Animal attraction

Chapter 2- Keith.

‘Excuse me, excuse me’ a gentle voice slowly bought me back to consciousness.

‘I don’t mean to wake you dear, but there’s a bed inside the room I’ve put your puppy in, you can stay here for the night’ the man said.

I looked at him, tears threatening to spill again. I’m not okay in the head, what the actual f**k was my problem. The smallest bit of kindness was throwing me into an absolute spin.

‘Is he okay?’ I finally squeaked out, my voice coming out uneven from my sleep. I looked outside to find it was now officially dark, how long had I been asleep for?

‘He’s going to be fine, I got him cleaned up and put ointment on his skin. He’s severely malnourished and dehydrated so I have him hooked up on an IV and some antibiotics to fight any infection. If you hadn’t have picked him up when you did he wouldn’t have made it past the night’ he looked at me approvingly.

‘Thank you so much Sir, I’m sorry I was so hysterical. I was just so worried for the little guy and I’ve been on the road a few days now and I’m pretty tired and I think it just all got to me’ I tried to explain. Desperate to regain a little dignity with this. Just as my stomach launched into another one of its loud protests. Yep, dignity in tact. Fab.

The man chuckled at my obvious embaressment ‘I made you a sandwich, it’s late and nothing open at this time I’m afraid, it’s not much but it should I tide you over until the morning’ he reached out his hand, passing me a small bag with a cheese sandwich, an apple, a small Kit Kat, a carton of orange juice and a bottle of water. Oh my god food! Not quite the Birthday slap up meal I had planned, but I was no less grateful to this man and his generosity.

‘Thank you so much Sir’ i said as I grabbed the food from him and immediately dug in. The man took a seat opposite me ‘I’m Doctor Roberts, no need for the Sir’ he smiled.

‘I’m Aurora’ I said.

‘Nice to meet you Aurora, where have you come from and what’s made you stumble across our sleepy town’ he asked inquisitively.

‘I’m from California’ I said.

‘Wow, that’s a long way away’ Dr Roberts commented, eying me up as if trying to figure out what on earth a girl from

California was doing here.

‘Is it?’ I asked. ‘Is it a long way away?’ I asked, mostly to myself.

‘Oh trust me honey, you’ve stumbled upon a hidden gem here you’re a long way away from anything you know’ Dr Roberts said cryptically.

I looked up catching his eyes. That was a very appealing thought, a long way away from anything I know is exactly what I was looking for.

‘Just where am I exactly?’ I asked

‘You’re Evergreen Springs’ Dr Roberts answers with a hint of pride in his voice. It was very obvious the old man was very fond of this little place. It was cute, from what I saw on the drive earlier, very well kept.

‘Am I still in Colorado?’ I ask

‘No dear, you’re in Nebraska’ Dr Roberts said, raising an eyebrow. Oh god get it together Rory, he’s either gonna think you’re on drugs or a fugitive at this points.

‘Haha yeh sorry, kind of got lost in my thought on the drive, didn’t keep track of where I was, it’s been a long day. Not the birthday I had in mind’ I say trying to deflect. It worked, I could see whatever thought process Dr Roberts was on, ground to a halt as he looked at me with a sad look in his eye. Well pity is better than suspicion I supposed.

‘So where were you headed on your birthday, are you supposed to go meet someone? The pup will need a few days to fully recover…unless you just planned on handing him in ?’ He asked, trying to keep his tone light and non judgmental.

‘No I’m not going anywhere without the little guy, he’s my birthday present from the universe’ I said, my voice full of confidence i in no way could back up. So I was keeping the puppy then. Me? The eternal gypsy. Me..with a dog. That’s like having a child right? They say a dog is a huge commitment. I don’t do commitment. The only thing I ever committed to was my degree and where did that get me? Working free at some lousy club in LA for an even lousier man.

‘I’ll stay as long as it takes for him to get better then we will be on the road again’ I continued to tell Dr Roberts.

He beamed at me, clearly very impressed with my answer. I smiled back, revelling in the glow of his approval. The people pleaser in me temporarily satiated.

