Chapter Seven
1802 Words
Bells hanging on the corner of the door announced her entry, stirring her from her thoughts. Eleanor hesitated, debating whether she should leave before someone noticed, but the puppies drew her attention and she approached their pen. With eager whines, they came up to her as she leaned over the short wall containing them and contentedly petted them. Their fur was so soft.
“Oh, hello there.”
Eleanor jerked to attention and spun around to see a woman come out from the kennel area. Her thick mane of dark brown hair was partially contained in a ponytail with sparkling butterfly barrettes and her eyes had a warm, friendly gleam to them. She wore denim-style leggings and a light, sleeved shirt. Her lower arms were wrapped in an extraordinary number of bracelets, everything from bangles to natural stones to therapeutic copper.
She had a light, easy air about her that for some reason brought the title Flower Child to Eleanor’s mind. But what really drew Eleanor’s eye was the fact this woman was very pregnant.
“Umm, hello,” Eleanor nodded.
“My name is Nailah, and yours?”
“Eleanor.”
“It’s nice to meet you Eleanor,” Nailah stepped forward to shake her hand. “Were you interested in adopting?”
“Yes—I mean, no,” Eleanor shook her head. “I’m currently living at a B&B, so I don’t have a place for a pet.”
“New to town?”
“Yeah, I was just passing through, but I really like it here.”
“Serenity does tend to grow on you,” Nailah chuckled. “I’ve lived here all my life, if you don’t include college. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I definitely can’t think of a better place to raise my baby.”
“How far along are you? If you don’t mind me asking,” Eleanor asked as Nailah stroked her belly.
“Seven months,” Nailah answered, unable to hide her joy. “I thought Gus was going to s**t kittens when I told him.”
“Gus?”
“My husband,” Nailah said, and Eleanor finally noticed the rings on her finger. Both had a large diamond and when worn together appeared to twist around each other like orbiting worlds.
Eleanor fell silent and didn’t even notice the frown that took over her expression. She couldn’t count the number of nights she lay awake hoping for a love like that. Throughout college, she never doubted one day she would have a family with a loving husband. Those dreams had been shattered once Arthur put the ring on her hand and claimed her as his. Even though she had run, she could never truly escape from him and what he had done to her.
“Something wrong?” Nailah asked, watching as her guest’s face fell the moment she heard the words baby and husband.
Nailah studied the woman who had wandered into her rescue and noted the bruises concealer couldn’t quite mask and the way she hugged herself. There was no doubt in her mind this was a woman who had her most cherished dreams crushed. Gus might make fun of her bleeding heart, but she could never turn away someone in need, whether they were animal or human.
“You know, I was just about to have lunch,” Nailah checked her phone, noting the ETA of her Door Dash order. “Would you like to join me?”
“Oh, I couldn’t.”
“Of course you could. Besides, I hate to eat alone. Come on, we’ll eat in the office,” Nailah turned the open sign on the door to close and locked it before leading her behind the counter and down a narrow hallway to the office.
There, Eleanor was surprised to see mountains of paperwork littering every surface, threatening to fall to the floor. Nailah sighed, gathered a pile burying a chair and tossed it to the side before offering Eleanor a seat. A knock echoed back to them and Nailah excused herself, returning a few moments later with a medium pizza and a two-liter bottle of soda.
She retrieved napkins and a pair of ceramic mugs from the kitchenette just outside the office door for them to use. Dragging her chair around the desk so she could sit with Eleanor, she made a grand reveal of their meal: a meat lover’s pizza.
A sudden panicked expression crossed her face and Nailah exclaimed, “Oh! I hope you’re not vegan or anything like that. I should have asked that first. Please don’t be offended if you are.”
Eleanor couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “It’s all right. I’m not vegan. I’m good with anything.”
Nailah echoed her laughter, pouring them each a mug of soda and offering it to Eleanor as if it was champagne, “Just don’t tell my husband what I’m eating.”
“He won’t approve?”
“He’s been reading all sorts of books about women’s health and pregnancy,” Nailah shook her head. “Drives me up the wall.”
Eleanor chuckled. Glancing around the office, she asked, “So, what is all of this?”
