Page 26 of Christmas Shelter

"You know you can tell me anything," the volunteer responds. "I'd love to be with you anywhere, but especially at the shelter where everything between you and me began."

Chapter 18

"I think it's unfair that I have to do this," Patricia protests, wrinkling her nose while tilting her head back and forth.

Carlota, who's finishing setting up the shelter's fold-out bed after taking out the containers they brought and preparing the appetizers, turns toward Patricia trying to hold back her laughter.

"I can't do everything, we have to split the tasks," she says, biting her lips to contain the laugh that threatens to escape.

"And why do I have to prepare grapes for the dogs with their little meat cans? Do you know how bad this smells?" she asks while rolling little balls with her hands as if making homemade meatballs.

"Because we drew lots and you got picked," Carlota reminds her while lowering the volume of the speaker she turned on with her Christmas playlist as soon as they arrived.

"I think you cheated," Patricia continues protesting.

"Stop complaining and think about how happy they'll be when they can eat the grapes with us, just look at Coco."

Patricia shifts her gaze to her left, where Coco sits next to her with his right paw on her foot while wagging his tail frantically. The other dogs are on her other side, drooling with the same anticipation.

"I don't know how you can like this food when it smells so bad," Patricia says, talking to the dogs, "but then again, you're little pigs who would eat poop, who am I to judge?"

Three hours later, both women have long finished dinner and, while Carlota arranges the small plates with grapes and meat balls on the table waiting for the twelve bells to strike, Patricia opens party favor bags and places little party hats on the dogs. A powerful thunder makes the shelter's windows rattle, reminding everyone that it's raining outside. Peluco, one of the dogs, howls nervously because loud, sudden noises frighten him, but Carlota solves it by turning up the music.

"One minute left," Patricia says, filling two champagne glasses.

After that, they each grab two plates of meat balls and, as soon as the first bell strikes, they excitedly place them in front of the dogs while grabbing their own plates with grapes. While they try to keep pace with the bells, Coco licks his chops after finishing ahead of time, and when the last bell rings, Patricia and Carlota kiss and hug amid barks while thinking they couldn't have chosen a better place to start the year.

Epilogue

Three months later

"Why are you smiling?" asks Carlota when Patricia, who was standing still beside her in silence, suddenly flashes that typical smile that comes from remembering something that had been hiding in a corner of the mind.

From the mischievous expression drawn on her girlfriend's face, Carlota knows that smile with its teasing hints has to do with her.

"Nothing," Patricia answers as a laugh escapes her.

Aida, who's with them waiting in line at the bookstore where Victoria Rivas and Micaela de Luca are signing books, decides to take a step back and remove herself from the middle before knives start flying and catch her in between.

"Like hell it's nothing, you're laughing at me," Carlota snorts.

The truth is that what Patricia remembered isn't even funny, but she's caught a case of the giggles and can't stop.

"You better speak up if you're still planning to ask her to live with you," Aida drops while moving one foot in front of the other with a distracted air, flipping through the book pages as if this had nothing to do with her.

Carlota's jaw drops and Patricia's laughter stops dead.

"You're going to ask me to live with you?" Carlota asks, her pulse racing.

"Why do you have such a big mouth?" Patricia says, ignoring Carlota to address Aida, whom she wants to smack with her copy of the book.

"I'm not big-mouthed, I'm saving you from yourself, plus I'm sick of your indecision. You've been driving me crazy for a week asking for help to find the best way to ask her. Well, this is it, ask her now and stop pestering me and Coco," Aida blurts out.

"Well said," applauds a woman standing behind her in line.

Patricia feels her ears burning and her hands shaking, but she knows now isn't the time to strangle Aida, that can wait until later, now she needs to focus on Carlota, who stares at her open-mouthed.

"Do you really want us to live together?" Carlota asks, feeling like she's floating.

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