Chapter 3

 

 

“They look like they’re ready,” Veronica said, peering into the oven. “Hand me the oven mitt.” Hannah picked up the glove and did as she was told, making space on the kitchen bench for the trays.

Carefully, Veronica pulled the four trays from the oven and placed them on the bench. Four dozen cupcakes stared at them, begging to be iced when they were cooled. “Do you think this is enough?”

Veronica shrugged. “It’s a start. If these sell, we can make more and increase the price.” Hannah giggled, she was going to make an excellent businesswoman one day. “How many would we need to save the shelter?”

“Let’s see, at two dollars a cupcake, less the cost of ingredients, about thirteen thousand,” Hannah said, doing the math in her head. “But every dollar counts so I still think it’s worth doing.”

“And you want to prove Jessie wrong.”

“That too,” she agreed. They said the bake sale wouldn’t be a good way to raise funds, but Hannah was certain neither was relying on a single concert to save them. She had to try to fundraise in her own way, every dollar contributed to keeping the shelter doors open. Do enough small things and they always added up to something big.

They iced the cupcakes in pink as soon as they were cool enough and packed them into plastic tubs – careful not to damage the stock.

Coco dropped them off at the supermarket and they set up a stall outside. Hannah surveyed the table, with the cupcakes and posters she made, it looked professional enough. She just hoped people were hungry and in a generous mood. The stall wasn’t just about selling the cupcakes, she was asking for donations too.

Her and Veronica stood at the stall, trying to lure people over for a tasty treat. “It’s to keep the Mapleton Animal Shelter open. They have lost their funding and we need help to look after all the homeless animals,” she called out repeatedly anytime someone walked past.

One hour into the bake sale and they had sold about a dozen of the cupcakes. It was difficult keeping the stall in the shade to avoid spoilage in the hot summer sun. They had to move the table several times.

“Oh, hey, you went ahead with the bake sale.” Hannah heard the sweet voice before she looked up. She already knew it belonged to Jessie. “I’ll take two, they look really good.”

“Hi Jessie,” Hannah finally greeted her. Coco’s voice replayed in her mind, she needed to be friends with her. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. “You aren’t working today?”

“I was there this morning. Harry was too. We missed you.”

“I normally don’t work Tuesdays, Harry doesn’t usually either.”

“Harry’s so sweet,” Jessie gushed, handing over the four dollars. “He wanted to make sure I could handle it there by myself so he spent a few hours with me.”

“Kind of defeats the purpose of being on your own, doesn’t it?” Hannah asked, keeping her voice teasing like she didn’t really mean it. Except she did.

Jessie shrugged. “Work is always more fun when you have someone there with you, right? I always find that, anyway.”

Veronica shot Hannah a look, silently questioning whether this was the girl. “Oh, I uh, forgot to introduce you two. Jessie, this is my best friend Veronica. Veronica, this is Jessie, she’s helping out at the shelter for a while.”

They nodded a hey to each other before Jessie said: “Not just for a while, Hannah, for the rest of the summer. I’m completely committed to doing my civic duty.”

“We have you for the rest of the summer? That’s great,” Hannah lied. She plastered on a smile, making it seem as real as possible. She was certain it probably looked as fake as it felt.

“Oh well, I should keep going,” Jessie said, picking up her two cupcakes. “These look really yummy. Good luck with the sale, Hannah. It was lovely to meet you, Veronica.”

“You too,” Veronica replied. The two girls watched Jessie bounce away happily, taking a bite out of one of the cupcakes. “She seems nice.”

“Not you too.”

“I mean, she’s horrible. How can you even put up with her around?”

Hannah grinned. “That’s more like it.”

They remained outside of the supermarket until each and every cupcake had been sold. Hannah was determined to ensure her fundraising plans were going to work. Every dollar counted. If everyone did something small, it would add up to something big. Relying on a single concert to save the shelter was risky and she didn’t believe in risks.

