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Eliza filled two glasses with the sparkling wine, handed one to Mary, then raised her glass in a toast. "Merry Christmas, BFF."
"Merry Christmas. I hope you and John have a fabulous time in Hawaii."
"How can we not? Ten days of sun and sand, just the two of us, totally unplugged? It'll be heaven."
"The unplugged part sounds like heaven," Mary agreed.
"You're such a traditionalist, Mary."
"And unapologetic about it. For me, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the trappings. I want family around me, bubble lights on the tree, and carols on the sound system. I want cookies to decorate and big fluffy bows on gifts. I want midnight mass and hot apple cider and 'It's a Wonderful Life' and sleigh rides. And I want snow!"
Eliza clinked her glass with Mary's. "And this is the difference between a girl born and raised in south Texas and one who grew up in the Rocky Mountains. So, when are you planning to leave for Colorado?"
"With any luck, first thing tomorrow morning." Mary sipped her champagne, then set it down. She checked the finishing touch on the scrapbook with her fingertip. The miniature fishing creel placed at the corner of a twenty-year-old photo of her father fishing with his three children in Rocky Mountain National Park was nice and dry. It was safe to close the book. Mary needed to wrap it and the two hardcover novels containing the handmade gift IOU's she was giving her brother and sister before she headed home. Her sibs understood her busy season and would be happy with better-late-than-never, thank goodness.
"In other good news, I finally found a dog sitter for Angel. Jason Elliott told me tonight he'd take her. He just needs to clear it with his roommate. He said he'd call me tonight if there was a problem, and my phone hasn't rung."
On cue, Mary's cell phone rang.
It lay pushed to the side of her desk in its seasonal decorative Santa case. Her ring tone of choice for December was "White Christmas," and for the first time in Mary's life, the sound of Bing Crosby's voice didn't make her happy. She closed her eyes and whimpered a little as she reached to answer. "Hello?"
Two and a half minutes later, she disconnected the call, buried her head in her hands, and groaned.
Eliza set a champagne flute in front of her. "No room at Jason's inn, either, I take it?"
"No. Jason was my last hope. There's no other option. I've called every vet, every boarding facility, pet hotel, and pet sitter within fifty miles. Everything is full and has a waitlist. Nobody is offering me any hope that Angel will find a bed for Christmas."
Eliza winced. She took a sip of her drink and then pursed her lips and pondered a moment. "You asked Sarah?"
"Yes. And Linda, April, José, Kiley, Kenisha, Sam, Father Tom, Reverend Jenkins, Officer Larimer…"
"The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker?"
"Them, too."
"I'm sorry, sweets. You'd know I'd help if John and I weren't leaving for Hawaii tomorrow. I suppose it wouldn't be kind of me to say I told you so when you said yes to Wags and Walks?"
Mary chastised her partner with a look.
Eliza lifted her champagne in a toast. "Honey, you know I love dogs as much as anybody, and I think the work you do for Wags and Walks Rescue qualifies you for sainthood. But that dog…"
"She's an angel," Mary defended. "She's aptly named."
"Unfortunately, people aren't any different about choosing their pets than they are about choosing their partners. I’m afraid you might be stuck with that dog for a long time. Appearance matters. Note that you didn't choose to name her "Beauty" when the other volunteer pulled her from the pound and then dumped her on you at the last minute."
Mary brought her chin up. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Angel's forever family will see past her…challenges…to her sweet personality. I simply haven't had time to find them. Besides, it's not like I didn't know that I was taking on a special case when I let Rhonda Blankenship leave her with me."
"I know. I know. But I also witnessed your call to the rescue director. I heard her swear on her mother's grave that she would find a dog sitter over Christmas if you agreed to step in for Rhonda and take the new dog."
Mary shrugged. "Things happen."
"Right. And women elope and bail on commitments at the last minute all the time. So where did Rhonda and her new husband move to again?"
"Yap. It's an island in the South Pacific. It's supposed to be beautiful."
Eliza rolled her eyes and drawled, "I hope they'll be very happy. So that's it, then? You have no choice but to take that poor, pitiful, diarrhetic dog with you on a fourteen-hour car trip, then foist her off on your parents for two weeks? They're going to love that."
"They won't mind. Much. They're both dog lovers, although Mom does prefer little dogs."
