Page 10 of Christmas Shelter

"Hi, I'm Aida, I'm here for Patri," the girl says kindly but with a serious expression.

Carlota doesn't have time to open her mouth because, with a broad smile, the cardiologist appears and approaches her ex-girlfriend to give her a kiss on the lips. The volunteer, who still hasn't recovered from her surprise at discovering Patricia is a lesbian, chokes on her own saliva and starts coughing uncontrollably, making the cup she's holding shake so much that all the dark liquid ends up staining the floor.

Aida looks at her raising an eyebrow suspiciously. Patricia's eyes open like two giant plates because Carlota, besides coughing, is so red that she fears she might collapse.

"Easy, try to breathe," says Patricia while patting her on the back.

A minute later and with tears in her eyes, Carlota manages to compose herself.

"I'm sorry," she says embarrassed, "I choked stupidly."

"Patricia has that effect," Aida throws out and tilts her head in a mischievous smile.

"I'll get my coat, say goodbye and come out," says the cardiologist without giving time for her ex-girlfriend's comment to echo any further.

Patricia returns inside and says goodbye to all the animals promising she'll return to visit them. Coco no longer wags his tail as fast, now the animal looks at her with sadness and when the veterinarian pets him, the dog lets his head fall into her hand.

"He'll miss you a lot," says Carlota observing the scene, "he's connected with you and hoped you'd take him to your home."

Patricia's heart crumples.

"I'll try to find him a good family," she says sadly, "my schedule doesn't allow me to give him the time he needs because having him alone in my apartment all day is awful. Having an animal locked up and without company, for me that's abuse."

"It is," confirms Carlota, "but despite that, many people keep them warm and well cared for. They leave them alone because they have to work, but as soon as they're with them they give them a good quality of life. That's better than being alone in a cage."

Patricia nods and finishes saying goodbye to everyone. She grabs her things and, before heading to the door, turns to face Carlota.

"Thanks for taking me in these days," says Patricia and smiles. "I'll see you around, as always."

Carlota smiles and accompanies her to the exit. She says goodbye to both women and when she sees Aida put an arm over Patricia's shoulders, a new wave of heat hits her hard. The volunteer's head spins so much she has to grab onto the doorframe. She doesn't understand why she feels this way and even enters a state of sudden denial, because the last time she remembers having this sensation was when her ex-boyfriend started flirting almost blatantly with another girl during a night out. Carlota shakes her head and frowns, there's no way she could have felt jealous of this Aida.

Chapter 8

Carlota has lost track of how many hours she's been sitting in the same position. Since Patricia left, she's been at the table with her fourth or fifth cup of coffee of the day - she's lost count.

Her plan was to keep reading the Writers book until her coworker Vanesa arrives at the shelter to replace her, but that simple fact of knowing with certainty that Patricia likes women has her completely unfocused and unable to think about anything else. That's why Carlota doesn't notice when her coworker opens the door and enters the shelter, nor when she approaches and greets her; she only becomes aware of her presence when Vanesa nearly gives her a heart attack by touching her shoulder to snap her out of her trance.

"Hey, want to come back to earth?" Vanesa says, shaking her.

"Jesus," Carlota startles, jumping to her feet, "I didn't hear you come in."

"I noticed," her coworker smiles. "What were you thinking about with that concentrated look?"

"Nothing in particular," Carlota lies.

Vanesa doesn't believe her because she knows anyone in that state has their mind very occupied, but decides not to push it.

"Well, how did the lockdown go?" Vanesa asks, until something catches her attention and she smiles when she sees Coco. "And who's this handsome furry guy?" she asks, approaching his cage.

"His name is Coco," Carlota explains, "a girl found him on the road during the storm and brought him here, though you won't believe what happened to her."

When Carlota begins to explain Patricia's story to her coworker, Vanesa prepares herself a cup of coffee and sits across from her, listening with such interest that she barely blinks.

"That's wild, so you haven't been alone these two days, I'm so glad," Vanesa comments.

That's when Carlota explains that she already knew Patricia from their university days and that there's been some tension between them over a job position dispute, but that's not what catches Vanesa's attention - what really sparks her curiosity is her coworker's final comment.

"She left this morning when her ex came to pick her up, who's a woman."

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