‘And where will you two be headed off too, do you have a destination in mind?’ De Roberts continued to enquire, watching me as I moved on from my sandwich to the Kitkat.

‘Not really, just needed a fresh start you know?’ I asked asked rhetorically. ‘Just far from LA’.

‘I see’ Dr Roberts said a gleam in his brown eyes. ‘Well, why don’t I show you to your bed for the night and we’ll talk more tomorrow’ he suggested. A bed did sound dreamy actually, I don’t think I could do more another night in my car. I was used to the warm Californian weather but the temperature has been falling the further I went and I realised I would have probably frozen in my car tonight.

‘That sounds heavenly’ I said not bothering to hide my gratitude. Dr Roberts led me to the room where the puppy was hooked up to a machine that was gently beeping, oddly comforting actually. I stroked his tiny head and he didn’t as much as stir. Poor little guy must be exhausted.

‘You’ll have to think of a name for him if you’re planning on keeping him’ Dr Roberts said handing me a blanket. ‘It gets cold in the night and early morning here, you’ll probably need the extra blanket while you acclimatise to the weather here, try and get some rest. I live in the building upstairs so if you need me just ring ‘222’ on the phone near the door’ and with that he closed the door. I went over to the bed and slipped my vans off my feet keeping my socks on as I could feel that chill Dr Roberts had warned me about, slowly creeping in. I hate sleeping with socks. Priorities Rory!

I lay my head on the pillow and sunk in the bed, my body finally being able to stretch. The fresh clean sheets a welcome sensation. Dr Roberts was right I would have to think of a name for the little guy. You know a name maps out someone’s destiny, I read it someone a while ago and thought what kind of cursed name Aurora was and who on earth had inflicted me with the name if this was the life that destiny had in store. Shaking my head from my little pity party I decided that the puppy needed a strong, grounded, reliable name. Not a fancy, mythical, romantic silly name like Aurora. He needed something sturdy and resilient.

‘Keith’ I said aloud just as the puppy began to stir. ‘Keith it is’ I thought. That was clear confirmation, obviously.

Keith had a miserable start in life but with a name like Keith how could he not persevere and turn it around. A Keith may not change the world by all means, he may not live the glitz and glamour that this life offers some but a Keith would almost certainly survive every bumpy terrain of this perilous thing we call life. Yes Keith it is I thought as I finally surrendered to sleep.

I woke up to hushed voices outside of the door. I was a light sleeper usually but I just have been exhausted last night because I slept like a log. I quickly rushed out of bed to Keith to check if he was okay and he was still sleeping soundly. His chest heaving from his breathing. I let out a breath of my own, relaxing a little to see the little guy was still okay. I walked over to my bed and put my Vans back on and processed to fold the blanket. I took a deep breath and decided opened the door to find Dr Robert with a woman of similar age, huddled up whispering animatedly.

‘Good morning’ I cleared my throat, interrupting the two.

‘Ahh Aurora, good morning dear. I trust you slept well last night, you’re looking much better’ Dr Roberts beamed at me.

‘I did thank you Dr Roberts, I’m so grateful to you I was exhausted I was out like a light’ I smiled at him. Truthfully it was the best sleep I had had in months.

‘I’m so glad my dear, pardon me may I introduce you to my Wife, Nora’ he pointed to the woman next him.

‘Mrs Roberts, it’s so nice to meet you. Keith and I are so grateful to the Doctor for his care and hospitality’ I stretched out my hand to greet her.

‘Call me Nora honey and I should hope so, hospitality is in our blood here’ she beamed proudly and pulled me into a hug. She smelled like freshly cooked brownies and pine cones, it was the most comforting combination I found myself hugging her back. I’m not a hugger by the way. Affection makes me so uncomfortable usually but lately I seemed to be emotionally frazzled so who even knows.

‘Keith?’ Dr Roberts asked

‘Yes we decided Keith was his name, he approved I promise. A strong sturdy name’ I beamed at him.

‘Ahh Keith, a strong name indeed. It’s Scottish I believe meaning Forest or Woodland’ Dr Roberts began to explain.

