08

Monday turned into Tuesday, then Wednesday, and Thursday, as it has an annoying habit of doing. Archie barely noticed though. All he thought about, all he could focus on, was Samantha. And Ginger's revelation about The Accident.

More than anything, he wanted to talk to Samantha, but like Gabe had admonished him, he couldn't call her without her number. He briefly considered asking Ginger for it, but something inside stopped him. Pride? Stupidness? Fear? Hard to say, but he just couldn't bear the sound of Ginger laughing at him if he would ask her. Intellectually, he knew she'd be laughing with him, not at him, but ... that line gets blurry sometimes, and whatever was left -- or regrowing -- of his ego just couldn't take it.

And besides, she hadn't called him either. That had to mean something in Womanspeak, but Archie's Male-to-Female and Female-to-Male Translating Dictionary was off being re-bound, so he didn't have a clue how to read that silence.

So when the phone rang on Thursday, it wasn't exactly a reverie that Archie was stirred out of; more like a vestigial daydream gone awry.

"Golden Animal Shelter, this is Archie."

"This is Dr. O'Donnell... I mean, hi Archie, it's Samantha. How are you?"

Funny how holding a phone gets harder when your palms start sweating. "Doing good Samantha. Hope you are too. I had a great time getting to know you Friday."

"Me too, Archie, me too. And I'm really looking forward to seeing you again..." Archie's eyes lit up. "... but that's not why I'm calling today. Tell me, how's Gabe?"

A million thoughts raced through Archie's head, each pushing the last out so fast that he couldn't hold one long enough to give it voice, let alone consideration. Point of fact, he hadn't heard anything she'd said after "I'm really looking forward to seeing you again." But when he noticed she'd stopped talking, he realized she'd asked him a question. "Gabe? Gabe who? ... Oh! Gabe! He's doing good. Really responding to having a home to protect. I think he's going to be just fine."

"That's great to hear, because ... do you think he'd like a playmate? We just got an abused female beagle puppy in here, and I was wondering if I could bring her by this weekend to see if they'd get along."

Archie's mind raced ahead to "that means I get to see Samantha, right? Right???" "Sure!" He paused, realizing that that might have sounded a little too eager. "I mean, of course. When do you want to bring her by?"

"They're not calling for snow this weekend... How about Saturday afternoon? We can introduce Bailey to Gabe, take them to the park, let them run around, sniff each other's butts, get to know each other, you know, do their puppy thing.."

"Great, it's a date! I mean ... uh ..."

"Archie, there's no reason to be embarrassed. I'd love to go out with you Saturday afternoon. See you around 2:30 at the shelter?" Archie smiled, and imagined he could hear her smiling on the other end of the phone. "Can't wait, Samantha. See you then."

*****

Samantha's hand trembled as she put down the phone. She turned back to her aunt, who'd surprised her by dropping in for a quick visit that afternoon. "There now, Sammi. Was that so hard?"

"Yes! Of course that was hard! It sucks putting yourself out there like that."

"Uh huh, it does. But remember, I told you that you're going to have to take a lot of initiative, at least early on. And there wasn't any reason to be nervous -- it was a sure thing: he's been on cloud nine ever since last weekend. He was just too scared to call you, in case you weren't feeling the same way he was."

"And you think I'm just as taken by him?"

"Please. I've known you your whole life. I know when you've got it for someone, and right now, I know who you have it for. I also promised you that he'd be worth it. But I think you've come to that conclusion yourself."

Samantha sighed. She had had a great time that night, once Archie let his metaphorical hair down. And she wasn't lying: she really was looking forward to seeing him again. One small detail lingered at the back of her mind.

"Aunt Ginger? Out of curiosity, where on earth did you find a female beagle puppy to justify this date?"

Ginger cackled again. "Put it this way, Sammi. I imagine Bailey and Gabe will get along pretty well. They got along just fine for eight weeks inside their mommy..."

"Wait. They're..."

"Yep, they're littermates. When Animal Control brought Gabe in, they brought Bailey too, even though she hadn't been beaten like Gabe was, just for her safety. So, I held onto her for a couple days until I could find her a good home."

"And you think Archie's place would be a good home for her?"

"It would be a great home, Sammi; a supportive, caring home where a girl could thrive with the self-confidence that comes from always being surrounded by love and always being treated like a princess." When Samantha looked into space for a moment, Ginger smiled and gently nudged her. "That's called a metaphor, honey. Didn't they teach you that at LSU?"

