by Tonya Kappes
“I really…,” I was going to correct her, but the woman interrupted me.
“I love them!” The woman held her hand out to shake mine. “Coco St. James.”
“Nice to meet you.” I smiled and stroked Barkleigh some more. “You have a very sweet angel there.”
“You have a very sweet granddaughter, Gloria.” Coco patted me on the arm. “Do you have other shoes in there for sale?”
“I don’t have any shoes for dogs.” I blushed. “I just made those while we were in there.”
Coco took a closer look. “You have great sewing skills, young lady.”
“Thank you.” That was one area I did excel in at fashion design school. I could stitch anything. “If you will excuse me, I have to clean up and get to a fundraiser meeting. If I’m late, Mom will be mad.”
Within an hour, I was on the road in the big Primp My Pet RV getting plenty of stares and fingers pointed at me. At each stoplight on the way to Joe Bologna’s Restaurant, where Mom was having her SPCA Fundraiser meeting, I listened to voicemail messages from new clients and jotted down their numbers.
These appointments were going to be at the clients’ homes; I’d drive to their houses and park the RV in their driveway where I would groom their precious pooch. The best way to figure out where to go and save gas was to map out the city in six sections. I would work one day a week in each section so I wasn’t wasting time and gas driving back and forth across town.
Argh, argh. My cell phone alerted me to a call. I reached over and looked at it. It was Birdie.
“Hi, Birdie.” I really didn’t have time to talk to her, but figured I should let her know where and how Iggy was.
“How is my baby?” Birdie sounded really concerned.
“He is fine.” I made my right turn onto Rose Avenue. My stomach growled with the anticipation of the first bite of pizza. “How is the egg donor gig going?”
“I’m a donorsexual, Luvie. You make it sound so unimportant.” Birdie had had so many crazy jobs and this one was no less crazy. “Can I talk to Iggy?”
“No, he’s with my dad.” I pulled the RV into the parking lot, making sure I drove to the back so I could take up the two spaces needed. “I moved back to Lexington because Sasha fired me.”
“She what?” That got her attention. Birdie continued on her hysterical rant before she let me answer. “That royal bitch! And her clothes are crap anyway. You are too good for her! Fired? Really?”
“You heard it right. Fired,” I answered.
Mom’s red Mercedes convertible was front and center and I was a little late. She was going to kill me with kindness at the meeting, but chew me a new one at home. “Listen, I have to go to a meeting with Lucia.”
“O…dreadful woman.” I could picture the look on Birdie’s face. The same look she always had when I mentioned my mother’s name—eyes squinted, nose curled as if there was a carton of spoiled eggs under it, and tongue sticking out of her mouth. “What kind of meeting?”
“Get this…” What were a few more minutes late? “I have a real gig going here as a dog groomer. I will have to give you all the deets later, but I’m also co-chairing the annual SPCA and Homeless shelter fundraiser with Lucia. That’s the meeting.”
“You paid the rent, right?” Birdie asked as if she didn’t even hear my news.
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m on my way to Lexington to get Iggy and help you out with your stuff,” Birdie told me as if it didn’t matter if I wanted her here or not. “And you tell Lucia to get my bedroom ready.”
There was complete silence on Birdie’s end. She didn’t wait for me to protest before she hung up. I didn’t even know when or how she would get here, but I knew we’d find out once she crossed over into the city.
Chapter Twelve
“Good evening.” I spotted a sour-faced Lucia and another woman as soon as I walked in and proceeded straight to the table.
“Betty, this is my daughter, who is never late, Luvie Beiderman.” Mom wanted to make sure she did a little emphasis on never, meaning that I’d better not be late again.
“Hi, Betty.” I put my hand out and realized there was a big fur ball dangling from a snag on my fingernail. Quickly, I pulled it off and apologized. “I’m so sorry. I just got off work and didn’t have time to properly dress for the meeting.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Betty blew off my appearance, which sported dog hair all over my hot pink shirt. “I think what you are doing is admirable. Truly.” She put her hands to her heart before she sat back down.
