“My parents have to work day and night to pay for it all. I barely see them. It’s why I started volunteering at the shelter, I wanted to actually have people around.”
The confession took Hannah by surprise. She had assumed everything would have been perfect in Harry’s life. Didn’t wealth buy you all the happiness you needed? She thought about Coco and how she saw her more than she wanted to. It gave her a whole new appreciation for not having everything.
“You have plenty of people around now,” Hannah pointed out, thinking about her and Cory, plus Jessie of course. “I hope you’re not lonely anymore.”
Harry grinned. “Not when I have you.” The familiar burn started in her cheeks. She looked away, fearing she might just completely break down with embarrassment if she didn’t.
Suddenly the music changed, going from slow to fast. It was one of Hannah’s favorite songs and definitely not what she had expected at a posh garden party. Harry let go of her hands, she stood there, not wanting to make a fool of herself.
“Come on, dance,” Harry urged. He started pulling out the cheesiest dance moves imaginable. All the classics were there – the Sprinkler, the Lawnmower, the Saturday Night Fever jive, he even threw in Gangham Style. She couldn’t help giggling as she joined in.
Nobody else was paying attention to them. Or, if they were, they didn’t notice. They were too lost in the daggy dancing and having too much fun to feel self-conscious.
It was very rare that Hannah let herself have fun without having to think it through a thousand times first. Yet on the dance floor at the garden party, she didn’t care about how she should act or what she should do. Harry had a way of making her forget about everything else and losing herself in the moment.
Chapter 6
They lost track of time dancing and only stopped when they ran out of energy. “Do you want a drink?” Harry asked, trying to regain his breath. Hannah just nodded and they left the tent for the house.
Food and freshly poured drinks were lined up on the back veranda, attended to by a dozen caterers. They filled a plate each and grabbed a champagne flute of orange juice. Harry led her back onto the lawn and through a set of trees.
The music was quieter back there and nobody else dared venture that far. They reached Harry’s tree house and went inside. The little hut was only a foot off the ground.
Inside were traces of Harry’s childhood – crayon drawings on the walls of suns and monsters, a stray matchbox car, and a single page of an X-Men comic. They sat on the floor, their dinner plate in front of them.
“This place is really cool,” Hannah commented. “Did you used to play here all the time?”
“Only every single day.”
“Veronica has a cubby house in her backyard. We used to play house all the time.”
Harry mocked being offended. “This isn’t a house, it’s a fortress. Only the bravest of knights or cowboys or superheroes are allowed to enter.”
Hannah giggled. “Which one am I?”
He didn’t even need to think about it. “You’re a superhero, Puppy Rescuer, defender of all those with hairy tails.”
“Does that make you my plucky sidekick?” She asked, her eyes twinkling from laughter.
“I’ll be your sidekick. Except, it’s usually the sidekick that gets killed or kidnapped or something.”
Hannah pursed her lips together in thought. “You could be Kitten Man, the finder of homes.”
Harry stood on his knees, puffing his chest out while putting his hands on his hips. He spoke in an overly-deep voice. “I am Kitten Man, leader of the fluffy little cats.”
“Has quite a ring to it.”
He sat back down. “Maybe we’ll keep working on it. How’s your food?”
“Delicious. This whole party isn’t exactly what I thought it would be,” Hannah confessed, looking at her meal instead of at him.
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know, I guess a lot of rich people that were kind of… snobby.”
“A lot of them are,” Harry replied honestly. “But my parents aren’t like that. They had nothing when they got married. They earned every single dollar they made by hard work. They’re kind of my heroes.”
Hannah’s eyes shot up to meet his. “They used to be poor?”
He nodded. “My parents grew up with nothing, they don’t take anything for granted. They never let me get too spoilt because they don’t want me growing up feeling like the world owes me.”
It was a revelation to Hannah, she just assumed Harry’s family were always rich. She never imagined they had once been just like her mother. She suddenly understood why Harry was so unaffected, his parents had succeeded in keeping him grounded.
