Curvy Girls Can’t Date Best Friends by Kelsie Stelting

Twenty-Seven

Callie

When I woke in the morning and checked my phone, my eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

Hundreds of people had commented on my new relationship status, saying they loved Callon as a couple, that they’d been expecting this for years, and cheering Carson on for “finally” making it out of the friend zone.

That last one rubbed me the wrong way for so many reasons. First of all, Carson was a catch. Just a year ago, I’d been hoping he’d even consider dating a girl like me. And now that I was trying to be satisfied with our platonic relationship, everyone acted like there was something wrong with me? Why didn’t anyone think it was possible for a girl and guy to just be friends? If Carson and I were happy with our friendship, why couldn’t everyone else be?

I locked my phone screen and got out of bed, dreading yet another day at work with Merritt Alexander. After getting dressed, I padded downstairs and went to the kitchen, pouring myself a bowl of cereal.

Mom was on the phone, talking about plans for a cookie bake-off benefiting Invisible Mountains, the non-profit where Dad was the CEO. From what I overheard, the event sounded fun. They were even trying to get a celebrity chef to make an appearance.

Once she hung up, she set the phone on the counter, then came to sit with me at the table.

“How’s planning going?” I asked.

“Good, but I’m worried we won’t have enough contestants.”

“Carson and I can compete,” I offered. “And I bet I can get the girls to join in.”

She smiled. “You think so?”

I grinned, nodding. “Maybe we can even get some other kids from the Academy too.”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea, Cal!”

My heart warmed from the inside out. Helping people felt amazing—I loved feeling like I’d made a difference in someone’s day for the better. “Want me to put it out on my social?”

Nodding, she said, “That would be great. Let me get you a link to the sign-up page.”

She stood and went to her phone, typing in the information, and my phone went off with her message.

While she poured herself a cup of coffee and came to the table, I posted it online, hoping this would get Mom some more volunteers and maybe get people to move on from my relationship news.

“Are you okay?” Mom asked. “You seem a little off.”

I glanced up from my phone and tried to gauge her expression. I knew she was busy dealing with the fundraiser, but the idea of going to work with Merritt was weighing on me.

“Is it about Carson?” she asked. “That was some big news last night.”

Her question caught me off guard, but now I was more than curious to know what she had to say. “Were you surprised?”

“No.” She wrapped her hands around the coffee mug. “But then again, it is hard to see you as the young adults you are and not two kids digging in my flower beds for worms so you could catch some fish in the ocean.”

“We never caught anything,” I said, smiling at the memory.

“That’s not the point of fishing,” Mom said. “Your father could tell you that.”

I dipped my spoon through my bowl of cereal, letting the milk wash over each piece. “Merritt Alexander is working at the shelter.”

Mom’s eyes widened in realization. “It’s been a big couple of days for you then.”

I nodded. “I don’t want to have to deal with her. She already insulted Carson, and it’s a hundred percent clear she doesn’t want to be there. I almost want to quit and see if I can find something somewhere else so I don’t have to see her every day.”

“Hmm.” Mom thought for a moment, drumming her fingertips on the table. “Do you want to vent, or do you want advice?”

“Advice,” I said immediately. I could complain about Merritt until I was blue in the face, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

She nodded and took a cautious sip from her cup. “You know the right thing isn’t always the easy thing.”

I cringed but nodded.

“I have a feeling Merritt has been through a lot more in her life than she lets on. And you being a friend to her, showing her grace even though she doesn’t deserve it, well, it could change her life.”

“And if it doesn’t?” I asked. “What if she just makes my life miserable all summer?”

“That’s her decision. It shouldn’t keep you from doing what you love.”

The meaning behind her words stung deep. Mom had always been disappointed that I gave up sports, but sometimes I hated to think who I might have become if I kept playing. Would I have turned out to be just another Merritt? Another jock who felt superior because of what I could do on the court?

I glanced at the clock on the stove and realized time was in short supply. “I have to go, or I’ll be late.”

She patted my hand atop the table. “I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.”

Mom seemed more confident in me than I did. But I got up, grabbed my purse, and started out the door anyway. On my way to the car, I glanced up to Carson’s window on the side of his house. It was dark, just another reminder of how different things truly were.

As I approached Nature, I saw two kittens playing with each other in the windowsill of the cat room. The calico kitten tackled the small black kitten before the black kitten gained purchase and pushed back.

I smiled at them, and then a knock on the window jarred me. Merritt wore a frustrated look, along with a pair of yellow rubber glove. Lorelei was having her clean the windows in the cat room? Classic. I had to hide a smile—that job was a nightmare with the cats crawling all over you and thinking the rag waving through the air was a toy.

Although Merritt was dressed in what I assumed were designer clothes, she looked about as frazzled as I’d ever seen her. She waved her hand like she wanted me to come in and mouthed, Help!