Chapter 8

Monday morning, when Ginger pulled into her parking spot to open the shelter, she saw Archie's bike already there. That wasn't unusual, really; Archie was a conscientious guy, so getting in early wasn't out of the ordinary. But Ginger had a feeling that he would be in a particularly good mood today. Either that, or she was walking into an ambush.

Coming in through the back door, she heard snippets of conversation, which gave her pause to wonder if someone had had an overnight pet emergency. But as she approached the front counter, she realized she was only hearing Archie's voice, so he was probably on the phone. And ... laughter? Boy, there was a sound she hadn't heard for a long time.

"Okay, yeah. If you've got someone there, go take care of them... Great. I'll call you tonight... You too ... Take care."

Ginger suppressed a chuckle, and tried to sound as authoritarian as possible. "Working hard this morning, Archimedes?"

Archie hung up the phone, looked guilty for a split second, then realized who was talking to him. "The only person working harder than me is my boss, trying to set me up with her friend." He smiled broadly. "Really, Ginger? Gabe had a full-blood sister that you didn't tell me about? And then you used that sweet little girl puppy as part of your twisted plot?" He couldn't even pretend to get through that without laughing.

Ginger batted her eyelashes, looking as innocent as ... well, as innocent as it was possible for her to look. "Um, would you believe me if I said I had no idea what you're talking about? No? Okay, how about this then ... judging from your end of that phone call I just heard, my 'twisted plot' seemed to have worked pretty well."

Never one for dreamy smiles, Archie's face didn't look well-suited for one, but it came through anyway. "She's a peach, but you already knew that."

"How did things go on Saturday? How was the reunion?"

"Oh, the puppies were really cute together! Gabe broke into a run when he saw Bailey, headed straight for her. We played chase and tug and fetch, rolled around on the grass. She wanted to play a little rougher than he did, but he yipped at her once or twice, and she took the hint. I guess I can understand why he wasn't enjoying that."

"When dogs get abused like Gabe was, the physical harm is obvious, but there's emotional damage too, a wounded psyche that doesn't heal easily. They think they did something to deserve what life did to them, and that the next person will be just as heartless. Takes attention, care, time. It takes someone to love them. Mostly time and love."

Ginger let that thought hang in the air for a moment before musing, "I think that's why dogs are man's best friend. We're a lot alike..." Archie's eyes flicked over, caught her pointed look, then absently stared back off into space. "But, when I asked about the reunion, I wasn't talking about the dogs, dear."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. I ... I don't know what to tell you."

"Let's start with the basics. Where did you go, what did you talk about, have you gotten her naked yet... You know, the basics."

Archie snorted. "Okay, so we met here, and then went to the park so the puppies could run around for a while. Found a fast food joint selling hot chocolate, which was really pretty good ... for fast food hot chocolate. Walked around the park for a couple hours, talking about everything and nothing. Then we gathered up the puppies and went back to my apartment..."

"Woohoo! You did get her naked, didn't you? Attaboy! I knew you had it in you. I just didn't know how long before you had it in her!"

"Quit your damn cackling!" Ginger knew him well enough to tell that this was mock indignation, not the real thing. "We showed Bailey the apartment, let her sniff around for a bit. Then I cooked us some dinner. Nothing fancy; pasta, chicken, pesto sauce, salad, wine. Simple and easy. We ate, then watched a movie on the couch. She went home around ... 10:30 or so."

"That's all I get?! You walked and talked, ate dinner, watched a movie and called it a night? Lord, man -- I want details!"

"Yep, that's all you get. I will say this: I walked her to her car when she was leaving, and I wrapped her in my arms for a second. Only ... I don't think either of us really wanted to let go. Within two minutes, I was already missing her."

"Archie, anybody ever tell you you're a romantic?"

"Ginger, anybody ever tell you you're a nosy buttinsky? There is one thing I need to know, though."

"Of course, dear. What can I do for you?"

"You got any more of their littermates hiding around here someplace? 'Cause, if you do, I may need to ask for a raise."

"Archie, this place isn't big enough to have some fancy-schmancy mission statement. But I do have a job here: to find a good home for the ones God puts in my care. Someplace where they'll be safe and cared for. Once I do that, I'm done. I can't guarantee that 'safe and cared for' will blossom into love. All I'll guarantee is that they deserve to love and be loved." Ginger laughed. "But, I can sell you some healthy dog food at wholesale prices. And, I know a really good vet..."

Archie smiled, then came up to Ginger and delicately kissed her on the cheek. "A really good vet who had better not find out from you what 'Archie' is short for!"