Life on the Leash

by Victoria Schade

  She turned to Simone and shrugged. “One down . . .”

  Felisa rushed over to take the dog away without even being asked, whispering calmly to him in rapid Spanish.

  Cora reached into her pocket and scattered a few more treats on the ground. Blade assessed her nonthreatening body language and approached her slowly, then began hoovering the treats near her feet.

  “There’s a boy,” Cora cooed. “Nice work, chouchou.” She ran her hand along his smooth fur and then took hold of his collar. Blade trembled as Simone walked over to grab him. She handed the dog off to Felisa and turned back to Cora.

  “Felisa will see you out.” Simone walked out of the room without another word.

  Cora waited in the kitchen for Felisa to return, unsure if it would be rude to go back to the family room unchaperoned. She was sweating, and her stomach hurt. She’d had her share of challenging clients, but none could compare to what had just happened. Even Beth Ann was more neglectful than cruel! She was angry at herself for letting the session get so out of hand, and depressed that she wouldn’t be able to help the dogs. It felt like Cooper all over again, but in a much grander setting.

  Felisa came back in the kitchen through the back door, shaking her head. “Those perros.”

  “I wish I could help,” Cora said, shrugging her shoulders, hoping her body language could convey her powerlessness.

  “They want to come in. Sometimes, I go outside and . . .” She pantomimed petting.

  “I bet they like that.”

  Cora followed Felisa back into the family room and packed her bag. She glanced out the large picture window and saw Blade and Hunter standing in the middle of the yard, staring in as fat raindrops began to fall.

  TWENTY-TWO

  * * *

  Cora’s new foster, Josie, sat in the cramped backseat of Cora’s Volvo calmly looking out the window, as if she made this trip every day. Cora never knew what kind of passenger she’d get when she brought home a foster, and she’d dealt with everything from terrified droolers to maniacal barkers over the years. Josie’s face in the rearview mirror looked relaxed, and she surveyed the world outside the window with interest but not obsession. Her tail moved in wide circular wags. Josie’s serenity was a good sign. Fritz peered back from the front seat every so often to confirm that the pretty blonde was indeed still with them. He had bonded to her almost immediately during their meet and greet at the shelter.

  Everything changed the minute the car stopped in front of Cora’s building. The cessation of movement jarred Josie into consciousness, much like a baby wakes when Mom stops rocking. She whined loudly and scratched at the windows, and Fritz looked at Cora with an expression that said, “Who is that?”

  Cora struggled to unload Josie from the car. She wasn’t sure if the suddenly nervous dog would dart because of the unfamiliar environment, so she took her time, triple wrapping the leash around her hand while Fritz watched from the sidewalk.

  A middle-aged woman walked toward them, staring down at her phone. She didn’t look up until she was almost on top of the trio, and when she saw Fritz blocking her path and Josie panting a few steps away she stopped short and shrieked.

  “Don’t worry,” Cora assured the woman. “They’re super friendly.” Fritz took a step toward the stranger and wagged his entire hind end, as if to prove his ambassador skills.

  “Get it away from me!” the woman yelled. She remained frozen with her hands out in front of her. Fritz sat down a few paces away from her, seemingly amused by the woman’s misplaced distress. Josie remained glued by Cora.

  “Fritz, flanchet.” Flanchet was the one French word Cora used with Fritz, a bastardization of the word flank, and he knew it was serious business when he heard it. He immediately came to her side, pressed his shoulder against her leg and looked directly up at Cora’s face, as if nothing existed but her. Cora was so used to people freaking out when they encountered him that she worked on the cue until it was flawless. Fritz wasn’t a chien parfait, but when he did flanchet he certainly looked like one.

  The woman shuddered and speed-walked away. Cora felt sure that Ershovich’s anti-pit influence was seeping into public consciousness.

