It was late, and we’d both had long days. It didn’t take Jett long to fall asleep on my shoulder. I gazed at her sleeping form, bathed in the light from the window. I wondered if this had been a mistake. Jett was just the kind of talented, driven girl I was attracted to. It didn’t hurt that she had a hot little body. The memory of Eve Holliday intruded into my thoughts of Jett and me being together. Jett was just at the beginning of her dreams. She needed to go after them, and I had to go home in a few weeks. Why was it I always wanted what I couldn’t have?
◊◊◊ Saturday December 19
Jett left before I rolled out of bed. Fritz had made coffee, and I actually drank a cup. Trip came down, looking hungover. He’d been out to a party with Craig last night. I was surprised when he wanted to go surfing with us.
It was a bit on the chilly side when we stepped out carrying our boards. The good news was there weren’t many other surfers catching waves. Towards the end, I took a fall and was rolled underwater by the force of the breaker. This time it wasn’t quite as traumatic as before, because I knew what to expect.
We took a quick shower and left for Rita’s house in the hills. When we arrived there, I made breakfast for Rita and Halle. Fritz went off to his apartment over the garage.
“So, what are we supposed to do today?” I asked.
“They’re having an adoption drive, and we’re volunteering to help. There’ll be some press there to capture the event, and you’ll write a check as a donation,” Halle summarized.
“And how many are you rescuing?” I asked.
“None,” Rita quickly said and glared at me.
Halle bit her bottom lip.
“Mom has never allowed me to have a pet. She let Trip have a goldfish when he was young, and it lasted about a week. My brother is irresponsible and shouldn’t be allowed to be in charge of a pet. He can barely take care of himself.
“I, on the other hand, am more than capable of taking care of a puppy,” Halle said.
“I seem to remember that you’re always losing your backpack,” I offered.
“Thank you,” Rita said.
“Mom, David’s just being a bully. You can’t listen to a word he says,” Halle moaned.
We sniped back and forth to the point where Rita made me sit in the back and Halle rode shotgun to NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles).
We were greeted and given t-shirts to wear with ‘NKLA’ on them. They had us pose in front of a giant mural with ‘NKLA’ in block letters where they took our pictures. Then they asked us to write a check. One reporter turned out to be an animal-activist blogger who talked more than she listened. She wanted to make sure we were aware of the evils of most animal shelters. I nodded at appropriate times, which seemed to make her happy. The NKLA staff were shocked when I actually wanted to see their dogs and cats. From what I gathered, most celebrities just came in, got the recognition they needed, and left.
Halle and Rita joined me. We started to play a game of ‘what breed is it?’ I was willing to bet that over half the dogs there were either purebred pit bull or pit-bull mixes. What I found amusing was that most of them were listed as some other breed.
I pointed at a puppy.
“Pit bull.”
Halle checked the tag on the cage.
“Nope. This is Madeline, and she’s a beagle/terrier mix.”
“I call bullshit,” I said and checked the tag.
“Do you think it ate Madeline?” Rita asked.
Many of the pit bulls were sweet, but a few were aggressive. Those I stayed far away from. I wished the shelter luck getting those adopted.
Halle fell in love with a little black-and-white Chihuahua named Blackie. I had my doubts because the dog shook the whole time and had crazy eyes. They brought her into an adoption room to see if Blackie and Halle would get along.
All was fine for about two seconds. The adoption lady put Blackie onto the floor, and Blackie began to shake. Halle leaned over to pick her up.
“It’s okay, baby,” she cooed as she bent down.
The little shaking dog suddenly leaped at Halle’s face, and all I saw were snapping teeth. The little beast sounded ferocious. Even the adoption lady was up on a chair as the little terror ran around snapping at anything that moved.
“David! Be careful,” Rita warned.
These people were amateurs. I, on the other hand, had dealt with Precious, the cat from hell. Blackie was no match for me. She did grab hold of my pant leg and shake it. I just reached down and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. She went limp. This was a natural reaction from when dogs were wild. Their mothers would pick them up by the scruff of the neck when they needed to carry them somewhere.
“Did you hurt her?” Halle asked.
“No, she’s fine. Do you want to hold her?” I asked as I pointed Blackie at her.
She had the same reaction my dad has when I try to hand him Precious. For some reason, Halle passed on getting a dog today. She did get a kitten, though. It looked like a small fuzzy ball of fun.
