Page 27 of Before We're More Than Friends
Something stung behind my eyes as Yellow looked up at me with wide green ones.
Oliver noticed me staring at Yellow while I pressed my hand against the glass—which I wasn’t allowed to do. “He’s one of my favorites.”
“I hope someone adopts him soon,” I said, my voice thick.
Yellow meowed at me again and put his paw on the cage. A stupid tear spilled onto my cheek.
Oliver’s face fell. “What’s wrong?”
I’m losing my mind. That’s what’s wrong.
“H-He’s just really adorable,” I stammered, wiping the tear from my cheek.Stop embarrassing yourself! You haven’t even been here for half an hour yet!
“Dallas gets emotional around animals sometimes,” Kami said, rubbing my back. “And I can’t blame him. All these babies make me want to cry.”
“Me too.” Oliver gave a warm smile. “You know, if I actually cried.”
I laughed, the burning behind my eyes subsiding. “Teach me your ways.”
After we finished touring the cat kennel, Oliver brought us through some offices and pantries. We waved at Mom in her office as she set things up, smiling like she couldn’t be happier.
For the first time, I didn’t feel upset about her getting a job here. She deserved everything she wanted and more.
“Okay, now for my favorite part.” Oliver opened one of the double doors. “Our dog oasis.”
“Yes!” Kami shouted before clamping her hands over her mouth. A few dogs howled like crazy. “Whoops.”
“Be careful of the echo,” Oliver said with a laugh as wecontinued walking. “But trust me, it sounds like white noise once you get used to it.”
The dogs barked as if they were being lit on fire, the sound bouncing off the walls. We’d only been in here for ten seconds, and Kami was already standing beside a little girl, looking at a cute girl dog that looked similar to Houston.Medium-sized black lab. Beanie.
“You’re going to get her?” Kami asked the girl. “She looks like the dog I have at home.”
The girl nodded. “We love her. She likes to kiss.”
“Aw.” Kami clasped her hands over her chest. “Have fun with her. Getting a new pet is the best feeling.”
“She’s going to be perfect here,” Oliver told me, and yes, he was still smiling. I wondered if he was conditioned to always smile here by his mom or if animals made him this happy. If it was the latter, I knew I’d get along with him well.
Grr!
I jumped to see a brown Pit Bull behind me, but my nerves went down when I saw his cute puppy eyes. “Hey, there.” I checked his name tag.Bruce.“You’re so adorable.”
He barked, wagging his tail. Why was every animal trying to make me cry?
Was it part of their plan to get adopted?
When we finished the kennel tour, Oliver brought us back to the lobby. “Last thing, the break room.” He opened the door, revealing a moderately sized room with four circular tables and a counter area with a bunch of cabinets. “No one’s here right now, but this is where I hang out with my friends in between tasks. We even have snacks stocked.”
“This is three times the size of our break room in Dallas,” Kami said, looking around the room with wide eyes. “Ours was more like a walk-in closet. If even that big.”
“It wasn’t that small,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.But yeah, once again, a massive upgrade. Our break room could fit six people at most while this one could fit almost an entire class. And it was so much cleaner, almost like no one even hung out in here.
“Most of the volunteers here are our friends, and the other workers barely come in here, so we’ve basically claimed this place as our own,” Oliver said.
Kami nodded. “Given that there are snacks, sounds like the place for me.”
Oliver laughed before leading us out of the room. “And that completes our tour,” he said with another smile. How did his cheeks not hurt? “Any questions?”