  She walked them to the top-secret grassy pee patch hidden in an alley up the block and waited until Josie stopped sniffing and calmed down enough to go. Fritz then led the way to their apartment and Josie ice-skated along behind them on the tips of her nails. She seemed disconnected from both Cora and Fritz.

  Even though Cora preached proper foster dog acclimation protocols to her clients and on her blog, she didn’t practice them. She knew she was supposed to employ baby gates, enforced separation, and careful delineation of resources until the dogs were comfortable with each other. But she flouted the rules because she knew Fritz could handle whatever rolled his way, and so could she. Cora unclipped their leashes once safely inside and watched the Fritz house tour begin. He walked directly in front of Josie on his way to the kitchen and took a drink from his bowl. He peeked around the corner to where she stood anchored by the door and then took another drink. “This is where our water is located,” he seemed to say.

  He passed by Josie again, walked over to his toy basket and gave her a look that said, “When you’re ready to play, this is where the fun stuff lives.” Cora made a mental note to watch for toy guarding behavior.

  Finally he walked over to one of his many beds and stood in it, glancing her way. “This is pretty comfy, we can sleep here if you feel like it.”

  “You’re such a good host, Fritzie,” Cora said admiringly. She squatted down next to Josie, who remained glued to her side, and gave her a few shoulder rubs. “It’s going to be okay, don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of this place.” Cora walked to the couch, hoping the nervous dog would follow her.

  “C’mon over. Come sit by us,” Cora said to Josie, patting the dog bed in front of the couch, where she’d settled to check her e-mail. Josie walked toward them slowly, with her head lowered. “Good girl! There you go! Come rest.”

  Josie climbed in the bed and turned in four tight circles on the cushion, the genetically encoded ritual of tamping down the earth emerging from deep within her doggy DNA. She curled in a tight ball and sighed. Cora put her hand on Josie’s back, and the dog barely stirred. “Take all the time you need, sweetie.”

  Cora texted Maggie a photo of sleeping Josie and then checked her e-mail. She sifted through the new client inquiries, junk mail from various dog supply outlets, and saw an unfamiliar address with a subject line that stopped her in her tracks.

  “Your submission.”

  She opened the e-mail, but held her phone to her chest and took deep breaths before she read it.

  Hi Cora, Thank you so much for your wonderful submission for Everyday Dogs! We would love to schedule time for a quick interview and video test. Please give me a call and we can talk about dates. Regards—Mia Nguyen

  Cora’s fingers tingled. It was happening! She had done it—she had passed the first hurdle, and they wanted to meet her! She forwarded the e-mail to Wade and then stared off into space. She was elated and terrified at the same time.

  The sound of a key in the front door interrupted her racing thoughts, waking Josie from her REM sleep and sending her skidding toward the source, barking a fierce warning. Fritz watched her run to the door with a bemused expression on his face.

  “Well, hello there! Is that any way to greet your new auntie?” Maggie was well versed enough in dogspeak to know that Josie’s barky greeting was all bluster. “You are so pretty! Look at you!” The barking quieted, and Cora could hear Maggie murmuring to Josie.

  The pair walked into the family room. “Oh my God, this is the cutest dog ever! Not counting you, Fritz.” She reached down to pet Josie. “She’s like a tiny little supermodel! How’s she doing so far?” Josie looked up at Maggie with a lovesick expression on her face. No creature was immune to her charms.

  “It’s only been a few hours, but she’s doing okay. A litt
le on edge, which is to be expected. She and Fritz really like each other.”

  Maggie stopped and stared at Cora. “What? What’s going on? Something’s weird. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I just got an e-mail . . .”

  Maggie closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. “Please be what I think it is.”

  “. . . from Bolex Media.”

  “Ahhhh, I told you!” She opened her eyes and whooped. “I told you they’d like you! Tell me everything!” Josie looked up at Maggie with her ears back, unsure if her booming voice meant war or peace.

  “There’s not much to tell. They want me to call to set up a time to meet. Interview and ‘video test,’ whatever that means.”

