Starting Position

Chapter 14

Despite the small stature of a guinea pig, many animals in the shop fit the description. I then offered to show them around and to answer any questions they might have. Once given freedom, the boy nearly sprinted towards a shelf of gerbils, his little hands placed on the glass container as if magnetized.

About an hour later, the mother, son, and a slate grey chinchilla in the arms of the little boy, had departed the store. The mother, who had been easily persuaded into settling on an animal bigger than a guinea pig, offered me many thanks and swore to return should they need any pet supplies in the future. As the left, the little boy skipping happily next to his mother, I knew the chinchilla would be going to a good home, and that was a feeling I always relished.

The day was slow, as usual on Sunday, and I was sweeping the old wood floors, checking in on the animals as I did so, when I heard the bell chime again. I was so wrapped up in my own head, I had forgotten I was expecting Ben at some point today. So, when I went to the front entrance to see who had stepped inside, I again pushed the thought away as I saw it was a teenage girl with flowing blonde hair, rosy cheeks, and chocolate eyes, which were now locked on my own.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Hi," she said, and I noticed that her voice perfectly matched her disposition; sunny and sweet. She, too, looked familiar. I wondered if she had been at the pet adoption shop yesterday as well.

"Can I help you with anything?"

The girl's face lit up, her pink cheeks glowing brighter. "Yeah, I'm actually" – the girl broke off, suddenly distracted by something to her left – "are those ferrets?"

I traced her sightline to where many of the rodents resided. She was, indeed, focused on four ferrets that were snoozing happily tangled together like a furry pretzel.

"Yeah, three of them – the black ones – were brought here just recently. They were rescued. The other one has been here for a little bit longer. He welcomed them right in as you can see."

The girl was still ogling the ferrets aptly, obviously fascinated. As if in a trance, she started walking towards them, and then said in a quiet voice, "I love ferrets."

"They make good pets." I followed the girl. "They've all been rescued – every pet here has been, actually. We don't know exactly how old any of them are, but we can guess. The three that were brought in are around one, and the other guy, the dark brown one, is about two or three years old."

"My mom would kill me if I brought one home." The girl then glanced to me. "I'm actually here to bring home a dog, and I think a ferret might send her over the edge."

That should have been my clue; seconds later, the doorbell rang and in entered Ben, instantly spotting us hunched over by the sleeping ferrets. I stood up abruptly as a strange feeling washed over me; I was speaking to Ben's sister, and I instantly realized why she looked so familiar. She had been cheering at the track meet a few days ago with, presumably, her mother. A knotty feeling filled my chest. 

"Hi, Elliot. Looks like you met my sister," Ben said. He was wearing a pair of jeans and faded flannel, his feet clad in a pair of white sneakers. When my eyes ventured to his face, I noticed he was grinning easily at me, wisps of sandy hair shooting out beneath his baseball cap.

"Uh," was all I could say.

"Actually, we didn't really meet," his sister piped in, and I would forever be in her debt. "I'm Erin."

"Elliot," I croaked as the siblings stared at me. Needing to control myself, I shook my head, and manufactured a surge to jumpstart my vocabulary. "So, you're here for Rocket?"