Pushing Up Daisies by Shannon Esposito

Author:Shannon Esposito [Esposito, Shannon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: misterio press
Published: 2019-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Hey, Darwin, come check out Goldie.” Mallory’s laughter reached me from the back of the boutique.

Closing the top of the glass case after refilling the rows of homemade treats, I checked the time. Ten minutes until opening. Anxiety churned my stomach. Today was going to be Charlie’s first time taking pet portraits at the boutique, so it was going to be a busy day. The best I could hope for was controlled chaos.

I rounded the end of the aisle where Charlie had set up a cloth backdrop, a portable softbox and her camera on a tripod. Goldie was sitting with a bright pink feather boa wrapped around her neck. Her mouth was stretched in a panting grin.

I crossed my arms and chuckled. “Looks like you have the perfect model there.”

Goldie lifted a paw. There was a click and burst of flash as Charlie captured the pose. “What a natural.”

“What a ham,” Mallory said. She put Petey down, which turned out to be a mistake.

Petey pounced onto the end of the feather boa. Yanking back with little puppy growls, he managed to slip it from Goldie’s neck. She happily grabbed a mouthful of feathers and joined in the game of tug.

“Oops, sorry. Should’ve seen that coming.” Mallory scooped Petey back up and got him to release the boa. She pulled a few pink feathers from his mouth. “Not in your diet, little man.”

I retrieved the damp boa from Goldie and draped it across the box of hats, bowties and other cute accessories. “Can we help with anything else?”

Charlie grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Nope. I think I’m ready.”

I turned to Mallory. “The appointments are booked every fifteen minutes, with a forty-five-minute break for lunch. Your job is going to be to keep things moving as quickly and smoothly as humanly possible.”

Her green eyes twinkled. “Humanly possible?”

I shot her a disapproving look.

She rolled her eyes and patted her thigh with her free hand. “Come on, Goldie. One last trip outside before the craziness begins.”

And craziness it was. The first two appointments were waiting outside the door when we opened. After that, the boutique filled with a steady flow of pets and their owners. Luckily, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Since it was a lot of locals, the women ended up hanging around for a bit after their pet portraits were taken, which meant they also shopped while chatting.

I handed Jeanie her receipt. “Here you go. Snookie’s portrait will be ready for pickup next Friday.”

Will came through the door and navigated his way around the crowd. He waved when he found an open spot to stand in front of our pet adoption bulletin board.

I held up my index finger and mouthed, “One sec.”

Jeanie lifted her mini Schnauzer’s paw and waved it at me. “We’ll see you Friday then.”

I slipped around the counter and over to Will. He held up a brown bag. “I brought lunch, but it doesn’t look like a good time.”

“Pet portrait day.” I glanced at the clock and pressed a hand to my gurgling stomach.

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