  “This is so freaking exciting! Why aren’t you more excited? This is huge! They want to check you out, see how you take direction, make sure you’re not a psychopath . . . I can help you prep! Auditions are my jam, baby. Are you freaking out?”

  “You don’t even know,” Cora replied.

  “Please, I totally know. You look like you’re wearing Kabuki makeup.”

  Cora nodded and grimaced.

  “You’re going to be fine! They liked you enough to ask you to meet, so just go with it. You were meant for this. Trust me.”

  “ ‘Meant for this’? You really think so?”

  “What’s your main goal in life, Cora Bellamy?”

  “To help as many dogs as I can.”

  “Well, this could help a ton of dogs. Just remember that when you start to freak out.”

  “You’re right. Maybe that’s my mantra. ‘This could help a ton of dogs.’ If I remember it’s about them and not me, I can get through this.”

  “Preach!” Maggie sat down next to Josie, who plopped into her lap. She ran her hand gently down the dog’s back, and Josie leaned back against her so her head rested against Maggie’s chest. “This dog is a winner. Whoever winds up with her is going to be very lucky. Right, cutie-face?”

  Josie just sighed and snuggled in closer.

  TWENTY-THREE

  * * *

  “How long has it been since you’ve had sex?” Maggie asked without lowering her voice. They were sitting outside The Wafflery, polishing off the remainder of their brunch. A table of fit yoga moms looked their way and laughed.

  “I’m sure you can figure it out,” Cora replied as she downed her mimosa, squinting at Maggie over the rim. “Count back.”

  “Okay, so you and Aaron broke up like . . . a year and a half ago?” Cora nodded. “And you qsaid things were pretty shitty toward the end, so . . .” She paused dramatically. “You haven’t had sex with anyone in two years? Not even a one-night stand with some rando?”

  “I came pretty close with that one guy right after Aaron and I broke up, but then I started crying and it totally killed the mood. Kind of unbelievable that it’s been so long, isn’t it?”

  “It’s a crime against humanity, darling!” Maggie whispered dramatically in a heavy British accent. “Are you going mad?”

  “Nope, I’m past that point and settling into spinsterhood. Can we talk about getting some cats?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes and ate the last bite of her challah French toast. “Whatever. I’m going to make it my duty to get you some booty. Know this, woman. I am going to get you laid!”

  “I’m ready.” Cora laughed and picked up her phone to check the time and saw that she’d missed a text. “Wow, I think it’s already working . . . Charlie Gill just texted me. Is this the start of your ‘get Cora laid’ promise?”

  “Mr. I-have-a-girlfriend-but-don’t-act-like-it? Please. I thought we were past this douche.”

  “Would you please stop saying that word?” Cora read the text out loud. “ ‘Sorry to get in touch on a Sunday, but can you call me today if you get a chance?’ ”

  “He wants you to call him? Seriously? Do you guys usually text each other?”

  “Sometimes. He sends me cute photos of Oliver. He asks training questions, we chat a little. He’s never this cryptic.”

  “Call him, I wanna hear what he has to say.”

  Cora hadn’t seen Charlie since their sushi session. Time had eased the sting of their conversation, and Cora used selective memory to block out Charlie’s marriage talk. She couldn’t stop thinking of the way his fingers felt as they brushed the top of her hand. He had been flirting, she was sure of it. She’d replayed the night thousands of times in her head, and every time she came to the same conclusion: Charlie was attracted to her, too.

  “Do it. I want to eavesdrop,” Maggie demanded.

  Luckily, the yoga moms had left so they were alone on the patio. Cora sighed and dialed Charlie. The phone rang and rang, and Cora started to script the message she was going to leave when Charlie picked up, catching her off guard.

  “Hey Cora, thanks for calling me!”

  “No problem. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is great! Oliver is doing so awesome with his lessons, I can’t wait for you to see him. Anyway, I have kind of a weird question for you.”

