Jess shook her head. “I’m afraid not. He doesn’t have a microchip, and judging by his coat and body condition, he’s been on the streets for a long time. Maybe his whole life.”
“Poor guy.” Val rubbed the back of her neck. “He’s gonna be okay though, right?”
“I think so.” Jess smoothed the dog’s ears. “He’s going to stay with us for a few days, so you can go home. I’ll walk you out.”
Val shuffled to the waiting room and fumbled for the money clip in her pocket. “I’ll pay his bill.”
“Are you sure?” Jess asked. “I can talk to the local animal shelter about that.”
Val shook her head. “I hit him. I’ll pay for him.”
“Thanks, Val. That’ll really help.” Jess went behind the counter and pulled out a card machine.
Val tapped her card and slowly left the veterinary clinic. Her heart felt like a cannonball in her chest.
Val couldn’t believe it was past midnight when she finally drove into the garage at home. She stumbled out of Genevieve, toting a paper bag of takeout, and plodded up the stairs to the apartment. The promising greasy scent made her stomach rumble.
“Should probably eat less takeout,” she muttered. Maybe she’d have time to cook someday, faeries, dogs, and murderous breweries notwithstanding.
She thumped the door with her elbow. “Tetra! Dinner.”
“Finally!” The faerie opened the door.
“Don’t ‘finally’ me. This is your last free meal.” Val shoved past her and dumped the bag on the kitchenette counter. “You’ve got a job now. You can order your own tacos after tomorrow’s paycheck.”
Tetra pulled the taco box from the bag and ravenously bit into one. “How?” she asked with her mouth full. “I don’t have one of those.” She pointed at the outline of Val’s phone in her pocket.
“We’ll get you one after you get your paycheck. Enzo tells me your shift went fine.” Val folded her arms.
“I wouldn’t say ‘fine,’ considering I spent the whole evening carrying drinks for ungrateful drunk people,” Tetra grumbled.
“That’s what bar staff does, girl. Get used to it.” Val turned to the door. “Enzo will pick you up for your shift tomorrow.”
“You’re guarding those dwarves who make the beer?” Tetra asked.
“No. They’re staying home tomorrow since it’s Saturday. I have...plans.” Val stepped over the threshold.
“Val, wait,” Tetra called.
Val paused. The faerie had never used her name. “What?”
Tetra replaced the half-eaten taco in its box. “Can you show me how to use this thing?” She waved the TV’s remote. “If I’m going to be stuck here all day tomorrow, I might as well be entertained.”
Val bristled. “I told you. Figure it out.”
“How?” Tetra demanded. “It’s a stick with numbers on it! How does it make sense? I don’t know what any of this shit means!”
“How hard can it be?” Val barked. “You can press play, pause, and stop, can’t you?”
“I don’t know what those are!” Tetra yelled.
Her shout reverberated through the room with an edge that didn’t sound like anger. Tetra fell silent, clutching the remote, and her defiant mask slipped long enough that Val realized how small she looked standing in the apartment all alone.
She sighed. “Fine. Come on. I’ll show you.”
The faerie handed her the remote and perched on one armrest as Val flopped down on the couch.
“This red button is the power button,” Val explained. “The circle with the line through it is a universal symbol for on and off.”
Tetra wrapped her arms around her knees. “Okay.”
Val hit the button. “There. See?” A news anchor stared seriously from the screen, talking about financial crap Val didn’t understand.
Tetra nodded. “How do I make it make sounds?”
“You’ve got it on mute. That’s this button. Here’s the volume.” Val demonstrated. “What do you want to watch?”
Tetra blinked. “There’s more than one thing?”
“I should hope so, given the amount of money I spend on streaming services every month,” Val grumbled.
Tetra stared blankly.
“I’ll explain later. Here. Press this.” Val hit a button showing the logo of a streaming company, and it popped up on the screen. “Now you can choose whatever you want.”
Tetra regarded the scrolling icons with disgust. “They’re all humans.”