“So it doesn’t bother you that my family don’t have much then?” Hannah asked, it was a question she had asked herself many times before.
“Of course it doesn’t. I’m with you because you’re you. Not because of what you own.” His words brought a smile to her lips. Apparently she had been the only one stressing about who had what. She felt silly for making such a big deal out of it. Thankfully Harry didn’t know all that went on inside her head.
Harry broke the silence before it settled in for good. “If you’re finished with dinner, I want to show you something.”
Hannah placed the knife and fork neatly onto the plate. “All ready.”
He grinned, taking her hand in his as they stood. He turned right, leading her further away from the party. They walked down a track of stones to a pond. It wasn’t just a little backyard pond with a few koi fish bumping into each other, it was more of a small lake. Large boulders surrounded the banks, along with a smattering of palms, ferns, and other plants.
The sun had disappeared behind the horizon, leaving the moon and stars to fill the sky. Harry picked up a small pebble from the path. “Watch this.” He threw the stone into the pond, sending it skimming across the top. Each time it hit the water, a burst of light rippled out from the impact.
“Phosphorescence,” Hannah gasped. The naturally occurring light display was so beautiful, like their own set of fireworks in the pond.
“My dad’s kind of a nerd when it comes to things like that,” Harry explained. “He says it reminds him of when he was a kid and went fishing with his dad.”
Hannah picked up a pebble and threw it into the water. It only skipped twice but the lights that lit up upon impact were just as beautiful. “It’s amazing.”
“You’re amazing.”
She stopped, still holding the next pebble in her hand. Everything was so perfect she didn’t understand what she had done to deserve it.
Suddenly, she couldn’t think anymore. Harry wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close. Their lips found each other in the moonlight. Hannah relaxed into him, dropping the pebble so she could place her hands on his chest. He cradled her cheeks, the warmth burning in the best way possible.
When he let her go, she giggled. She didn’t mean to and it probably wasn’t appropriate, but she couldn’t stop herself. The whole party was so unexpectedly enjoyable that the burst of happiness couldn’t be suppressed.
“I’m glad my kissing technique is so funny,” Harry said teasingly. “I’m so happy you find my attempts hilarious.”
She found it difficult to catch her breath, no matter how much she wanted to explain herself. “Your kissing technique is perfect. I’m just happy. These kinds of things don’t happen to me, they happen to other girls. Not me.”
“Not if I have anything to do with it.”
She finally stopped laughing, looking into Harry’s eyes and seeing only a look of love there. She took a step back, embarrassed all of a sudden at being so close to him. She turned her eyes skywards, looking at the millions of stars twinkling back at them.
“See that star there?” She said, pointing to a particularly bright one. She remembered back to when Harry had done the same thing on the beach. She wondered if he remembered it too.
He join
ed her, snaking his arm around her back. She leant her head on his shoulder, thinking how perfectly it fit there. “I see the star.”
“It’s called Corioses and it was discovered in 1932. Can you believe it’s been burning so bright for all that time?” Hannah remembered when her father had told her about that particular star. She couldn’t believe it was older than her grandmother.
“That’s a long time,” Harry agreed. He pointed to another star. “Tell me about that one.”
Hannah took a deep breath before launching into the story behind the next star. She lost track of how long they were standing there in the moonlight discussing the stars. All she knew was that when Coco picked her up, she was in her pajamas.
Chapter 7
Nothing was going to dampen Hannah’s mood. Not when she had an idea for saving the animals. She hurried into the shelter, desperate to tell everyone.
“Cory, I know how we can raise the money,” she started eagerly. Harry joined them at the office door, making sure he didn’t miss out on what was exciting her so much. “All we have to do-”
“You are never going to guess who my dad got for the concert,” Jessie interrupted, parading into the shelter like she owned the place.
“Who? Don’t keep us guessing,” Cory insisted.