By the time it was her shift at the shelter two days later, Hannah was confident she was right. She just wasn’t going to be telling anyone else about the funds she was raising. They would only laugh at her.

Harry was in Cory’s office, Hannah passed by and stopped, not used to seeing him there. “Hey, what are you doing in here?”

His head shot up to see her, instantly relaxing into a grin. “I’ve been going through the books for Cory. I think we can cut down on a lot of the costs so we can survive on less money each year.”

Hannah joined him, looking over his shoulder. “You really think so?”

“Numbers are kind of my thing,” Harry confessed. “I know this will work. All I have to do is make a few phone calls and I’ll be able to get better deals.”

“That’s great news.”

She left him to the books, keen to distance herself from the accounting ledgers. She much preferred the company of the kittens. They were all completely oblivious to the financial troubles of the shelter.

She started cleaning out the cage, doing her best to avoid stepping on any of the little fur balls. They were as playful and lively as ever. Some of them were also getting big. If they weren’t adopted soon, they wouldn’t be kittens anymore. It would be even more difficult to find homes for grown cats.

Just as playtime commenced and all the hard work was done, Harry emerged from the office to join her. He picked up a handful of kittens, sitting on the ground next to Hannah. “We can’t close the shelter, where else could we play with kittens all day?”

Hannah smiled. “I know, right? Maybe we could just charge people to cuddle the kittens, then they would get the cuteness without the responsibility.”

“That’s an idea.”

They fell into silence, the only sound being an occasional meow from their feline friends. Harry noticed. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know, you’re just quieter than usual.”

Hannah shrugged, not wanting to get into it. She didn’t even know how to mention what was bothering her. “I guess I’m just worried about this place.”

He patted her back in comfort. “Me too. But the concert is going to solve everything. We’re going to raise enough money, I just know it. Jessie’s dad is getting someone really big for us. Jessie told me all about it last night.”

“What happened to not putting all your eggs into one basket?”

“I guess I’m just really excited about the concert.”

“I don’t think we should-” She was cut off as Jessie poked her head through the door from the dog area.

“Harry, I can’t remember what the mix of food is for the dogs. Would you show me one more time?” She asked, looking directly at Harry and only Harry. Apparently Hannah was invisible. “Please?”

“Sure,” he answered, getting up. He left Hannah alone with the kittens. She figured she should start getting used to it, it was happening more and more as the days went on.

The bell from reception rang and Hannah went to answer it, knowing Harry wouldn’t be able to tear himself away from Jessie to deal with it.

Veronica was standing at the counter. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought I might come in and say hi, see all these cute animals you’re always going on and on about,” Veronica said happily. In her sandals and pretty white dress, she wasn’t exactly dressed for an animal shelter but Hannah didn’t care. She wasn’t going to be alone for a while.

“Come on through,” she said, leading her back. They started with the kittens before moving onto the dogs. Jessie and Harry were outside, exercising the larger animals.

“This is Bones, she’s been here for six weeks,” Hannah concluded the tour with one of their long-timers. The dog was a mixture of something fluffy and something spotty. It kind of made a weird looking Dalmatian.

“She’s so cute,” Veronica exclaimed, turning her attention to the dog and speaking baby. “Why hasn’t someone adopted you? You’re such a cute little puppy-wuppy.” The dog just stared back at her like she was crazy. “Oh well, I tried. I see Harry the hottie is playing nice with Jessie the boyfriend stealer.”

“Shh,” Hannah whispered, grabbing her hand and dragging Veronica back to the kittens and away from the window. “They might hear you.”

“I can’t believe Harry is actually falling for her routine. I thought he was better than that.”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Hannah replied, fearing she might start to cry if she confided everything she was feeling.

Veronica could see the pain in her eyes, she didn’t need to say anything. “Is your shift over? How about we go get some ice cream, my shout?”

“How can I refuse?”

“You can’t, come on,” Veronica said decidedly. She linked her arm through Hannah’s and led her out. Nothing cured a broken heart like ice cream.