I glanced over at Mom, knowing that whatever Betty seemed to believe I was doing that was admirable was really a lie that Mom had told her.
“Yes, Luvie,” Mom smiled, looking over at Betty. “I was telling Betty how you decided to leave New York City because you longed to come home to help out with the fundraiser.”
“Oh, no,” Betty corrected Mom, which secretly made me giggle. “I think it’s great that you are offering your pet grooming services at the once a month Adopt-A-Pet event at St. James Pet Stores.”
“Offering my services?” Oh geez, what had Mom gotten me into now? I lowered my gaze to my mother with a questioning look in my eye.
“Yes. Primp Your Pet will be a bonus service to add to the adoptions. All adopted animals will smell so nice when they are taken to their new homes.” Mom nodded, and then turned to Betty. “When are those days again?”
“The first Saturday of the month.” Betty pulled out a calendar and pointed to this Saturday. “I’m assuming you can make it this week?”
“Thank you for setting that up Mother.” I knew that once Mom’s friends saw the Primp My Pet RV she was going to somehow turn it around so it made her look good and not show that she was embarrassed that her daughter was driving around like some crazy person with her phone number printed on the side of an RV. But, the word Primp should acceptable to her since Lucia primped more than any woman I knew. She was always perfectly groomed.
Argh, argh. My phone rang from my pocket. It was Vivian, and I wanted to answer it. She had texted me earlier, suggesting I put flyers up at the local coffee houses, pet stores, and dog parks. I texted her back to let her know that I thought it was a fabulous idea and that she was in charge of making them. Since she was already on the Beiderman payroll, she would be able to use the copier and supplies in the office. I also told her to include something about the fundraiser as well.
“I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s about the fundraiser.” I had to vent to Vivian about Mom’s little scheme with the Adopt-A-Pet.
“You aren’t going to believe what Lucia has done to me now.” I grabbed a piece of the pizza the server was about to put down on the table on my way out to the lobby to talk to Vivian in private. I took a bite. “Dang, I’ve missed this place.”
“What?” Vivian sounded confused.
“I’m at Joe Bologna’s with Lucia and Betty from the SPCA.” I took another bite, closed my eyes and savored every single chew.
“Whatever.” Vivian knew Mom would do something whacky. “I have those flyers for you. I’ll drop them off at Joe B’s since I’m on my way home. That way you can take them to the places we talked about on your way back to the Lady B.”
“Okay, we just got our pizza.” I gnawed on the crust. “I’ll save you a slice or two.”
When I hung up and went back in, the waiter had set down several more pizzas.
“Are we expecting more people?” I was in pizza heaven.
“We are having the fundraiser catered by Joe Bologna’s and wanted to try some different types.” Betty was right up my alley. Mom would have never agreed to this. She would have insisted on tea with real china and fancy finger foods.
“Great idea, Betty.” I grabbed another piece. “Pizza and animals, two things people love.”
We went over some of the events that would be taking place during the fundraiser. The raffles were a big hit and one of the biggest money makers of the event. Mom was g
reat at getting large donations, the entertainment, and coordinating the food layout.
“I’ll donate a year of free grooming,” I blurted out.
“You are going to be here a year?” Mom jumped in her seat. If I didn’t know better, she sounded a little excited.
“Oh.” I tried to swallow the chewed up pizza that was stuck like a lump in my throat. I gulped. “Did I really say that?”
Mom and Betty both nodded their heads.
I shrugged. “Then I guess I am.” I took another bite to keep myself from talking.
Vivian got there when we were wrapping things up. Mom, Betty, and I had our fundraiser to-do lists in hand and the date when the lists needed to be completed.
“I’ll see you Saturday,” Betty reminded me of my first Adopt-A-Pet free pet grooming before she left.
“That is really a great idea, Luvie.” Vivian handed me the stack of flyers.