“My dirty little secret,” Nailah sighed. “I’m terrible at office work. Taking care of the animals, training, interacting with the adopters—I’m good. But all of this—I’m next to hopeless. If Gus didn’t love me I’m sure he’d kill me. He’s a real neat freak, especially when it comes to paperwork.”
“Maybe you should hire someone? They could get all of this organized for you.”
“I’ve thought about it, but who would I hire? Who would work for peanuts with all the work that needs to be done? A rescue isn’t like other businesses. Most of the time, I’m lucky to keep my head above water. Gus offered, but this was my mess before he came into my life.”
“…I could help, if you like.”
“You?”
“I’m an accountant. Or I was. And I have my savings, so it’s not like I need a huge salary, just enough to keep me going. I like to keep busy.”
“That would be awesome!” Nailah exclaimed. She had pondered about a way to keep Eleanor coming back so they could get to know each other better. If she could organize the disaster that was her office so much the better; two birds, one stone as they said. “Oh, but I insist on paying you a proper wage. I can’t do more than minimum, but it’s something.”
“That will be fine,” Eleanor nodded.
“Good. You can start tomorrow.”
No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a precariously perched pile cascaded across the floor. Nailah groaned as she shared an exasperated look with Eleanor.
“Or I can start today?”
“Today sounds good.”
The pair shared a chuckle.
* * *
After they finished their lunch, Nailah reopened the rescue doors and was immediately busy with a family looking at the puppies. Meanwhile, Eleanor stayed in the office and began the process of reorganizing the haphazard files. Making use of the small corridor, she started by separating them into different piles: utility expenses, vet bills, adoption applications and fees, fundraising reports and animal records.
While some might think it was a mundane, if insurmountable, task, Eleanor found it relaxing. She could let the greater portion of her mind turn off while she focused on the challenge ahead of her. It was something she excelled at so much so that, at times, it was a curse. Maybe that was the reason she could endure so much pain. By the end of the day, she managed to find the office floor.
“Hey hun, it’s about time to lock up. How’s it going in here? Wow!” Nailah exclaimed when she saw the progress. “I actually have a floor! And it’s carpeted.”
Eleanor chuckled as she set down the pile she was currently sorting, “Yes, you do. And a file cabinet.”
She walked over to the dented, metal beast and gave it a pat.
“So that’s where it was,” Nailah sighed. “Silly me.”
They shared a laugh. Eleanor couldn’t remember when she laughed so much. She caught her breath and said, “I was actually thinking it might be a good idea to get a second one.”
“Another one?”
“Yeah, one could be for business related expenses, utilities, fundraising and such and the other could be for the animals’ files, vet records, adoption applications and all of that,” Eleanor suddenly fell silent, realizing she was asking her new employer to spend money. “Of course, that isn’t necessary…”
“No, I like that idea,” Nailah said. “I did start organizing them at one point, but I wasn’t sure how to separate business expenses from the dogs and vice versa. If you are going to do something, better do it the right way. I’ll order another cabinet.”
Eleanor nodded, grasping the handle for the top drawer. She yanked it to find it jammed shut. Frowning, she tugged harder only for the drawer to suddenly fly out and crash to the floor as the handle popped off and remained in Eleanor’s hand.
She looked at the handle for a long moment before looking at Nailah. Staring at the handle in Eleanor’s hand, Nailah hesitated a moment and said, “Why don’t I order two?”
“Two sounds good,” Eleanor nodded and they shared another laugh.
“Any other requests?” Nailah said, taking out her phone.
“I personally like the ones with high sides for hanging folders,” Eleanor said. “They are neater, I think.”
Nailah nodded as she perused a website and found cabinets that met Eleanor’s description. She added a couple cases of hanging and manila folders to help with the process of organizing the files.
“All done,” she announced. “They should be here tomorrow. How about we call it a day?”
“Sounds good,” Eleanor agreed, pausing in the act of organizing the files from the drawer.
She followed Nailah out, hesitating at the office door to survey her work. Eleanor felt satisfied by what she accomplished and looked forward to tomorrow. Later, she would ask Nailah about the possibility of adding a computer and perhaps a printer. Hard files were nice, but in this day and age it was difficult to run any business without digital access. But that was a concern for another day.
- Writer
