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Abbe gladly handed him over, and Bianca immediately tucked Jinx under her arm like a hideous purse. It did keep him calmer to be up high, and Abbe was less worried he was going to bite someone.
They all got coffee and apple cider donuts, still hot from the fryer. Abbe handed out cards for Furry Faces shelter to anyone who took an interest in Jinx, which was practically everyone who saw him. And of course, she took tons of pictures, posting them on social media all morning, spinning a narrative about a show dog as he gets on with his glamorous life. Having beautiful Bianca holding him was just the icing on the cake. Watching them together, an idea occurred to Abbe.
“Bianca, would you like to be the one to show Jinx?” she asked as they gathered in the competition tent.
Bianca let out a thrilled little gasp. “Seriously? I can take him up on stage?”
“It would be a big help to me,” Abbe said. “That way I can take pictures.”
“Oh my god, this is like the best day ever,” she said to Jinx. Oddly, he didn’t growl at her when she made eye contact with him, as he usually did with others.
Bianca scurried off with Charles, Jinx tucked firmly under her arm, to talk to the event coordinator so she would know exactly what to do.
“She’s like his therapy human,” Abbe said, making Rafe smile.
He wrapped his arms around her. “Do you know what you do to me?” he asked, tilting his head down so his mouth brushed against her neck when he spoke.
“Show me later,” she whispered back, reluctantly untangling herself from him.
The competition was about to start. There was a large turn-out of all different kinds of people; families, the elderly, and most surprisingly to Abbe, a lot of twenty and thirty-somethings who had probably come to the farmer’s market part of the fair to get their locally grown produce and twelve-dollar smoothies and stayed out of curiosity. Every seat was filled, and all expectations were met. The dogs were truly ugly.
But Jinx—or maybe it was the pairing of Bianca and Jinx—stole the show. There was no doubt from the moment he was left of the podium, cringing, and shaking with rage at the indignity of being put down, that this was probably the ugliest creature in the world. Bianca beamed at him with nothing short of love.
When Jinx won, the judges did a little interview with Bianca while Jinx glowered balefully at the crowd. When the emcee congratulated her and Jinx and asked where she’d gotten him, Bianca turned her opportunity at the mic to the most possible good.
“Anyone can go and buy a cookie-cutter poodle or chihuahua, but this…” she held up Jinx like he was a coveted trophy. “…This is one of a kind, honey. This isluxury. You’re not going to see anyone else carrying around this dog, and you can’t just order one. You have to go look, because you can only get a dog like this at a shelter!”
The crowd laughed and cheered. Bianca put in a huge plug for Furry Faces, and for animal shelters in general, and best of all, Abbe got the whole thing on video and posted it immediately.
“I think I’m going to have to get used to looking at that dog,” Rafe said.
“Oh, she is definitely adopting him,” Charles said, still applauding while Jinx and Bianca took their victory lap. “We already talked about it.”
“Jinx doesn’t hate Daisy. Although, he does annoy her a bit,” Abbe said, shrugging. “It’s the best possible outcome for that dog.”
“He really is a little shit,” Charles said.
“Literally the worst dog I have ever had at the shelter,” Abbe agreed, nodding her head.
They waved at Bianca as she tucked Jinx under her arm again and made her way over to them, her face flushed and her eyes shining.
“My little mutant won!” Bianca cheered. Then she looked at Abbe and curbed herself. “I mean, I hope he’s mine?”
“I think you and Jinx are perfect for each other,” Abbe agreed heartily.
“Great, my sister has a new dog,” Rafe said through a rictus smile.
“Oh, you’re such a snob,” Bianca scolded. “You’ll get used to him. I don’t even notice how gross he is anymore.”
They filled out the appropriate paperwork, took pictures, and gave interviews for the local paper, and then went around the fair, sampling food and just enjoying the rest of the day.
They split up and started the drive home at dusk, and Abbe and Rafe made it back to her place after nightfall.
“It would have been a great day no matter what, but I’m really glad Jinx won,” Rafe said as they made their way up the drive.
“Me too,” Abbe said, frowning. “I needed him too.”
“Abbe,” he said, stopping her. She turned back around, already knowing she’d given away too much. “You’ve been worried about something the last few days and you haven’t been talking about it. Why did Jinx have to win?” he asked.