‘A very apt name indeed’ he concluded.

A began to smile, I knew that name felt right. Keith. What a great name. So underrated.

‘Well then welcome Aurora and Keith to our Town’ Nora said welcomingly.

‘Oh you can call me Rory’ I began to say to them ‘my friends call me Rory’

‘You know I quite like Aurora, myself’ Dr Roberts said as he began to walk to the door to check on Keith.

‘Yes, I believe I agree with my husband on this rare occasion’ Nora winked at me ‘Aurora is a beautiful name’

I wasn’t going to dampen their spirits with my pessimistic, self loathing theories on my name so I just smiled and nodded and made began to follow Dr Roberts to Keith.

‘So Aurora honey, Hank tells me that you are in the market for a new place to call home and your only requirement was far from LA’. I wasn’t sure if she was asking me or telling me something.

‘Because if that’s the case, you should really consider taking a few days to see what our lonely little Town had to offer. It’s honestly a little safe Haven honey. Not as glamorous as LA and you might find it slightly boring but I promise you you’ll be safe’ Nora continued.

Jesus Rory, you’ve really done a number on these people. They probably thing you’re running away from an abusive ex. I mean what Tristan did was emotionally abusive I guess? But the way Nora was looking at me, sympathy engulfing her bright blue eyes.

I took a moment to ponder her words. Safe Haven echoing in my mind. That sounded dreamy. I tried to think about the last time I had ever felt safe in life and realised that I hadn’t. I had never felt safe a day in my miserable little existence. Tears started to threaten my eyes as I sucked in a breath and turned around pretending I was looking at Keith. Nora laid a hand on my shoulder and quietly said ‘You’ll be safe here love, you deserve to have a safe home just like the one you’re giving Keith. This Town has a lot of time for people like you’. A sharp pang in my chest did nothing for the imminent tears that were surely going to erupt. A safe haven sounded too good to be true.

‘I own a small little Café in Town’ Nora carried on ‘now it’s not much but we have been getting extremely busy as of late what with the construction company boys eating me out of house and home’ Nora chuckled. ‘I’ve been meaning to get some extra help so it’s not charity but a pretty thing like you would surely boost business’

‘I can waitress and I love baking!’ I screamed. Why was I so cringe? Like it’s a waitressing job in a diner in literally the middle of nowhere and I’m acting like she offered me Partner in a top Law firm. I literally have a degree in finance and accounting and have been single hand-idly running a quite sizeable Nightclub that was on brink of foreclosure before I got involved. Yet working in a Nora’s cafe in this middle nowhere Town made my heart full. This town was the weirdest place, it was making me act out.

‘Oh you would!’ Nora met my outburst with matched enthusiasm ‘oh I would be so grateful, and it’s not much but it comes with a little self contained apartment. It’s not much just a little studio but you could live there for free, and Keith of course’ Nora continued. I stared at her open mouthed. Was this woman my very own fairy Godmother or something? A free place to live ? A job? I couldn’t remember the last time I had luck like this.

‘Nora, I couldn’t possibly take advantage of your hospitality’ I quickly interjected ‘I would love to take your offer but I would never expect anything for free, I also have some money I can more than afford my own way’ I finished.

‘I’ll hear no more about it Aurora, and don’t get too excited until you’ve seen the place. It’s not exactly a penthouse apartment’ Nora chuckled.

‘Keith is doing great. A couple more nights in here and he’ll be right as rain. His skin will take a few weeks to clear up and maybe even a few months for his fur to full grow back poor little guy’ Dr Roberts said as he started to replace Keith’s IV. ‘I’ll have him micro chipped for you before I release him, let’s fill out some paperwork if you’re feeling up to it Dear’ Dr Roberts asked.