“Yeah, we want to know,” Harry added. Hannah remained quiet, her idea overshadowed by the news.
“Lady Antelope,” Jessie said, beaming with pride. “They’ve agreed to perform and we’ll have them for the entire day. How great is it going to be?”
Cory squealed. “I love them!”
“I know, right? They’re like the best.”
“Well done, Jess,” Harry commended, patting her on the back. He turned to Hannah. “It’s great news, huh?”
Hannah forced a smile to her lips. “Great, really great.” She didn’t want to join in the celebrations. Instead, she picked up a broom and got to work while they raved on about how wonderful the concert was going to be.
She knew she should be happy that Jessie’s dad booked Lady Antelope for the concert. They were a big deal, she knew they would have no problems selling tickets with them on board. But she couldn’t stop the feelings of jealousy that engulfed her. They had wasted no time in dismissing her for Princess Jessie. That was the fact that hurt the most.
She spent the rest of the morning avoiding everyone. Harry, Cory, and Jessie were all walking on clouds with the news. Their smiles and laughter just grated on Hannah’s nerves. Every sweep of the broom or swipe of the cloth grew more and more forceful. If she didn’t get out of there soon, she was going to explode.
“Hey, Hannah,” Harry called out, getting her attention. “Do you feel like helping me hang posters for the concert?”
It was the outing she desperately needed. “Sure,” she replied, putting down the mop she was holding. She placed a Slippery When Wet sign on the floor and hurried out.
Harry was waiting on his bicycle, a stack of freshly printed posters underneath his arm. “I thought we’d cover the town in concert ads. What do you think?”
“You only have concert posters there?” He nodded in response. “Wait here while I grab something.”
She raced inside and grabbed a pile of kitten posters. If they were going to blanket the city, she wanted to make sure everyone knew they had kittens for adoption too. Even if one failed, hopefully the other wouldn’t.
She hurried back outside and tied the posters to the back of the bike. It would be a bit of a juggling act but she would do it. They set off and headed for anywhere they could hang posters – notice boards, light poles, parking garages, anywhere there was a blank canvas. And even some not so blank places got a cover too.
Next to each of the concert posters, Hannah made sure to hang Kittens For Adoption signs too. If the headline act didn’t get their attention, then a cute fluffy kitten would. Hannah knew which one would get her eyes to look first and it wasn’t the concert.
As they started cycling back after all the posters were gone, Harry slowed down so they could talk. “The concert’s going to be amazing. We’ll have that twenty thousand easy.”
“We’d better,” Hannah replied. She didn’t mean it to sound as curt as it actually did.
“What do you mean?”
“I guess I’m just nervous that we’re putting all our hopes on one concert,” she tried to explain, feeling like she was just wasting her breath. “If something happens, then we don’t have a backup plan. The shelter will close.”
Harry shook his head. “How could it not work? It’s Lady Antelope. Those kinds of bands never play in places like this. Everyone in town will go to it, perhaps even some from around the place. They’ll travel just to see them.”
Hannah shrugged, her theory of wasting her breath confirmed. There was no point in arguing, it was Princess Jessie that could do no wrong. “I hope you’re right.”
“Of course we’re right. We’re going to save the shelter.” He smiled, trying to reassure her. She couldn’t believe she was the only one that was seeing sense in the whole plan. Putting all your eggs in one basket was risky and, considering the lives of dozens of animals was at stake, she didn’t think the potential reward outweighed the risk. Her scientific brain wouldn’t allow it.
They returned to the shelter in silence. The outing helped Hannah calm down a bit from her frustration but only slightly. She started feeding the dogs, hoping they would bring a smile to her face. Harry followed close behind.
“You don’t agree with the concert, do you?” He asked, finally getting it.
Hannah stopped, mid-scoop, to look at him. “I’m worried about the animals. At the end of the day, we can go home to our houses and pretend like everything is okay. These animals can’t. We are all they have and if they don’t have the shelter, then they won’t have a future. I want to protect them.”
