the older dogs with the same consideration.”
“They don’t like older dogs?” Eleanor asked, thinking about how sweetly Bear cuddled with her.
“Everyone wants a puppy,” Nailah sighed, “they forget about the housebreaking, the training, the teething. Why do you think so many of those puppies end up in the shelters as adult dogs when their owners get frustrated with all the bad habits they pick up? There is a certain charm to older dogs who are more settled and their personalities easier to predict. It’s particularly difficult for dogs like Bear.”
“How so?”
“It’s the curse of the big, black dog. They just aren’t flashy and cute and tend to sit in shelters.”
“That’s so sad. Just because of that?”
Nailah nodded, “It’s the same for cats too, believe it or not.”
Eleanor frowned, looking at the three puppies, one of which was a black lab. Did the same hold true for puppies? Would the black one be chosen last just because of its color? It didn’t seem fair at all.
“Well, it’s almost eight. Time to open the doors,” Nailah announced.
Yep, time to get to work.
* * *
“Excuse me, delivery for Nailah?” a delivery man poked his head in the door after lunch.
“Oh, yes. Elle, the file cabinets are here!”
Eleanor stepped out a moment later to see the delivery guys wheeling in the first cabinet, “I have the place already for them.”
Once the two cabinets were in place, they surprised her with a case of file folders and manila envelopes. They even took the old one away for no additional fee. Eleanor felt practically giddy, like a kid at Christmas.
She happily settled in to sort her now neat piles. She began with the utility bills, as those mainly needed to be placed in chronological order. Sorting through them, she noticed several past due notices through the years, confirming Nailah’s assertion that she barely kept herself above water. That changed three years ago, and suddenly they were paid on time every month, like clockwork.
Making a note of it in her mind, she organized the bills into files. She wondered if Nailah would be okay with a shredder so she could dispose of the old files properly, or if the noise would disturb the dogs. There really was no need to keep bills so far back.
She was starting a pile designated fundraising when Nailah knocked on the door, “Wow!”
Eleanor gave a start as Nailah surveyed the room. With the files cleared out, Eleanor had used the opportunity to clean and rearrange the room. The desk was now placed closer to the window overlooking the backyard and the file cabinets were on the opposing wall with a small table between them. Currently, the table was being used to help in her file sorting, but it would make an excellent place for a printer in the future.
“It looks like a completely different room!”
“I don’t know about that, but I hope it feels a little bigger,” Eleanor chuckled. “I wanted to ask, do you think a shredder would be okay? I mean, do you think it would disturb the dogs?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“Well, you have some outdated paperwork and there really is no reason to keep it, but it should be properly disposed of.”
“Is there any reason it can’t just go in the garbage?”
“Well, it has some personal information on it: name, phone number and address, as well as your account numbers.”
“I guess I never really thought about it,” Nailah said, “but I see your point. Gus has a shredder at home and for his office. Any other suggestions?”
“Well, I wanted to ask if there is any reason you don’t have a computer.”
“I guess I just never got one. I used to run this rescue out of my house, believe it or not. I didn’t get this place until five or six years ago,” Nailah chuckled. “Apparently there is a law that a person can only own so many dogs in a residential home.”
Eleanor shook her head, wondering if any conversation with Nailah was going to be normal.
“The officer that served me the tickets was nice though,” Nailah frowned, “at first.”
Eleanor gave her a questioning look. Her curiosity was piqued, but she didn’t want to pry. Luckily, Nailah was always talkative.
“He was charming, charismatic,” Nailah sighed. “But in the end he showed his true colors. He was controlling and easily angered if his meticulous plans were disrupted.”
“Did he…hit you?” Eleanor hesitated.
“No, he never touched me,” Nailah said. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer, but he never hit me.”
Eleanor nodded. She was glad Nailah never suffered the same humiliation she endured. That was something she never wished upon anyone.
“Elle, you okay?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t seem like it,” Nailah said.
Eleanor stared at her for a long moment.
“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready, so no pressure,” Nailah said, “I just want you to know I’m here.”
“Wait,” Eleanor spoke as Nailah turned back to the door, “I’m not ready to talk about it, but my fiancée, ex-fiancée, was—is not a nice person. He…”
Nailah stepped forward, taking Eleanor’s hands in her own, “He hit you, didn’t he? That’s why you asked me.”
Eleanor nodded and was quickly embraced in Nailah’s comforting arms. At first, she wasn’t sure what she should do. No one had ever hugged her. No one ever offered her comfort. Eleanor could practically feel Nailah’s warm heart and care seeping into her. Tears blurred her vision. Why was she suddenly crying?
“It’s okay,” Nailah gently intoned. “We all need to cry sometimes. It’s healthy. Don’t hold the tears in.”
Eleanor sniffled. Nailah stroked her hair. After a long moment, they parted and Nailah gently wiped Eleanor’s tears.
“You haven’t had an easy life, but I promise it will get better.”
Eleanor mirrored Nailah’s smile and took a deep breath. Yeah, it was getting better a little bit each day.
“How about you take a break?” Nailah said. “I think you’ve done enough in here and could use some air. Let’s let the dogs out for some play time.”
Eleanor nodded. She trailed after Nailah to discover the evening routine was not all that different from the morning. The dogs were let out in groups, their kennels quickly washed, water and food bowls were filled. However, they took a moment with the last group of dogs to sit on the bench and enjoy the early evening.
Surprisingly, Bear sat with his head in her lap rather than playing with the other dogs. Eleanor gently stroked his ears trying to marshal her thoughts. Nailah didn’t speak, giving her the quiet she needed.
“Does it ever get easier?” Eleanor asked.
“Depends on your definition of easier,” Nailah replied. “There are a lot of sleepless nights and over-thinking. What did I do? What didn’t I do? What could I have done differently? Eventually, you let go of the pain, the humiliation, the guilt. You let it go when you realize there was nothing you could have done because the problem wasn’t you. The problem was him, and you couldn’t change him.”
Eleanor sighed, “So, what you are saying is—I’m not defective. I’m…”
“A perfectly imperfect woman just like the rest of us,” Nailah chuckled. “And there is nothing wrong with you. But your ex has some serious issues.”
Eleanor snorted a laugh. It felt good to have a friend.
- Writer