‘Okay but then we are heading over to the Cafè to get something to eat don’t want you wasting away’ Nora exclaimed genuinely concerned. Imagine, concerned over me wasting away! Have you heard of anything more ludicrous. At 5ft6 I wasn’t exactly tall but my ample curves shall we say more than supplemented my overall presence. I had always been curvy, god I hated that. In a city full of skinny blondes with perfect perky t**s, my overly generous bosom and round a*s and thick thighs weren’t exactly the beauty standard. But I had learned to love my body lately, especially when I was starting to get ‘hey Kim Kardashian’ screamed at me by random drunk guys at the bar. That bad definitely been an ego boost. I mean I was definitely no Kim K, I’m not delusional Jesus. But I was definitely starting to enjoy my curves for once in my 24 years of living, instead of wishing I looked like everyone around me. My thick dark brown, almost black hair cascaded down my back matching the exact shade of my eyes. My skin unusually pale for someone that lives in LA but not unusual for someone that had no social life and worked in the club every waking minutes I continued on my bitter trail of thought before bringing myself back to the conversation. Oh right wasting away, yeah not likely. I had about 2 stone off my a*s alone to lose before cause for concern let me tell you that much. But lately I had been in pretty good shape, the club had been getting busier and I was always running around. My arms toned from all the lifting and carrying. The legs have always been strong and toned, I loved running. That was my therapy. This place would be beautiful to run in I though, shaking myself out of my day dream of morning forest runs with Keith.

I finished filling out the paper work with Dr Roberts and me and Nora begin to make our way to the Café. It’s a short drive away and I follow Nora’s red pick up as she ambles on ahead. I smile, what an angel this woman was. As we pulled up to the most charming building, with flowers beds adorning the window and a simple, elegant sign that said ‘Nora’s’ at the front. The place was already busy as we entered.

‘Sally honey, this is Aurora she’s gonna be working here and living upstairs. She’s just moved here from LA’ Nora announces to the young pretty girl at the counter cutting a slice of what looked like Apple Pie.

‘Hi’ I said awkwardly to the girl.

‘Oh my god LA, wow. Hi Aurora it’s so nice to meet you’ she beamed at me. She took the pie over to one of the tables and came back over. ‘You definitely look like you’re from LA, so sexy and glamorous’ she continued as she looked me up and down, her comments seemed genuine.

‘What, sexy, glamorous ? Me. You’re joking?’ I begin, mortified. My cheeks immediately flushing. Sally seemed no older than 19 yet she was so confident and forthright. I envied that. I was forever the most awkward human known to man.

‘Come on honey let me show you upstairs, Sally honey will you order Aurora some breakfast for when we come down, Hank said she had nothing but a sandwich last night’ Nora clucked like a disapproving mother hen. Just on time my belly growled at the mention of food. And that is precisely why I would never be a skinny blonde. I loved food. Sally nodded and headed to the kitchen to carry out Nora’s instructions and Nora and I headed upstairs.

The apartment was perfect, it was a one bed studio. It had a small corner kitchen with a few cupboards and a small fridge and oven. There was a double bed on one side and a comfortable looking sofa on the other with a small round coffee table in the middle. The bed and sofa was divided with a beautiful oriental wooden divider. Next to the bed was a bed side table with a lamp, a chest of drawers and a clothes rack with empty hangers. The bathroom had a shower cubical and and Marge mirror cabinet above the sink. A large water painting of a forest hung above the Sofa and there canvas paintings of what looked like the moon hung above the bed.

‘The full moon is just beautiful here’ Nora winked at me, ‘the whole town comes alive’ she continued, her statement loaded. It made the hairs on my arm stand up for some reason. I’m probably just overwhelmed I concluded, as I carried on looking around. It felt like home, this strange place felt like home. I looked around at the modest apartment and couldn’t help but smile. It was perfect. It was my perfect fresh start. All mine. My little safe haven.

‘We have just had it painted, so everything is new. You have spare sheets in the Ottoman by the bed and some towels in the cabinet underneath bathroom sink. The kitchen isn’t much but you’ll be eating at the Café downstairs so no need to cook up here’ just look after the place and it’s yours as long as you need it. Now let’s go get you something to eat downstairs and I’ll get Sally to show you around Town a little later’ Nora ushered me out, locking up and handing me the keys. When we got downstairs a plate of the most delicious food I had ever had was waiting for me. I dug in greedily, all self respect leaving my body.

I think I was going to like it here.