“And it will look good on her resume,” Mom chirped from her seat after she took a big swig of Coke.
“Whatever.” I held a flyer up for Mom to see. “Don’t these look great?”
“You even have the fundraiser on there,” Mom noticed, pleased as a peach. “Good thinking, Vivian. See what a good University of Kentucky education got Vivian?”
“Mom,” I rolled my eyes. “I got my fashion degree from there and I told her to put the fundraiser on the flyers.”
Vivian laughed. “All right, I’m out of here. Big day tomorrow.” She patted Mom on the shoulder.
A Sheikh from Saudi Arabia was flying into town to talk to Dad and Vivian about training his fancy high dollar horse. Something I didn’t know about nor did I want to.
“Mom,” I had almost forgotten about Birdie. “Birdie will be here soon. Can we get a guest room ready for her?”
Mom’s face looked like it had when I told her about my firing. “She can stay in the barn.”
“Riiight.” Sarcasm dripped from my mouth. I knew Lucia’s words were just…words.
The first thing she would do when she got home would be to make sure the guest room was spotless.
Chapter Thirteen
The mixed smells of boxed up pizza and wet dog in the RV definitely didn’t sit well with my stomach. I drove to the dog park with the windows all the way down. Dog hair flew everywhere, landing on top of the pizza boxes. If Mom had seen all the hair, she would definitely not let me bring the pizza in the house. But just like Dad says: “what Lucia doesn’t know won’t hurt us.”
The dog park was full and so was the parking lot. Before I even put the RV in park, there were people and their pets forming a circle around it to get a good look. I still wasn’t used to all the attention.
I grabbed the flyers and staple gun along with a handful of treats, and hopped out of the RV.
“Hi.” I smiled and handed out the flyers to each of them. “Do you have your sweet baby groomed anywhere?”
I bent down and scratched behind the ears of a little poodle that was in desperate need of a cut.
“How does this work?” The owner of the poodle asked and looked at the flyer.
“It’s easy. You make an appointment and I show up at your house. I get your sweet baby and bring them into the RV where all the equipment is needed for grooming.” I passed out a few more flyers to people who walked up to see what I was selling. “It takes between one to two hours depending on your pet. Home grooming is especially great for dogs that have high anxiety.” I handed out a couple of treats from my pockets to the pets standing around with their owners as they listened to my sales pitch.
“Do you brush their teeth?” One of the young women with a black Labrador Retriever asked.
“Sure.” No I didn’t, but I will.
“Can we watch?” another one asked.
“If you would like, but it can get awfully wet in there.” What would I do if someone really did want to watch? I would have to think about that later, because I had to get the flyers up and get home to start my online grooming classes. “I’m booking appointments for next month, so be sure to call.”
I left the group hanging around the RV and went on my mission of stapling flyers to anything that had a piece of wood on it. I looked back a few times and noticed more and more people gathered around the RV.
“Watch out, Duke.” The male voice startled me. “She might staple one on you if we continue to sit still.”
I turned to see who was so engaging with his witty commentary. My heart quickened and my palms beaded with sweat. Suddenly, my mind went completely blank when my eyes locked with the sweetest, biggest brown eyes I had ever seen. My breath quickened when I reached out to run my hands through his gorgeous red hair.
“You’re beautiful,” I gasped.
“Well…” cough, cough, “thank you.” The man’s voice dripped with confidence.
I rolled my eyes and grinned before I turned to look at the Irish Setter’s owner. “I wasn’t talking about you.” Okay…so the owner wasn’t bad either, though he didn’t have the red hair that Duke and I shared, but his dark hair and tanned skin were a welcome sight for sore eyes. For a moment, I got lost in his friendly blue eyes, dimpled smile and fit, muscular body.
“Duke, get off her.” The man stood up and dusted off his jeans. His black tee shirt fell right at his beltline, showing off his slender six-foot-something frame. His hand lightly touched mine when he went to pull Duke back, sending an unfamiliar shiver down my spine, causing me to swivel quickly and turn to look at the RV.