  Cora grimaced and looked at Maggie. “Okaaaay.”

  “So every year the ALPF has this big fund-raising gala—”

  “Oh, you need my services donated for the raffle. I get asked to do stuff like this all the time. Sure, no problem, I’d be happy to contribute.”

  Charlie paused. “Well, that’s nice, but that’s not what I was going to ask. Every year I go all-out and buy a table for eight people and invite a bunch of my friends with the understanding that since I paid for the table, they have to bid on tons of auction stuff to support the cause. So this year I bought the big table, and six of my friends are in, but Madison’s not going to be back in time, so I’m one down. I would hate for the seat to go to waste, so would you want to go? It’s a really fun night for a cause I know you believe in. Oh, and the guest speaker this year?” He paused. “World-famous primatologist Alice Goodwin. Who doesn’t love Alice Goodwin?”

  Cora’s heart thudded. She tried to hide her grin from Maggie. “I adore Alice Goodwin, I’ve always wanted to see her!” Maggie furrowed her brow and tilted her head at Cora to signal her confusion. Cora turned away from her. “So Madison can’t make it?” Maggie dragged her chair over so that she could see Cora’s face and stared at her.

  “Yeah, we thought she’d be back in time, but it’s not going to happen. We’re both so bummed. The gala is on the twenty-third. Want to check your calendar and let me know when I see you for our next lesson?”

  “As long as it’s . . . cool that I go. I mean, I don’t want to step on Madison’s toes or anything. Like, if she manages to change her plans, I’ll bow out, of course.”

  “There’s like zero chance that she’ll make it. I’ll let her know that you’re going to be sitting in for her.” Cora’s stomach lurched as she pictured Madison getting the news. “Oh, and I don’t know if this will encourage or dissuade you, but it’s a formal event.”

  “Well, that definitely adds a wrinkle. I don’t own a gown.” Maggie heard the word gown and slapped both hands on the table in front of Cora.

  “I guess there’s some shopping in your future then! Check your schedule and let me know if you can come, okay?”

  “I will. And thanks again for thinking of me.” Cora hung up and stared at Maggie, incredulous. “He wants me to go to the ALPF gala. That thing is major, like the Academy Awards for animal people. I could make so many connections there.”

  “Huh? Wha?” Maggie shook her head and acted like she couldn’t process what she was hearing. “Like a date? What the hell is going on with that guy?”

  “No, no, not just the two of us. It’s not a date date. He got a table, a bunch of his friends are going. Madison won’t be back in time, and he has an extra seat.”

  “So he’s asking you to go. You, the cute single chick, not his friend Larry from accounting. That’s weird, Cora.”

  “I don’t think it’s like that,” Cora said, even though
a tiny part of her was hoping that it actually was. “Alice Goodwin is going to be there, and he thought I’d like to hear her speak. You know I love her.”

  “I can see right through you. Yeah, Alice is awesome, but that’s not the reason you want to go.” Maggie shook her head. “I don’t think you should.”

  “What’s with the high-and-mighty stuff all of a sudden?” Cora snapped angrily. “You’re always down to have an adventure and break some rules. Why can’t I do something a little reckless for a change?”

  “Normally I’d say go for it, the hell with his bitchy girlfriend, go ahead and steal him away. But this feels different, Cora.” She leaned forward and reached for her friend. “You’re still in a tender place. This is the first time I’ve heard you talk about any guy since Aaron, and I’m worried. He’s really giving you mixed signals, and that’s not cool. I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

  “What if I just want to have fun and see what happens? It’s not like we’re going to be there alone. I’ll be like the weird fourth cousin at a wedding that everyone ignores. And I’m not going because of Charlie, I’m going because of Alice,” Cora fibbed.

  “What do you want to happen? Have you even thought about that? Would you be okay with a one-night stand?”

  “I haven’t thought about it.”

  “Liar. You’ve got sex on the brain, I can tell.”