He took a step to stand beside her, placing his hands on her shoulder, he give her a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. The concert will keep the doors open, you’ll see. The animals will all be fine. We wouldn’t let anything happen to this place, you know that.”
She didn’t know that, not for sure and she knew he didn’t either. His gentle lies were not enough, not when the stakes were so high. “But what happens if we fail? What happens if we have to shut the doors?”
“We won’t let it get to that point.”
“So we’ll just magically conjure up the twenty thousand dollars we need?” She shrugged his hands away, not wanting to be near him suddenly. The room felt too small and stuffy. She placed the food bowl in the dog’s cage to cover her discomfort.
“We’ll get it someway. My parents-” He was cut off as Jessie entered, interrupting was starting to become a habit.
“Oh, good, Harry you’re back. I can’t remember how to mix the rabbit food. Will you show me?” She cocked her head to one side, just like the dogs did when they were silently asking a question.
Hannah wasn’t going to let Harry fall for her ruse. She could see right through the girl. She stepped forward. “I’ll show you. Harry can finish feeding the dogs.”
The disappointment was written across her face. “Oh, if you’re sure, that would be great. Thanks.” Jessie disappeared back through the doorway. Hannah followed, not even looking for Harry’s reaction.
She mixed the food, giving clear instructions as she went. It wasn’t like it was hard – one scoop of grain to every scoop of the mixture. One for one, it wasn’t rocket science. Maybe just for Jessie it was hard, Hannah thought.
After they fed the rabbits, Hannah had an idea. Coco’s voice was replaying in her mind, telling her to befriend the girl instead of thinking of her as an enemy. “Hey, Jessie, do you want me to help you bathe the dogs? That was on your list today, right?”
“Yeah, that would be great,” Jessie replied eagerly. Together, they ran the water and pulled the first dog from the cages. Hannah made sure it was the little white one, the one that loved jumping out of the bath when you
were least expecting it.
“We should start with Toto,” she said, slowly placing the dog into the warm water.
Hannah stood back and just watched it unfold. She only felt slightly guilty as Jessie was soon splashed and covered in water. So much for her expensive, dry clean only outfit. She should have known better than to wear it to an animal shelter.
She giggled, trying not to laugh. “I guess he’s not enjoying the bath so much.”
“You think?” Jessie grumbled, trying to get a hold of the sopping wet dog.
Hannah couldn’t take it anymore, the whole scene was way too funny. Finally, Jessie was getting some of the true shelter experience – just like everyone else who had volunteered there. “Do you need help?”
Jessie humphed, trying to blow back the stray pieces of hair over her face while her hands were occupied. Hannah stepped in, not wanting the dog to suffer from her incompetence. She pulled Toto from the water and held a towel up while he shook himself.
“Did you enjoy that boy, huh?” She cooed, like she didn’t have a problem in the world. She towel dried the dog as best she could while Jessie cleaned herself up. Not that there was much she could do, she didn’t exactly bring a change of clothes with her.
“Maybe you should grab Ruffles before you dry, he’s a bit of a jumper too,” Hannah suggested, nodding towards one of the other cages where a fat Labrador lay down. Jessie groaned and followed her directions.
The next two hours was spent the same way. By the end of it, there was not one part of Jessie still dry. From head to foot, she was covered in dog bath water and soapy suds. Her outfit, along with her perfectly done hair, were almost unrecognizable.
Guilt started to creep onto Hannah’s radar. She didn’t normally enjoy seeing people suffer, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t gone through herself when she first started volunteering. It was a ritual, all the newbie’s got to bath the animals. She was just lucky she hadn’t told her to bath the cats instead. That was a painful experience.
“What should I do now?” Jessie finally asked, using one of the dog’s towels to dry her hair. Hannah was mildly surprised, she expected her to run home even though her shift wasn’t finished yet.
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