Mimi's Daddy Ch. 04: Tiny's Opinion

The day had been crazy, and Mimi had only one thing left to do before she went home. Check their socials. When she pulled up their business account to check for any new messages that might need immediate attention, the numbers stunned her. It wasn't possible. There had been seventy-four comments since she'd last checked. Carl and Jen had already gone home. With a sigh, she began scrolling through and responding to people. She'd promised Jen she wouldn't leave all the social media stuff to her.

The front door rattled and startled Mimi out of her bubble. Carol stood outside on the welcome mat with her arms full of dog. Mimi got up and went to unlock the door.

"You're here late," Carol said as she shouldered her way past her. Toe tip to hip, Lucky's cast covered her entire leg. Her head lolled on Carol's arm and her tongue flopped out of her mouth.

"I lost track of time." Mimi gave the dog's head a gentle pet. "Poor thing."

"She is still pretty high."

"Carl set up a recovery spot for her in the back room, away from all the noise. I'll show you where. But there is one complication." Carl was a wiz and made spaces puppy-proof, even for the escape artists, but they'd had an unusual problem turn up.

"She can be with the puppies starting now, but let's limit her movement for a day or two." As the vet carried her down the hall, Lucky's slumping tail wagged.

Mimi opened the door for them. The puppies were waiting in a portable kennel large enough to hold them all. "The puppies have a volunteer guardian." She pointed to Tiny, who was watching them warily from the edge of the room, seated on a fluffy bed Carl had placed there for her. "Before Jen left for the day when she was gathering up the babies from their spot behind the desk, that stubborn creature refused to be left behind." Mimi crouched down and opened the crate. Careful not to wake the sleeping puppies, she moved them to the side to make way for Mom. With gentleness, the vet placed Lucky next to the pile of wiggling puppies. Even drunk on pain medicine, the momma dog sniffed and licked each puppy. Watching from the corner of the room, Tiny held still on her small dog bed, but she didn't cower.

Carol closed the Kennel door and looked over at the alert and wary guardian dog. "She looks a lot better than the last time I saw her." She bent forward and looked in at momma and puppies. "Has she decided she has a reason to live?"

"I'd call it more of a mission. Do you think it's safe to let Tiny stay in the room with them?"

"Sure, just set down some pee pads to see how Tiny does in this large space. Have you gotten her to go outside to walk yet?"

"No. We wear gloves when we carry her out so we don't get bitten. She panics when she leaves the ground."

"Carry a puppy next time you try and keep the leash loose. She might walk that way."

"I'll try it. Her family said she was housebroken."

For Tiny, they left water and food outside of the cage that held the mother and pups. Once the chihuahua was sure that the people had left the room, the little dog tiptoed closer. She settled herself protectively against the front of the kennel. With her back pressed against the bars, a puppy waddled over to lie close to her on the other side, and Lucky didn't complain at all.

"That looks promising." The vet bumped Mimi with her elbow as they watched through the room's window. "Maybe Tiny is going to be alright."

***

Early morning coffees in hand, Mimi and Carl sat together in their excuse for a kitchen/break room at the rescue. Carl sighed. "I sure wish I had one of those cupcakes."

Mimi licked her lips at the thought of it. "Do you think they put crack in the batter?"

With a snort, Carl said, "From how much I've been thinking about them as I drink this horror that you call coffee, it's likely." His knobby fingers cradled his cup.

"I wonder where he got them? He told me the name of the place, but I don't remember it now. We could look it up. He said they were close by."

"Or you could call him and find out how we can get some."

"I don't want to do that." Mimi added another packet of sugar to the bitter coffee in her cup. Next week, she would not buy the very cheapest kind. Carl was right. The stuff was awful.

"Text him."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"What if he confuses me, wanting another cupcake as interest in him?"

Carl smirked, and she escaped the room rather than linger longer while her friend was in matchmaker mode.

She had Adam's card tucked in her wallet. Pondering her options, she pulled her cell phone out as she left the break room. She had a missed call from an unfamiliar number. Mimi paused in the hall to listen to the message. Her siblings weren't allowed phones, so sometimes they borrowed their friend's to send her texts or leave messages. It wasn't uncommon and usually, they were just telling her regular things or asking her how to make stuff. Emergencies were rare, but sometimes they needed her.

Adam's voice in her ear startled her. How did he have her number? She remembered in a flash giving it to Marge. "Crap." She started the message over.

"Hey Mimi, I'm not complaining. The calls we are getting are great, but can you guys give me a heads up when you are going to post a picture of me?" A picture? "I think labeling you the Cutie Cupcake was accurate though. The check will be here tomorrow. Can we do the big check picture around five?"

Mimi yelled, "Jen," so loud that Carl poked his head out of the door.

Carl poked his head into the hall. "Everything okay?"