Stifling a laugh, I nodded. I tried to keep my mom's words in the back of my mind. A month ago, I might not have been able to even dream of a flaw in Merritt’s absolutely perfect life. Now, I knew better. Her brother was still the talk of the news after a teenage girl turned him down for marriage, and their family was struggling financially. Maybe there was more I didn’t know.

As I entered the shelter, I didn't see Lorelei sitting at the front desk, which wasn't that big of a surprise since she was usually working with animals or out trying to gain funding. I hurried back to the kitten room and found Merritt covered in cats. Well, at least her feet were. Four of them circled her, a kitten crawled up one pant leg, and she looked absolutely horrified.

I giggled as I walked closer and began peeling them off of her. “Just keep doing your work,” I advised. “They'll get bored of you eventually.”

She rolled her eyes. “Is that before or after they maul me?”

I looked down at the kitten climbing her legs and picked him up. “This little guy? I think you’ll survive it.” I rubbed my nose on him. “You’re a big, scary kitty, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

She gave me a sardonic look and continued cleaning the windows.

For a second I watched her, struggling with what to say, and then finally, I set the kitten down and said, “Hey, Merritt?”

She continued scrubbing and let out an irritated, “What?”

“I, um...” I absently scratched at my arm. “I'm sorry about yesterday.”

Her hand froze on the windowpane. “It's okay,” she said slowly.

“It's not,” I said, “but I promise I won't do it again.”

She began rubbing her rag in a circular motion again. “Well, I probably shouldn't have insulted your boyfriend like that. Or said what I did at the diner.”

Merritt actually owning up to the fact that she did something wrong? This should be written in the history books, marked as the day everything turned upside down.

Still reeling from her almost apology, I said, “Okay, well, I'm going to go feed the dogs.”

She nodded.

And that was that. I went to the dog cages and immediately got Barbie out. She'd been in the shelter for about a year, and even though she was a sweetheart to people she knew well, most visitors could not get over the fact that she had a tough exterior or advanced medical needs. If she didn’t have to take daily insulin shots and have to be watched so closely, I would have brought her home to foster myself.

I held her in my chest as I continued doling out the right amount of food and water for each animal according to their dietary guidelines. I was happy to make sure that they had it and that they were in as good of shape as possible when they went to their new forever home.

When I was done making sure each of their dishes was full, I put Barbie back in her kennel and went to see where Lorelei was. I found her at the front desk now with Merritt, training her on the computer system. Roomba lay in a neatly trimmed pile at her feet. I smiled and went to him, scratching him behind the ears. “Looks like he'll make a lap dog yet.”

Lorelei smiled down at him. “I'm starting to become very fond of him. But I'm not sure he would like the other four dogs at my house, though.”

I shook my head. It was so crazy to me that Lorelei could have so many pets at her house. And she wasn't even mentioning the bird, turtle, mini pig and sugar gliders she owned. She was an animal lover through and through, and it was easy to see why. Sweet Roomba here, turning his big brown eyes up at me, was just one example.

Lorelei said, “Callie, any tips for Merritt before we start having people come in today?”

I tried to think about my encounters with potential adoptive families. “Becoming more comfortable with the animals is really important,” I offered. “If you act afraid, the families will be too.”

“That's a good point,” Lorelei said. “But Merritt’s not exactly an animal lover. Let's think about ways that she can contribute outside of positioning them or preparing them for adoption.”

That made more sense. “Honestly, the paperwork is something I'd love to hand off, but I don’t know how Merritt would feel about pushing paper all summer long.”

“That’s thoughtful,” Lorelei said with a proud smile. “Why don't we start out with Callie showing people around, and Merritt completing the paperwork process? That way she can get skills on the back end of things before going more hands-on with the animals.”

I nodded, simply because Lorelei was the boss. This shelter was Lorelei’s baby, and I trusted that she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it.

“I’m fine with whatever if I don’t have to see the cats again,” Merritt said, shuddering.

Soon, we got into the swing of people coming and going. There were plenty of parents looking for animals to keep their children busy during the summer. I loved seeing the smile in the parents’ eyes as they looked on at the animal and noticed it bonding with their child. Those are my favorite moments.

We had a few rough ones too, like when someone moved too quickly to pet Barbie without getting to know her first or when a Great Pyrenees got too friendly and sat on a little two-year-old. (The two-year-old was fine, but the parents were shaken.) By the end of the day, we had adopted out three animals, but we had also gotten two more in. One step forward, two steps back.

I walked to the front door and slid the lock shut so we could begin cleaning up for the day.

“This is so slow,” Merritt said, drumming her fingers along the countertop.

I shrugged. That was just the nature of this work. Most people didn't want to rescue a cat or dog; they wanted something that they could grow and shape into their own from a baby. As I walked past Merritt to feed the animals again, I said, “Good job today.”

She gave me a stifled smile and said, “Thank you.” It sounded like she meant it.