Chapter 7

 

 

The next day, Hannah was still feeling melancholy. Even the cute little kittens couldn’t cheer her up. She was troubled about not being good enough to be Harry’s girlfriend. Like one day he would realize that and it would only be a matter of time before he broke her heart. Seeing the way Veronica and Lucas acted together was completely different to her and Harry. She still couldn’t help but wonder why he was so nice to her.

“Hannah,” Cory said, getting her attention. “These lovely people want to buy a kitten.”

Hannah plastered on a smile, it was amazing what you could hide with one of those. “Of course, we have plenty of them.”

Cory turned back to the couple. “Hannah will help you pick out the perfect pet. You’re in great hands.”

She took the couple from Cory and led them to the kitten cages. There were dozens of kittens to choose from in every color available. Each one had their own little personality and spirit. Hannah hated to see any of them leave, but it would make her so happy to know they were with a family that loved and cared for them.

“Feel free to pick them up and play until you find the one that belongs with you,” she said while giving them some space to bond. She lingered nearby in case they had questions or they made their decision. The couple seemed nice, they played with most of the kittens, petting and cuddling them.

“I think it’s come down to one of these two,” the woman finally said, holding up two of the baby cats. One was a ginger stripe, the other a little grey. “Which one would you recommend?”

Hannah had no idea, they were both adorable. She had a better idea though. “Why don’t you take both? Kittens are really social, they love having a playmate. If a single cat is left alone for too long they can get really bored. You’ll be saving your furniture by taking two.”

The woman exchanged a glance with her partner. Hannah couldn’t believe they were actually considering it. She always tried to talk people into taking two so the little kitten wouldn’t be lonely; people rarely took her up on the offer.

“It’s up to you, Babe,” the guy answered. The woman stood, still holding both the ginger and the grey kittens.

“Two kittens won’t be any more trouble than one,” the woman shrugged, like she was trying to convince herself. “And they would get lonely if we only had one.”

Hannah held her breath while she dithered. She didn’t want to say anything else in case she talked her out of the decision.

With one decisive nod, the woman made up her mind. “We’ll take both.” All three of them grinned, none more so than Hannah. She took them through to reception and handed them back over to Cory to do the paperwork.

It was hard saying goodbye to the little kitties, but the couple were going to take good care of them. Hannah knew they would be happy. Every pet belonged in a family and now two were going to be smothered with love.

She found her mood lifting; it was hard to stay sad when she had just created a family. She heard Harry arrive for his shift, she reflexively checked her watch – he was almost an hour late. He was never late for his shift.

“Sleep in through your alarm this morning?” Hannah teased, a little worried about his tardiness. She knew they were on their summer vacation but Cory still required complete dedication. She was almost as bad as her school principal.

“I wanted to make a detour on the way and it took longer than expected,” Harry replied, grimacing a little. “Did Cory notice?”

She had no idea. “I noticed.”

He sidled over to her, that cheeky glint in his eyes. She stood still, wondering what he was up to. Before she knew it, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. It made her blush; despite the way it only made her more embarrassed.

“You’re in a good mood,” she giggled. It seemed like all the awkwardness from the night before had vanished into thin air.

“How could I not be? I got you a present.” He revealed a small parcel from behind his back.

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason? Because I like you, that’s why.”

Hannah took the small box, neatly tied with a pink ribbon. Her hands were shaking as she opened it. Inside was a small little square brick that looked like a lump of soap.

“What is it?” She asked, laughing. The whole thing was making no sense whatsoever to her.

Harry picked up the square out of the box and held it up to the light. “It’s a towel. When it gets wet, it expands to one hundred times its size. I thought it might come in handy next time we’re at the beach having a picnic.”

It was the sweetest present she had ever received. Before she could think about it, Hannah threw her arms around him, refusing to let go. “It’s perfect, thank you, I love it.”

He hugged her back, pulling her so tight she thought she might stop breathing. She couldn’t believe she had spent all night worrying about her relationship with Harry. All those countless hours of her just being stupid. It could all have been avoided.

He finally let her go, but only so he could give her a quick kiss on the lips. It was anything but awkward. In fact, it felt so right Hannah wished it wouldn’t stop.

“Does this mean we’re going on another picnic?” Hannah asked, hoping for a positive answer.

“I think we’re going to go on lots of picnics,” Harry grinned.

The barking of dogs brought them crashing back down to reality as one of the bigger canines knocked over their water bowl. It hurtled over, sending water down to the cage below it.

“I’ll get it,” Harry offered, letting his arms falls away from her sides before grabbing a mop and bucket. “How did the puppy go last night?”

“My mom is in love. She didn’t even let me look after him last night; she took him to sleep in her bed. I hope the real owner comes forward soon or I’ll have to smuggle him out of the house.”

“I thought she didn’t like dogs.”

“I did too. She would be very happy if our whole dognapping theory is wrong.”

Harry gave her a quick look. “Do you think our theory could be wrong? After all, nobody has reported another Dachshund missing and it’s been more than twenty-four hours.”

Hannah sighed, she had been wondering the same thing. “If someone isn’t kidnapping all the dogs, then it means they’re really lost. I can’t bear to think of all those lost animals out there on the streets.”

“Maybe we could go for a bike ride after our shift?” Harry suggested. “We could look all over for stray dogs?”

“I guess.”

“We could get lucky and find them all hanging out at the same place, just hanging around and having a good time.”

Hannah giggled, she wished it could be that easy. “I like your optimism.”

“Always look on the bright side of life, kid,” he said, winking and speaking with a gangster’s voice. It only made her laugh harder.

“Hey, kids, get in here,” Cory called from the front reception. They exchanged a glance, hoping they weren’t in trouble for something. They hurried through, crossing their respective fingers.

“What is it?” Hannah asked, stopping as she spotted a man with Cory.

“This is Mr. Drysdale,” Cory started. “He’s missing a Dachshund puppy.”