Without answering, Mimi pulled up their social media. On top and trending was a picture of her and Adam. He was handing her a cupcake, and she was smiling up at him like a baby dear. The label read, "Hotty Hero brings Cutie cupcake baked goods. Could this be the start of our very own hallmark movie?" With a growl, Mimi shoved her phone into her pocket. Carl watched her, concerned. She waved her hand and said. "It's nothing. I'm just going to kill Jen."

"Oh, so a regular Wednesday."

She yelled Jen's name again as she started her search. The woman was smart to hide. Because she was hiding in the supply closet, her usual place, Mimi found Jen within five minutes. She banged on the door and rattled the knob.

Through the locked door, Jen said, "I feel no guilt. You will get no apologies from me. Even if you are too stubborn to acknowledge the sparks between the two of you, the attraction is obvious. Did you even look at the picture?"

Hands on her hips, Mimi said, "I look like a besotted moose. Open this door."

"Not until you promise you won't kill me. For the record, I wouldn't have used the image if you didn't look adorable."

"I won't kill you. Maim you, maybe." Mimi rattled the knob again. "He left a message on my phone. He wants a warning before we post any pictures of him. What if he had a girlfriend, Jen?"

"Would he have asked to buy you a piece of cake if he had a girlfriend?"

"I suppose not. He said Cutie Cupcake was a good description of me. But that is beside the point."

The supply closet door cracked open. "He said that? How is the post trending?"

The light from Jen's phone lit their faces. She turned the count number towards Mimi. "Booyah." With a triumphant smile, she said, "Think of it as a way to benefit our animals." Jen looked like she was thinking, and that made Mimi nervous. "People are invested in this story."

Mimi said, "What is that look? This romance you are hinting at is not real. I just met this man."

"Do you think we could get him to do a fake date photo?"

"I already said no to an actual date."

"A fake date could help both of our businesses. The picture of you two is over performing the 'Boy Scout and Beefcake' one."

"I don't want any part of this. It's all fake and an illusion." Mimi spun on her heels and headed toward the outside kennels, with Jen following behind her.

Persistent, the woman kept trying. "What about drinks? I could take a picture of that quickly. It would be nothing."

"We have cages to clean."

Jen snorted. "Mimi, we have cages we need to replace. With more money, we could bring this place up to date. Think of how it would benefit the animals and the community."

"That's not fair, Jen."

"I'm beginning to think you don't like men."

"I like them. I love my brothers. I adore my dad. Carl is an outstanding person."

Jen gripped Mimi's arm and turned her toward her. "That's not what I'm talking about."

Mimi pulled her arm free and snatched her apron off its hook. "I don't know how to date. Wade was the only guy who ever courted me, and our dates were supervised."

Jen leaned back. "You were never alone with him before you got married? No stolen kisses behind the barn? No white-hot make-out sessions in the movie theater?"

"We went on church dates, mostly." Mimi tugged Jen toward the wall where they kept their wet boots. Stepping out of her pumps, she reached for the protective footwear.

"And he was the ONLY boy you ever dated?" Giving in, Jen toed off her sneakers.

Mimi shrugged and put on her waterproof apron. "Yeah. I mean, our families were friends, and we were always together. We got along. Everybody said it was God's plan."

"I knew you didn't use dating apps, and that your divorce had left you sad. But I didn't know Wade was your only boyfriend. You are almost a virgin."

"I was married for two years. I am definitely not a virgin. Now, put on some boots."

"Who will answer the phones?"

"Carl, or it will go to the answering service. I called them earlier and let them know what was happening. They can now give basic updates about Lucky and encourage people toward our fundraising funnel."

"When did you do that?"

"An hour ago."

"That was smart."

Mimi handed her a broom.

***

Standing outside in the freshly cleaned back run, Mimi took four deep breaths. Jen had gone inside to bring a few dogs out for some fresh air. It meant nothing if she called the man. If she wanted to be a thoughtful boss, she had to call Adam because Carl wanted cupcakes. She punched in his number. Jen was going to appear any minute. If it rang four times, she would hang up.

"Hello." Adam's voice was warm as caramel.

"It's Mimi. The lady from the rescue." There was no reason to panic. Why was her heart racing? Was she coming down with something? "The cupcake."

"I know who you are. Is Lucky okay?"

"She is fine." Mimi's brain blanked and there was an awkward pause.

"And you are okay?"

"Cupcakes." She said it too loud and winced.

"Did you like them?"

"Carl wants to know where we can get more. So I called you. I didn't mean to bother you, but Carl works hard and if he wants a cupcake, then I think he deserves a cupcake..."

"Breathe." His voice was calm and gentle. She took a breath and tried to stop babbling. He said, "You can find them at June's Coffee. I mentioned it the other day."

"Thank you." She clicked the red button on her phone before she had thought things through and hung up on him. Smacking her forehead with her phone, she groaned. She wasn't fifteen. Why was she acting like this?

Her phone pinged. Adam had texted her a link to the Coffee shop and their address.

Still smiling down at her phone, she jumped guiltily when Jen came rolling out the door with two dogs. Mimi said, "Here, let me help you. Do you know which dogs you want to bring out next?"