Page 17 of The One You Chose

twelve

Welcoming In

Fitz

Theapplicationinmyhand, my eyes glazed over from scanning the same line over and again. What I wanted to do was email E back. Our correspondence was becoming increasingly intimate. I had no idea who this girl was, but it was a distraction from thinking of Lina every other moment. There was a knock on my doorway. Glancing up I saw Dr. Crosby with a younger woman beside her. The woman had the same hazel eyes and scattering of freckles across her nose that Dr. Crosby had. I suspected the woman’s shoulder-length caramel hair was the same color Dr. Crosby’s was ten years before.

“Fitz. I’m so glad to see you in your office.”

“That I am, Dr. Crosby. This must be the daughter you’ve told me so much about.” Standing, I extended my hand. “I’m Fitz Deir.”

The woman stepped forward. "Hi, Imogen. Ginny.”

Dr. Crosby looked between us a glimmer in her eye. “Imogen just took me to lunch. She is a very dutiful daughter, I’m so lucky to have her.”

“Mom,” Ginny groaned under her breath.

Dr. Crosby clapped her hands together, “Oh, I forgot to give Paprika his second dose of the worms medicine. Fitz can keep you company. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Leaving them alone, Ginny gave me a small smile that seemed to say,sorry about that.We were silent for a few arduous moments before Ginny looked at me. “You know this was a ruse, right?”

Shoving my hands into the pockets of my slacks, I leaned back on my heels. “Yeah, your mother is a wonderful veterinarian, but she is a terrible liar.”

“That she is. She insisted on me coming into the shelter when I dropped her off, saying she needed to give me something off her desk. Once we got in, she walked me straight here. She really is just looking out for me, but she can be a little...”

“My mother can be the same way, I know the feeling.”

“I told her already, I have no interest in being set up. I’m just getting started at work and I don’t have time to get distracted.” She paused as her words sunk in. Her eyes widened, “No offense to you. You seem real... swell.”

I fought the urge to laugh at the odd wording.

“No offense taken. I’m in the same position. In the five minutes I’ve known you, you also seem swell. And now we’ve established the other’s niceness, I really should get back to work.” Sticking out her hand, I shook it. There was no zing of appreciation for this attractive and single woman in front of me. It was a warm palm attached to an arm. I liked this Ginny Crosby, but there was no attraction. Dropping her hand, I shoved my hands back in my pockets. I couldn’t help but compare the handshake to the first time I touched Lina. The recognition at the graze of skin against skin.

“Same.”

A shadow outside the door shifted. In the window’s reflection on the door, I could see Dr. Crosby listening in. “How’s Paprika doing Dr. Crosby?” I called out.

Dr. Crosby stepped out, her face woefully guilty looking. “Paprika is fine. Doing well. A lovely cuddle bug.”

“I should hope so, since Paprika was adopted yesterday.” I kept my face devoid of emotion, but Ginny beside me burst into laughter.

“Okay, Mom. I love you bunches. I have to get back to work.” She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her mother’s pink cheeks. Giving me a wave, she headed out the door. “Fitz, it was wonderful meeting you. You are indeed aswellperson.”

Once her daughter left, Dr. Crosby narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I don’t want you dating my daughter if you’re going to be so shifty.”

Turning on her heels she left the office, as I called after her, “I shall persevere.”

Shuffling the adoption form to the side I pulled up an update on how one of our pit bulls was doing in his foster home. Pits were notoriously hard to place because of a poor public perception. Luckily we had a good network of volunteers and foster homes in the community.

Scanning my event calendar I set a reminder to repost the flyer for our upcoming Empty the Shelter event lasting through the end of the week. Our goal was the have most of the animals adopted out before the holiday. We had a good turn out, with many animals adopted, including Retta-Mae.

While I knew this E wouldn’t adopt her, it was a good reason to email. Despite not being interested in Ginny Crosby, I was pulled toward this E. McConnell. I wondered what her name was. Elizabeth? Maybe Eden or Erin? I wondered what she looked like. If she had someone to eat pizza with. Before I could second guess myself, I wrote out the email, sending it to her and changing the playful dynamic to something more.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Bad News

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