“Thank goodness. All those dogs would howl when we didn’t arrive with treats,” Melissa joked.
“That can’t happen. Now, who do I hire?” Tami asked, tapping the folder marked applications in front of her.
“How many people are you looking for?” Tim asked.
“At least one. Maybe two.”
“There was this girl at the supermarket. She loves dogs. I still drop by that store from time to time to grab a snack or a drink. Every time I talk to her, she tells me how much she’d love to get to do a job like mine. In a super sweet way. She reminds me of me—trapped in an awful job. I gave her a card. Did she ever call you? Her name is Debbie.”
“I did have someone call. That might have been her name, but the phone number was blocked. I couldn’t call her back. I’d love to talk to her.”
“I’ll take her an application and have her call you again,” Melissa said and put her hand out for a sheet. Tami opened herfolder and pulled out an application for Melissa, as well as one of Tami’s cards.
Melissa looked down at the page in her hand and shivered. “I don’t know what I would have done when I lost my job. I’d still be back at that apartment.”
“With the rats,” Tim said with a grimace. “I drove past there on my way to get gas last week. There was an enormous banner on the front sign that said closed for remodeling.”
“What?” Melissa asked.
Both women turned to look at him in amazement. “You didn’t say anything?”
“I forgot. Sorry, my Daddies distracted me when I got home. I couldn’t text while I was driving,” Tim reminded them.
“Did it look like everyone had moved out?” Tami asked.
“It looked pretty deserted,” Tim said with a shrug.
“They must have had to move out fast. I bet it was condemned,” Tami suggested.
“I’m sorry for all the tenants who had to scramble to find new homes. Hopefully, they all ended up in a better place. Well, except for that jerk that threatened me,” Melissa said, and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“Your car looks as good as new,” Tim said. “I saw it in the parking lot as I came in.”
“It’s better than new. Daddy put new tires on it and had a bunch of work done on it. I guess I hadn’t changed the oil for a while,” Melissa admitted.
“Ouch,” Tami said.
Melissa knew her friend had a very good idea what the punishment for that oversight had been. She nodded and rolled her eyes. “I won’t be in charge of my maintenance in the future.”
“Excellent!” Tim celebrated. “I hate remembering that. Maybe I should…”
“I don’t recommend that choice,” Melissa said meaningfully.
“Oh, yeah. I can just keep putting the reminder in my phone,” Tim agreed.
“Probably smarter,” Tami said with a laugh. “Back to poo business. Is there anyone else you’d like to ask to apply?”
“I apologize for interrupting,” a woman said from the table next to them. “I see your shirts. You have a business that cleans dog waste from yards?”
“I do. Here’s my card.” Tami handed her a shiny business card. “Do you need some help?”
“I actually need a job. I used to work at a dog rescue in town, but the owner passed away and his children don’t share his passion. I’d love to have a chance to work with animals again,” she said.
“It’s not a glamorous job,” Tami warned.
“That’s okay. Neither is cleaning out kennels or picking off ticks.”
Melissa watched Tami nod. The woman had her there. She looked nice. “Do you have any references?”
