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“What breed is that?”
Blinking away the memories, I shove them to the back of my mind. Lifting my chin a notch, I give him my meanest stare. “I wouldn’t know. In case you forgot, I can’t see. Besides, not everything is about the way people, or dogs in this case, look. It’s about who they are inside. Just because it doesn’t look perfect doesn’t mean it’s broken.”
My breathing is heavy once I finish my rant, the words ringing in the silent room. Even the dogs know something is happening, so they’re quiet too.
“Birdy…” Sebastian’s fingers curl around my shoulders, and my eyes fall shut as I try my best to resist the tug I feel every time he touches me.
Do not give in.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I let out a long breath, trying to calm myself before speaking. “I know you’re used to living in your big, shiny, perfect world, but this is real life, Sebastian. Not everything is perfect, and that’s fine. It doesn’t mean that those people and those things matter less.”
I clutch the dog closer to me as I move away, that familiar burning making my eyes sting.
Damn, I hate this.
I shouldn’t get so upset by it. I’ve been on the receiving end of hateful words; too many times in the past that I lost count. I thought I was stronger, that I was over it, but just a few words and it felt like I was that twelve-year-old girl again.
I wrap my fingers around my wrist, feeling the uneven skin as the leather bracelet slides down. I drop my hand instinctively, my fingers curling into a fist by my side and the short nails digging into my skin.
Dropping on the floor, I place the dog in front of me before grabbing the brush and running it through the fur. The even motions calm me like nothing else does.
Sebastian’s footsteps move closer until he halts in front of me, and my whole body tenses at his nearness. “Birdy,” his raspy voice makes goosebumps appear on my skin. He must have crouched down because his voice sounds closer. “I’m sorry. Sometimes my mouth is faster than my head.”
He sounds genuinely apologetic, and I feel the defensiveness seep out of me.
“Well, maybe you should stop and think about what you’re saying before voicing it out loud. You, better than most, should know the power that words can have.”
“You’re right. I really am sorry.”
I lift the dog so it’s at my face level. “I’m not the one you should say you’re sorry to.”
“Seriously?” The skepticism in his voice is obvious, but I’m not about to back down. “Fine.” He lets out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. You’re not ugly. Just…” There is a beat of silence as he contemplates his next words carefully. “Unique, I guess?”
For a while, the dog is still, but then it starts to wiggle once again, and Sebastian lets out a huff of laughter.
“Don’t you dare lick me,” Sebastian says sternly, but the dog doesn’t seem to care because it launches at him, letting out soft noises as it does exactly that. “I told you…”
Whatever he planned to say was swallowed by the enthusiastic puppy.
“At least this dog seems to like you.” Just then, Henry brushes against me, asking for attention. “A shocker, really.”
“I think Henry likes me better now that this rugrat is out of your hands.”
I rub his belly. “He’s possessive. I guess it’s not strange since we’ve been partners for a decade now, but he’ll eventually have to learn how to share.”
Just voicing it out loud causes a knot to form in my throat, making it hard to breathe. In the last few years, I’ve grown pretty antsy about Henry and the fact that he’s getting up in his age and will most likely not be able to be my guide dog for much longer. I couldn’t imagine myself just letting go of him, and I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to the new guide dog because, despite all his good manners, Henry was pretty possessive of me.
“A decade? Wow, that’s a long time.”
“It is, so I guess he has a right to beslightlyterritorial. But the fact is, sooner rather than later, he’ll be too old to work, and I’ll need to get a new guide dog.”
As if he understands what I’m talking about, Henry lowers his head and nuzzles my neck.
“What will happen with him when you do?”
I softly giggle when Henry licks me, and I gently push him away so he can’t tickle me. “There are different options for retired guide dogs. Some dogs retire with the handler or the handler’s family. Some find another lovely home where they can spend the rest of their lives as just regular dogs. It really depends on a case-by-case scenario.”
