Kristie shrugged. “Ruby comes first. Now and always.”
They watched for a few minutes as Ruby turned into a tongue-lolling, gently dried ball of contentment.
Genuine delight crossed Kristie’s face. “I’m really glad I came,” she said quietly. She glanced at Felicity. “Well, thanks for treating me like a normal human being. I’ve missed that. Although I bet it’s killing you at least a little not to do something to save me.”
“Thought never entered my head,” Felicity protested, lips quirking a little.
“Thought so.” Kristie’s eyes crinkled. “Look, just don’t take for granted what you have.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.” Her expression turned rueful. “But that’s okay. Everyone does. I did, too.” Kristie collected Ruby, thanked the groomer, shot Felicity a knowing look, then the pair wandered away.
Felicity was still thinking about Kristie when she finally noticed a big handmade sign in front of one of the tents that said: Free vet care! Come on in! Living Ruff New York.
Cooper was busy cleaning a small cut on the paw of on an enormous Doberman when Felicity found her. A white-haired, toothless woman with an infectious cackle sat in a chair beside her chatting away.
“And then Blunders ran off and brought back the shoe. I have no idea to this day whose shoe it was, but I just added it to the pile. She’s a real shoe thief. Wouldn’t mind if she stole something in my size, but she never does.” The woman threw back her head and laughed, a naughty guffaw she accompanied with a thigh slap against her thin, flowery dress and black leggings.
Felicity stood back for a while, watching the smooth, gentle way Cooper handled both animal and owner. She had such a likable energy, something Felicity had always lacked. In so many ways, Cooper was her complete opposite. She tried to think of one thing they had in common and gave up.
Eventually, Cooper spotted her and waved her closer. “Morning. Come in, Felicity. Blunders and I are all finished, aren’t we, girl?” She glanced back at the enormous brown dog and scratched under both ears.
Blunders wagged her stump of a tail in delight.
“Thank you, dear,” the elderly woman said as she led her dog outside the tent. “Blessings on you.”
On her way out, she passed a forty-something Black woman in a chic navy business suit who was striding in.
“Cooper!” she cried out, a smile washing her face.
The woman had a presence that Felicity instantly recognized. This was someone confident, used to having power, who wore it effortlessly.
“Deedra!” Cooper scrambled over to give her an engulfing hug. “It’s been months! How have you been?”
“Oh, keeping out of trouble for the most part. You know me.” Deedra smiled even wider, then caught sight of Felicity. “Hello,” she said, eyes lit with curiosity. “I suspect you’re not one of Dr. Cooper’s regulars.”
Excuse me? Felicity folded her arms. “I’m just here observing today. I’m hardly homeless.”
“Just teasing,” Deedra said. “I’ve yet to see anyone homeless wearing a fourteen-hundred-dollar coat…at least not a new one.” She laughed.
Cooper’s eyes went wide; she choked and turned to look at Felicity’s outfit. “Felicity? You wore a fourteen-hundred-dollar coat to a homeless open day?”
“I wear fourteen-hundred-collar coats wherever I like,” Felicity said defensively. “It gets cold.”
Why was Felicity’s face heating up now? It wasn’t a crime to appreciate quality clothing, was it? And this was the warmest coat she could find on short notice before she got to her faux furs. It just so happened to be her Joseph Cenda designer cashmere coat. And it was only twelve hundred dollars, thank you very much. Never let it be said that Felicity was incapable of bargain hunting.
“Whoa, whoa.” Deedra lifted her hands. “I’m sorry for starting something here. I promise, I was teasing. Please forgive me, Ms…?”
“Simmons.” Felicity shot a worried look at Cooper, wondering if the expensive coat had ruined the woman’s opinion of her.
Deedra’s eyes darted back and forth between them. “Wait, are you two…” She swished her finger at the two of them.
“Of course not!” Felicity said, far too fast and far too loud. She cringed inwardly.
“Well, that was decisive,” Deedra said impishly. “Your poor ego, Coop.”
“It certainly was.” Cooper’s eyes and voice were cool. “Nice to be appreciated. Anyway, Felicity Simmons, meet Councilor Deedra Randall. She and her team are working on some vital legislation for the New York City Council. If it passes, it will mean homeless people can’t be turned away from shelters or addiction programs if they have a pet. Not just government facilities, either. All of them. Public and private.”
Felicity’s head snapped up. So people like Kristie could get treated? “And will you get it passed?” she asked, leaning in.
“Through council, yes, I believe we have about sixty percent support there. It’s hard; there are vested interests. The private facilities, profits and nonprofits especially, are putting up a fight, arguing it’s too expensive to implement.”
“What’s the issue, then, if you have the votes to get it through council?” Felicity asked. “Is there some impediment after that?”
“Yes.” Deedra gave her a measuring look. “There is a nasty roadblock.”
“The mayor,” Cooper inserted. “He’s threatening to use his veto power when the legislation comes before him. He keeps talking about risk to staff and residents from dangerous dogs—being exposed to lawsuits and so on if one attacks. I met with Mayor Browning several times explaining how animals can be crated at night—explaining how roomy portable kennels are. You saw those crates yesterday—they’re comfortable even for big dogs. And I told the mayor that Living Ruff supplies them for free to anyone who needs one. He just kept talking right over the top of me about the cost, risks, lawsuits, and how hard it would be to do.”
Felicity’s eyes narrowed. She hated assholes like that. Oh, she’d faced down more than a few bombastic lawyers in her time who thought speaking louder overcame logical points. It was always most satisfying to beat that type. “He sounds charming.”
“You can see for yourself soon,” Deedra said. “He doesn’t want to look like too much of an asshole about the homeless issue and the fact he’ll singlehandedly be the one preventing them getting off the street. So he’ll be here today for a publicity stunt. Photos, media, waving at homeless people to show he’s not so bad. Probably cuddling a homeless person’s dog…after they’ve been through the free grooming, of course.”
“I can’t imagine anyone here will be pleased to see him.”
“No, but it’ll be about viewers at home saying, ‘Oh, well, I can see he’s looked at both sides.’” Deedra scowled. “It’s not both sides when one group stays homeless and the other just counts their money and says, ‘Sorry, can’t help.’”
Felicity’s eyes hardened. “Mayor Browning is up for re-election soon. That’s the reason for the publicity stunt today?”
