Nora guessed that Jakob was playing Devil’s Advocate because Biscuit was the exact opposite to what she’d thought she wanted. But she’d fallen in love, and with a name like Biscuit who could blame her? She’d given up one kind of biscuit, but would gain another. A Biscuit for a biscuit.
‘I really want this one,’ she said. ‘He’s perfect. What do I have to do?’
‘Don’t you want to think about it for a day or so? You could go home, and if you’re still certain you want him after a couple of days, you can pop back and fill in an application form or do it online.’
Nora took her phone out of her bag. ‘I don’t need to think about it.’
‘Let’s go to the office then, and you can fill the form out there.’
‘It’s okay, I’ll do it now online,’ Nora said, brandishing her mobile. ‘It won’t take long.’ She’d already found it on the website as he’d been speaking, and she was now typing away, her thumbs flying over the screen.
‘What breed is Biscuit?’ she asked, coming to a section asking which breeds she might consider adopting.
‘A Bernese Mountain Dog. The breed originated in Switzerland to herd livestock.’
‘And now he’s going to live in Picklewick and herd me. Okay, all done. Now what?’ She was impatient to take the dog home and get him settled in, but she assumed that wasn’t going to happen today.
‘I’ll arrange a home visit and—’
‘Can we do that now? Arrange the visit? I’ll fit in around you. And you can visit the salon as well, if you want.’
‘Are you suggesting I need a haircut?’ His tone was deadpan, and it took her a moment to realise he was joking.
‘If the cap fits,’ she responded in kind. ‘Aw, I don’t want to leave him. He looks so sad.’
Biscuit had his head lowered and was gazing up at her from under his brows. His eyes seemed almost human.
Jakob said, ‘He’ll be fine. Assuming we can get all the checks done in a timely manner and there are no hold-ups, you’ll be able to take him home in a couple of weeks.’
Nora was dismayed. ‘That long?’
‘Dawn, who manages the main centre in Thornbury, will review your application and do the home visit, but she’s on holiday for two weeks.’
‘Can’tyoudo it?’
He shook his head. ‘Sorry, I can’t. But you could come and visit Biscuit a couple of times to let him get used to you. Actually, we encourage that, otherwise it’s a big shock for them to suddenly be in a strange place with someone they don’t know.’
It was better than nothing, she thought. ‘Can I come any time?’
‘The Forever Home is open for drop ins every day between two and four p.m. If I’m not here, Maisie or one of the others will sort you out. If you come with me to reception now, I can make sure you’ve filled the form out properly, and let Maisie know what’s going on.’
As they retraced their steps, Nora realised she hadn’t asked a pertinent question. ‘How did Biscuit come to be here?’ She hoped his story wasn’t a terrible one.
‘Divorce,’ Jakob said. ‘Neither party was in a position to keep him on. He’s clearly been well-loved and well-treated, with no behavioural issues. As far as his personality is concerned, he’s an ideal dog for you and I would have suggested you meet him if it wasn’t for the fact that physically he’s the opposite of what you said you wanted.’
Nora chuckled. He was, wasn’t he? But her heart had spoken and she wasn’t going to ignore it.
Jakob opened the door to the reception area, gesturing for her to go ahead of him, and when she stepped inside she was surprised to see the baker from earlier. He was standing at the desk, resting his hands on it, his attention on Maisie.
Nora gave him a cursory glance, her mind still on Biscuit, but her eyes travelled back to him almost immediately. Although she hadn’t actually spoken to him until today, she’d seen him pounding the streets. Rumour was that he ran marathons in his spare time.
When he turned to see who’d entered, he nodded at her in acknowledgment and she nodded back.
Maisie said, ‘Jakob, just the man I wanted. Elijah has filled out an application form, but I was telling him that he’d have tobe vetted by Dawn before we can take it any further. Am I right in thinking she’s on leave for the next two weeks?’
Jakob pulled a face. ‘Um, yes, she is, but…’ He took a breath, blew out his cheeks, then turned to the man and said with a sigh, ‘You’ve just applied to adopt Biscuit, haven’t you?’
When Nora heard that, her heart dropped like a stone down a well, to land with a plop of dismay in the dark depths of her disappointment.
