Page 8 of Dying to Read

“Your boss set this up; maybe you should talk to her.” Gretchen was holding her ground, but Rarity felt Archer pull on her sleeve and then the glass doors closed behind them.

Rarity couldn’t hear Dr. Death’s response. She walked up to the nurses’ station with Archer. “Excuse me, is that William Jully?”

“Yes, that’s our junior administrator. He’s quite a catch if you like angry, snide men in your life. I understand he’s single. I don’t understand why.” She laughed as she reached up and rubbed Candy’s head. “You two must be Rarity and Archer. I know Shirley. She said you’d be here. She’s already walking around with the cutest Doodle mix. She said she’d let you visit George’s section.”

Archer glanced at Rarity, but she shook her head. She’d tell him on the way home.Ifhe planned on walking with her. It was funny how much had happened since he’d tried to break up with her.

“What rooms are we visiting?” Rarity asked thechatty nurse.

She handed her a list. “You have until nine or when Jully kicks everyone out. Gretchen got this approved with our administrator, but of course, Sally’s been called out of town. So he thinks he’s a god or something. So I’d say you have about fifteen minutes in each of your rooms. There are two residents per room. George’s roomis that one.”

Rarity saw she’d already written George’s name next to the room number. “You must work with him a lot.”

“George is a lovely man. Very kind, very protective of the other residents.” She glanced around. “I’m so shocked he doesn’t remember Shirley at all. He’s nice to her, but he’s in love with Lizzy. The woman knows Shirley is his actual wife because seeing Shirley near George sends her into a tizzy. Tizzy Lizzy. I must be getting tired. I worked a doubleshift today.”

“We’ll go and let you get back to your work, then.” Archer nodded to the hallways branching off the nurses’ station. “Whichway do we go?”

“To your left, the second hallway. Your rooms are on the left. There’s another group handling the right side.”

Archer held out his arm, motioning for Rarity to go first. He hadn’t touched her all night. It was like it was their first date or they were colleagues rather than whatever they were now. She’d thought they’d been at the next step, but then something happened.

She smiled and pushed the worry out of her head. Tonight, she was here with Archer and bringing some puppy love into the world. Literally. She kissed the top of Candy’s head and took a big whiff of puppy. It was the best drugin the world.

In the first room, two women were waiting for them and they took the pups eagerly. They were hesitant to give them back, but Archer assured them that the shelter would be back next month with the animals.

“Well, I hope the two of you get assigned our room again. We loved talking with you.” The older woman, Penny, smiled at them.

The other, Ester, cackled as they gathered the pups. “Of course, Penny won’t know if you comeback or not.”

“I will too. I’ve been writing things down and it helps me remember.” Penny held up her journal. As she opened the book, she froze as she picked up a pen. “Now what was I writing down again?”

Ester rolled her eyes. “See what I mean? We’re not all as forgetful as Penny, but we’re on our way there. I’m here recuperating from a hip replacement. I should have gone to Flagstaff, but I’ve known Penny all my life. This way, we get to spend some time together.”

Penny looked up from her writing. “Come visit us anytime.”

Rarity smiled as she and Archer left the room. “They remind me of Sam and me. It’s like looking into a time capsule but into the future.”

“You two would be horrible in here. They’d always have to be tracking you down.” Archer pulled her into a hug. “I know this is hard. Are you ready to go to the next room?”

She felt fueled by the hug. “I’m fine. I get to go home after this and cuddle with Killer. For these people, this is their monthly dose of puppy love. I don’t think that’s enough for anyone.”

“Dogs are amazing at comforting us.” He released her and nodded tothe next room.

When they entered, one of the residents was already asleep. Archer put the puppy next to him, and the man curled his hand around the dog unconsciously. The other man held out his hands. “Karl couldn’t stay awake. He’ll be sad that he missed these little angels.”

Archer took the lead on the discussion, and when it was time to go, he slipped the puppy from the sleeping man’s arms. Rarity heard him whisper, “Sweet dreams.”

As they walked to the next room, Rarity checked her watch. They were a little ahead of their scheduled visit, but she figured George wouldn’t mind. Shirley was always talking about how muchhe loved dogs.

When they walked into the room, they found George pacing. His roommate ran up to Rarity and took Candy from her arms. “Whata cute baby.”

Archer held out the puppy to George, but he ignored them. Rarity turned to the doorway where William Jully stood,watching them.

George pointed to him and muttered, “He’s a bad man. No one sees it but me.”

“George, do you want to hold a puppy?” Archer asked as George startedpacing again.

This time George looked at him. “Why would I want tohold a puppy?”

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