Page 82 of North (The Moral Compass 2)

“Oh, yeah, I forget. You’re North McGarry,” she skits.

We walk into the open plan living area as Kara looks around, her eyes wide with excitement. I’d told her earlier that we were having a second viewing because the sale had fallen through.

“North, what’s that smell? It wasn’t here on Monday. And what has happened to that white rug? There’s a big yellow stain in the middle.”

My plan is starting to crumble around me.

“I don’t know. Maybe we need to look around a bit more.” I take her hand and lead her further into the house. The smell is getting worse, but I am pretending not to notice.

“Oh, North, it’s terrible.” She screws up her face.

“Ah, shit. North. Literally shit. I’ve stood in shit.”

“For fuck’s sake.” I look around for a cloth when I spot the culprit hiding under a side table. He lets out a tiny whimper that catches Kara’s attention.

“North. There is a puppy in this house. It’s hiding under that table.”

“Let’s see if we can get it to come to us.” I take out the puppy treats from my pocket and coax him out gently.

“Here, try one of these.” I hand one over to Kara who is utterly confused but says nothing as she bends to attract his attention.

“Aww, good dog,” she says as he settles quietly at her now bare feet.

“It’s so beautiful, North. You know, I wouldn’t mind a dog one day,” she says, stroking him gently.

“That’s fucking lucky, because he’s yours.” I laugh out loud, and the dog shits itself and jumps into Kara’s arms.

“What do you mean? We don’t even have a house yet. How can we have a dog?” she says whilst the dog tries to lick her face.

“Yes, we do. This one. You said you wanted it. It’s ours.” I can see the utter shock running through her whole body. Her hands are shaking, and her legs are twitching. My heart fills with so much love. I know I have made the right decision.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“As serious as I will ever be. So, make the most of it.”

She puts the pup down and jumps into my arms. “I love you so much, North. You make me so happy. Most of the time.” She laughs.

“Yeah. Good. Because I love you too, but we have one more job to do. We need to name the dog. I’m not calling him Dog or Puddles, so think of something sensible like Rex or Duke.”

“Hedoesn’t look like any of those, North. It’s a girl, you muppet.”

“Are you sure? The breeder said he was a boy. It even says a boy’s name on his collar. Take a look.”

She bends down and picks up the quite heavy Labrador puppy. My heart is now in my mouth. And then she sees it.

“What have you done, North?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I play coy.

“You’ve tied a tracking device to the dog already.” She looks at me darkly. And now I’m confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I turn the collar on the dog, and I can see her mistake.

Fuck it.

I open the box attached to the collar that is housing a beautiful diamond ring and show her.

“This is what you were supposed to find.” I pull the ring out of the box and put the pup back down on the floor before she dropped her.

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