Oh, Duke can stay right here if I get to look at his owner a little longer. I turned back around and ran my hands down my ponytail. I pressed my lips together to bring a little color to them. I was pale without lipstick and didn’t want to scare off a potential customer. Especially this one.
“So, you are the one causing all the commotion.” He pointed to the flyers in my hand.
“Um…” No…you are, I thought. I shrugged. “I guess.”
“You don’t seem very confident in your business.” His eyes danced over me making me more nervous than I already was. His dimples deepened with his grin.
“I’m confident.” I laughed, brushing off the ridiculous childlike behavior I seemed to be having. “I’m just exhausted. As you can see, I’ve been working all day. On my feet.” I pointed to my furry shirt.
“This is Duke and I’m Jase Nelson.” He wagged Duke’s leash back and forth to pull the dog away from checking out my girlie parts with his nose. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. He wants these.” I pulled out a few treats from my pocket and fed them to Duke. “He really is beautiful. I’m Luvie, by the way.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Jase said. I matched his smile and shook his hand. Even if I never saw him again, those dimples would forever be tattooed on my mind. “Duke’s a good boy. Loyal.”
“He looks like it.”
We stood for a second in odd silence, nodding at each other. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the grooming service or that I really wanted to groom him.
“Well,” he shrugged and lifted the hand Duke’s leash was in, “I guess we better get back to our exercise. I like to keep him in shape.”
“Oh, of course.” I finger-waved to him over my shoulder as I turned to walk. “See ya.”
Ohmygosh, I’m such an idiot. I shook my head while rolling my eyes, not any easy thing to do while walking. I didn’t even turn back around to get another look at Jase until I was on the opposite side of the dog park.
When I thought I was far enough away from dimple boy, I stapled a flyer to a tree, and then hid behind it. Slowly, I peeked around to get one last look before I headed back to the RV. Duke ran and barked, chasing the toy duck Jase threw until it hit the ground. Once the duck was in Duke’s mouth, he’d squeak it all the way back before dropping it at Jase’s feet.
When Jase looked up, our eyes caught. I jumped back around the tree and planted my back up against it. I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. I stood behind the tre
e for a minute so I could collect myself. I tried not to look at Jase when I got up the courage to walk back to the RV, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see he was on the phone. Secretly, I wished he was calling the number plastered all over the RV, leaving me a message of love at first sight.
What is wrong with me? I questioned the unknown feelings that were churning inside of me. I had always had my focus on fashion design and building a career. Never once had I let my emotions get in the way. Especially about a man I didn’t even know.
I rushed back to the RV. My heart did flip when I saw the message light blinking on my phone. With the speaker on, I listened to new clients leave names and numbers. There was even a message from Millie. She wanted me to meet up with her and Vivian for coffee in an hour or so.
There wasn’t a message from Jase. I started the RV and looked up to where Jase and Duke had been playing, but they were gone.
“Hey,” I said to Millie’s answering machine when I called her back. She was probably in a yoga class. “I’m just leaving the dog park where I put up the flyers that Vivian had made. I’m a little tired so I’m going to go home and go to bed, but I’ll take a rain check.”
I hung up and put the RV in gear, looking in my rear view mirror for a big red dog the entire time I pulled out of the dog park.
Chapter Fourteen
Over the next few days, I had spent every waking second fulfilling my classes to get my grooming license and keeping up with clients. I had taken so many new appointments that I had to carry around an appointment calendar, making me regret selling my Prada bag. But I replaced it with a cute one I got from Target that had dogs on it.
Granny had gotten me some pink knit shirts with the Primp My Pet logo on them. One for every day of the week. Vivian and Dad had been so busy with their new Saudi Sheikh client that I hadn’t gotten to see them, and Mom was too busy focusing on all the little details of the fundraiser to bother me about getting a “real job.”