“The hours can be long and unpredictable, and if there’s an emergency in the middle of the night, you have to be here.”
I continued to nod. “I can do that.”
“And sometimes it’s sad work too. Sometimes the animal doesn’t make it, and sometimes you have to put them down.”
I nodded. The nod was becoming a little smaller though. “I understand,” I said, quieter this time.
“It can be smelly and messy too,” she added.
“Mmmm.” My enthusiasm was waning a bit, but suddenly I felt a big, wiry head at my side, pushing against my hand. Almost as if to encourage me.
“Okay, so that won’t be fun. But I think I can manage,” I said.
“The pay is not great either,” she added. “You’re not going to get rich doing this.”
“It’s okay. I just need enough to cover my rent and some groceries.”
“Where are you planning on living?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Don’t know.” And then I giggled nervously. “Oh my God, is this insane?” I asked her, but didn’t wait for a response. “It is! I know, but it also just feels . . .” I lost the words.
“Right?” she asked.
I nodded. “I can’t explain it. But it does.”
Samirah’s smile grew and then she clapped her hands together excitedly. “This is great! I’m excited. And I think I might know a place for you to live.”
“Really?” I asked.
“There’re not a lot of places to rent here in town, but lucky for you I happen to know one.”
“Really?” I couldn’t believe my luck. This was all coming together so nicely.
“Come, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 45
Samirah and I pulled up to a small Karoo house. Another brightly painted one with a wraparound veranda built straight onto the small street. This place was so idyllic and quaint, the houses here were almost uniform, giving an impression of chocolate-boxy perfection. We climbed out, walked to the door and Samirah gave it a knock. I had Harun on the leash and as the door was being opened by an elderly woman, I shot him a quick look.
“Don’t ruin this. Be on your best behavior.”
“He’ll be fine,” Samirah whispered down to me.
Famous last words.
The cottage in question belonged to Mrs. Myra Marais, longtime resident of Springdorp. In fact, her family had settled in this part of the Karoo over a hundred years ago. She’d been born and bred here in this little corner of the world, and she had a small cottage at the back of her property that she was renting out for a very reasonable rate. She wasn’t trying to make money, she said. She just wanted someone on the property so she didn’t feel so alone, since her husband passed. My heart went out to her. And when she took me to the cottage, I hadn’t expected it to be the way it was.
“This is gorgeous,” I said, standing in the open-plan room looking out at the view. The cottage faced the desert. That feeling of endless expanse, sprawling out in front of you.
“Imagine the sunsets here,” Samirah whispered to me.
“I can imagine,” I said a little breathily. I remembered what Logan had said to me, about the desert seeping into you. A sudden noise made me look round. Two lazy-looking chickens walked onto the veranda clucking away to each other as if deep in conversation. As if discussing politics, or their husbands not ever looking after the chicks. I looked down at Harun to see if he’d noticed them, and he had. He was lazily watching them with his one eye as if they were just part of the scenery. Nothing to get worked up about, much like he hadn’t gotten worked up at Mark’s house about them.Mark. . .
“That’s Bessy and Dotty. You must ignore them. Sometimes they come inside, but only because they like to be around people,” Mrs. Marais said.
“That’s okay, I don’t mind,” I replied. I was a vet’s assistant now, after all. I was a lover of all creatures great and small. Furry and feathered.
“They give me two eggs a day for my breakfast every single day. Never let me down. Ever. Even when Dotty hurt her foot. You remember that?” She turned to Samirah.
