Page 6 of The Belle and the Biker

At least her golden-brown fur is pretty. It's so long I French braid it to keep it out of her eyes.

Despite myself, I feel a throb in my chest. I love braiding hair and always dreamed of having a little girl. I'd braid her hair and tell her she was beautiful and smart, and I'd never let her think she was fat.

For some reason, even though I suffer from acute baby fever, I kept taking birth control pills after the wedding. I sensed on some level that it wasn't going to work out. The fact that Percy started comparing me unfavorably to Daisy weeks before we got married might have been a clue.

Good thing I stayed on birth control, or I'd be pregnant with the child of a lying, cheating dick-weasel.

Well. That's in the past.

In the present, I'm living in an apartment with a no-pet policy, and even though the dog is now fragrant and fluffy and marginally less ugly, she can't stay here. I've got time before my evening shift at Bone-breakers, and I want to make sure she gets adopted, so take her to a pet shop to get her nails trimmed. On impulse, I have them put pink polish on her nails and buy her a matching pink collar. There goes the rest of the birthday cash I got from Aunt Hepzibah.

I buy a bag of dog food, a scooper, and some bags for cleaning up doggy business, but I don't buy a bowl; that's too much like a commitment.

The clerk looks at me skeptically as I go up front to pay.

"What?" I demand.

"It's a little fancy for her," she says doubtfully. "Ever heard the expression, 'putting lipstick on a pig'?"

I cover the dog's ears. Who knows how much they understand? "I need to get her adopted, and the prettier I make her look, the better chance she has."

The clerk looks at the dog and then at me and manages a sympathetic smile. "Well. Good luck with that."

The nerve. If I were keeping the dog, which I am not, I'd take my business elsewhere.

By the time I return to my apartment, it's almost time for my shift. Tawny has returned, and she does a comical double-take when she finds me in the kitchen with a tiny brown tumbleweed dancing around my ankles as I pour dog food into a cereal bowl.

"What is that thing?" She leans down and stares at it with fascination, like a biologist examining a new species.

"I am seventy-five percent sure it's a dog. Possibly with some bat DNA and maybe some rat?"

"Does it have a name?"

I chew my lower lip, thinking. "For now, I'll go with Tiddlywinks." The name just pops into my head. I used to play Tiddlywinks with Aunt Hepzibah when I visited her as a child, and it was one of the few times she wasn't a crabby bitch. She played Tiddlywinks with her mother back in the Dark Ages when she was growing up. It must have summoned pleasant memories for her.

Tawny tentatively strokes Tiddlywinks's fur. "Weird name. Seems appropriate."

"It doesn't matter. I'm taking her to an animal shelter tomorrow; I just have to find one that's not full. The one on Fifteenth Street wanted to kill her."

"What?" Tawny cries out, eyes wide with horror. "Those fucktards!"

"Do not lie in wait in an alley and beat up any of the employees." I know her too well. That girl has some serious anger management issues and has scars on all her knuckles to prove it.

"I probably won't." She's avoiding my eyes when she says that, though.

"Well, if you need bail money, I'm flat broke, so you'd have to hit up your boyfriend. I have to work tonight. Could you dog-sit, just for tonight? I swear she'll be out of here tomorrow."

Tawny shakes her head. "I have to work too. I'm leaving now, actually." She grabs her jacket and heads for the door. "See you in a few, Savannah. Bye, Creature from the Black Lagoon."

"She has feelings! She can hear you!" I yell as Tawny shuts the door behind her.

Well, Tiddlywinks lived on the streets before I found her. She'll be fine alone in a warm, cozy apartment for eight hours.

I change into my work outfit. I'm wearing a pink cashmere twinset, which I have personally monogrammed since I can't currently afford to have it done for me, khaki slacks, and riding boots. Also monogrammed. A simple rope of pearls, pearl stud earrings, and my charm bracelet complete the ensemble. I look like I've just strolled in from a shopping trip in downtown Charlotte.

As usual, I know that I will be the subject of endless looks of amusement from the staff and customers at Bone-breakers, and I don't mind at all. The way I see it, I am a shining beacon of fashion enlightenment, and I can educate them by example. Dressing nicely is another way I can make the world a prettier, and therefore better, place. None of them ever thank me, of course, but I think that they secretly appreciate it.

Tiddlywinks looks very content when I settle her into a wadded-up blanket on top of a pillow in the kitchen, and I leave her a bowl of clean water and pat her head. The minute I step out the door, she starts shrieking.

---