Lunch with Alaric turned out to be a very nice, sweet experience. After his comment about meeting Josiah, the man seemed to realize Roxie’s walls had gone up, and he made a valid effort to put her back at ease by telling her every ridiculous story he’d experienced while working with animals and pet owners.
“I swear the old lady was convinced the rat was a small dog. She even bought it a collar. Nothing I said would convince her otherwise. Not even when I showed her a picture of a rat next to a dog. She was so upset that I was insulting her pet and hurting its feelings that she threatened to sue me.”
Roxie couldn’t stop laughing. No longer able to walk, she pressed a hand to her hurting side and wiped at the tears leaking from her eyes. “Dear God, how big was the rat?”
Alaric chuckled
