It turned out that this particular existence was quite easy to slip into.
Sleep was good in this life, and she didnโt wake up until the alarm went o๏ฌย at a quarter to eight. She drove to work in a tatty old Hyundai that smelled of dogs and biscuits and was decorated with crumbs, passing the hospital and the sports centre, and pulling up in the small car park outside the modern, grey-bricked, single-storey rescue centre.
She spent the morning feeding and walking the dogs.ย ๎ขe reason it was quite easy to blend into this life was at least partly because she had been greeted by an a๏ฌable, down-to-earth woman with brown curly hair and a Yorkshire accent.ย ๎ขe woman, Pauline, said Nora was to start work in the dog shelter, rather than the cat shelter, and so Nora had a legitimate excuse to ask what to do and look confused. Also, the issue of knowing peopleโs names was solved by the fact that all the workers had name badges.
Nora had walked a bullmasti๏ฌ, a new arrival, around the ๏ฌeld behind the shelter. Pauline told her that the bullmasti๏ฌย had been horribly treated by its owner. She pointed out a few small round scars.
โCigarette burns.โ
Nora wanted to live in a world where no cruelty existed, but the only worlds she had available to her were worlds with humans in them.ย ๎ขe bullmasti๏ฌย was called Sally. She was scared of everything. Her shadow. Bushes. Other dogs. Noraโs legs. Grass. Air.ย ๎ขough she clearly took a liking to Nora, and even succumbed to a (very quick) tummy rub.
Later, Nora helped clean out some of the little dog huts. She imagined they called them huts because it sounded better than cages, which was really a more apt name for them.ย ๎ขere was a three-legged Alsatian called Diesel,
who had been there a while apparently. When they played catch, Nora discovered his re๏ฌexes were good, his mouth catching the ball almost every time. She liked this life โ or more precisely, she liked the version of herself in this life. She could tell the kind of person she was from the way people spoke to her. It felt nice โ comforting, solidifying โ to be a good person.
Her mind felt di๏ฌerent here. She thought a lot in this life, but her thoughts were gentle.
โCompassion is the basis of morality,โ the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer had written, in one of his so๎er moments. Maybe it was the basis of life too.
๎ขere was one man who worked there called Dylan, who had a natural way with all the dogs. He was about her age, maybe younger. He had a kind, gentle, sad look about him. His long surf-dude hair golden as a retriever. He came and sat next to Nora on a bench at lunch, overlooking the ๏ฌeld.
โWhat are you having today?โ he asked, sweetly, nodding to Noraโs lunchbox.
She honestly didnโt know โ she had found it already prepared when sheโd opened her magnet- and calendar-cluttered fridge that morning. She peeled o๏ฌย the lid to ๏ฌnd a cheese and Marmite sandwich and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps.ย ๎ขe sky darkened and the wind picked up.
โOh crap,โ Nora said. โItโs going to rain.โ โMaybe, but the dogs are all still in their cages.โ โSorry?โ
โDogs can smell when rain is coming, so they o๎en head indoors if they think itโs going to happen. Isnโt that cool?ย ๎ขat they can predict the future with theirย nose?โ
โYes,โ said Nora. โWay cool.โ
Nora bit into her cheese sandwich. And then Dylan put his arm around her.
Nora jumped up. โโthe hell?โ she said.
Dylan looked deeply apologetic. And a little horri๏ฌed at himself. โIโm sorry. Did I hurt your shoulder?โ
โNo . . . I just . . . I . . . No. No. Itโs ๏ฌne.โ
She discovered that Dylan was her boyfriend and that he had gone to the same secondary school as her. Hazeldene Comp. And that he was two years
younger.
Nora could remember the day her dad died, when she was in the school library staring as a blond boy from a couple of years below ran past outside the rain-speckled window.ย Either chasing someone or being chased.ย ๎ขat had been him. She had vaguely liked him, from a distance, but without really knowing him or thinking about him at all.
โYou all right, Norster?โ Dylan asked.ย Norster?
โYeah. I was just . . . Yeah. Iโm ๏ฌne.โ
Nora sat down again but le๎ย a bit more bench between them.ย ๎ขere was nothing overtly wrong with Dylan. He was sweet. And she was sure that in this life she genuinely liked him. Maybe even loved him. But entering a life wasnโt the same as entering an emotion.
โBy the way, did you book Ginoโs?โ
Ginoโs.ย ๎ขe Italian. Nora had gone there as a teenager. She was surprised it was still going.
โWhat?โ
โGinoโs?ย ๎ขe pizza place? For tonight? You said you kind of know the manager there.โ
โMy dad used to, yeah.โ
โSo, did you manage to call?โ
โYes,โ she lied. โBut actually, it is fully booked.โ
โOn a weeknight? Weird.ย ๎ขatโs a shame. I love pizza. And pasta. And lasagne. Andโโ
โRight,โ said Nora. โYes. I get it. I completely get it. I know it was strange.
But they had a couple of big bookings.โ
Dylan already had his phone out. He was eager. โIโll try La Cantina. You know.ย ๎ขe Mexican. Tons of vegan options. I love a Mexican, donโt you?โ
Nora couldnโt think of a legitimate reason for her not to do this, aside from Dylanโs not-entirely-riveting conversation, and compared to the sandwich she was currently eating and the state of the rest of her fridge, Mexican food sounded promising.
So, Dylan booked them a table. And they carried on talking as dogs barked in the building behind them. It emerged during the conversation that they were thinking of moving in together.
โWe could watchย Last Chance Saloon,โ he said.
She wasnโt really listening. โWhatโs that?โ
He was shy, she realised. Bad with eye contact. Quite endearing. โYou know, that Ryan Bailey ๏ฌlm you wanted to watch. We saw the trailer for it. You said itโs meant to be funny and I did some research and it has an eighty-six per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and itโs on Net๏ฌix so . . .โ
She wondered if Dylan would believe her if she told him that in one life she was a lead singer of an internationally successful pop-rock band and global icon who had actually dated and voluntarilyย broken up withย Ryan Bailey.
โSounds good,โ she said, as she stared at an empty crisp packet ๏ฌoating across the sparse grass.
Dylan rushed o๏ฌย the bench to grab the packet and dropped it into the bin next to the bench.
He ๏ฌopped back to Nora, smiling. Nora understood what this other Nora saw in him.ย ๎ขere was something pure about him. Like a dog himself.
