Page 111 of River
CHAPTER 29
Birthday Wish
Noah
“This pie is surprisingly good,” Liv said as we sat close together in the large booth in Rosemary’s Pub.
“I told you the food is tasty here.” River, who sat next to me, looked around with a smile. “And I just adore the décor; it’s like time traveling to Ireland two hundred years ago.”
“Do you miss South Africa?” Charles asked Fleur, who sat between Maximum and me.
“Sometimes.”
“I would have thought someone like you was a vegan.” Maximum gave a downward jut of his chin to the chicken salad on Fleur’s plate.
Fleur didn’t look at him when she answered. “I was a vegan for more than ten years.”
“What changed?”
When River sent Maximum a look of warning, he smacked his tongue. “Stop giving me death glares. I’m sure I’m not the first person to be curious.”
“It’s okay.” Fleur had such a calm presence and smiled with the patience of a saint. “Don’t worry, River. Your brother’s questions don’t bother me.”
“See.” Maximum gave River anI told you solook.
“The reason I’m no longer a vegan is because I’ve come to realize that all living things have a consciousness. From the stones to the trees, and the vegetables too. Once I realized that, I had a crisis of conscience and felt awful about eating anything. I considered exploring living as a breatharian, but I have to admit that I’m not there yet.”
“What’s a breatharian?” I asked.
“Someone who doesn’t eat food but gets all their nourishment from the sun and air.”
“That’s not possible,” Charles said with his brow raised high. “They would starve.”
Fleur just smiled.
“Is it a real thing?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“And you wanted to live like that?” Maximum asked Fleur with a tone of skepticism.
She shrugged. “I thought about it but quickly dismissed the idea. I get cranky if I don’t eat. Now, I’ve come to find peace with the fact that we’re all part of a circle of life. I don’t support the exploitation of animals, of course, and I limit my consumption of meat to a few times a week, but the people who own this pub get their meat from local free-range farmers.”
“Interesting,” Liv said and paused her eating. “Sorry to change the subject, but I’m curious, Noah, what is your plan after you’re done with your training?”
“I’m not sure.” I exchanged a sideways glance with River because it was something we needed to discuss. “My dream is to train dogs and to educate other dog trainers. I’d love to have a large institute where we can work with support dogs of all kinds. I’m also interested in working with dogs in the medical field.”
“Not as test animals, I hope,” Liv said.
“No. We know that dogs can detect cancer, so it would be interesting to train dogs for that purpose. There are already experiments that show promising results.”
“And where will you live?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I looked to River again. “Obviously, I’d prefer to be out of the city to allow the dogs lots of space to run and play, but I still have a lot to learn from Fleur, so for now, I’m staying at the farm.”
Fleur gave me a warm smile. “You have a natural gift with the dogs, Noah, and I’m thankful for your offer to run the farm while I go to South Africa.”
“You’re going back?” Maximum asked with his fork stalling mid-air.
