Who: Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan What: Mary Margaret Goes to Get Info on Dogs and Meets Prince Charming David When: Backdated: Friday, April 4th. Afternoon Where: Orange County SPCA Rating: Family Friendly Status: Complete
Mary Margaret needed to do something to de-stress. She knew she did, but she couldn’t just leave just anyone in charge of the shelter while she took time off. She needed to figure out who would be the most responsible as well as start to look for someone to help her out when she was there. Of course all of that was bound to make her even more stressed and she was beginning to think about looking up that one girl who had responded to her post about being a masseuse. She could probably go for a massage before she became so tense that she just snapped.
For now though, she was on her way to the local SPCA, because she’d heard that pets were also a good form a destressing and while she probably didn’t have the time now to actually adopt a cat or dog, she didn’t see the harm in looking now and getting information. Reaching the shelter, she parked her car and headed inside, unsure of exactly what she was supposed to do once she reached the front desk.
Mary Margaret had been on and off David's mind for a few days since he saw her post on the network. It was a bit ridiculous, he thought, being so nervous at the prospect of her being so close. It wasn't like he needed to live up to the fairytale ideal, right? Right.
He was in the back when he heard someone come in. Finishing feeding the dogs quickly, he washed his hands and headed to the front, stopping in the doorway.
"Sn--" David cleared his throat. "Uh. Hi. I hope you weren't waiting long?"
No one had been at the front counter when she’d come in, but she’d figured whoever was supposed to be there had another job to do as well. Not wanting to pull them away from it, she decided to look over the various posters and what not on the walls until they came back, which was what she was doing when she heard the man’s voice behind her.
“Oh. Hi. No, it’s fine.” She smiled at him as she approached the counter, “Um, my name’s Mary Margaret Blanchard and I’m thinking of maybe adopting a cat or a dog and I was wondering if there was any information or….I don’t know….anything you can tell me before I make the decision.”
David smiled in return, hoping he didn’t look foolish or anything. It was a completely insane feeling, her standing there in front of him. He came back down to earth and cleared his throat, and headed over to the desk.
“Uh, well. A lot of it depends on your lifestyle. If you’re busy, maybe a dog might be a bit of extra work, you know?”
Mary Margaret nodded as she listened, “I am kind of busy, but I’ve been told that I should take some time off.” She had figured that she’d need more time off if she were to get a dog, “Everyone tells me I should cut back and take some time for myself.” “A dog could be a good excuse to do that,” he said. Somehow he wasn’t surprised that she was a busy person. It suited her, or at least, what he knew of her. David busied himself with some useless papers to keep from blushing a little. “Were you thinking of a dog on the smaller end of the scale?”
“Oh, um...well, I hadn’t really thought about it, but a small dog would probably a better. I don’t think I’d do too well with a big dog.” Mary Margaret watched him as he messed with a few papers and it didn’t escape her notice that he was quite good looking. Of course, she would never tell someone she’d just met that she thought they were good looking. That could just lead to disaster. “My apartment is kind of a loft. Open floorplan. So, I’m thinking that a smaller dog would be better for the space.”
He glanced up and smiled at her, a bit shyly, and stopped himself from mentioning how he always figured she’d be a cat person. It was probably not the sort of thing you said to a person you didn’t know. “That sounds reasonable. Uh, here.” Eventually David did find a useful paper, some tips and information for first time dog owners. “That should help with your decision. And if you want to come have a look at some of the dogs we have, you’re more than welcome to. You don’t need to make a commitment or anything, of course.”
“Thank you.” Mary Margaret said, taking the papers that he handed her, “I’d love to come back and see them soon. I’ll see when the next time I can get away is.” She had worried that whoever she spoke to at the SPCA would tell her that a dog wouldn’t be right for her and not try and give her any information or suggestions. “Have you been working here long?” She was curious as to how long he’d been doing this considering how nice and helpful he was.
“Well, I’m always here,” he said. And he’d likely take extra shifts to just make sure he’d be here when she came back. “I’ve been here since September, since I moved here.” A pause. “I’m, uh, David by the way.”
She wanted to ask him where he’d moved from and why, but thought that might be getting a little personal when they’d only just met. Instead, she simply gave him a small smile, “Thank you, David. I’ll come by again soon.” Not too soon of course. She didn’t want to seem desperate or anything.
“It’s no problem. Any time.” He wished, for a moment, there was something he could say to make her stay a bit longer. “I’ll be here, I’m sure. If you have any questions, just call.” David gave her a bit of a wave before, almost reluctantly, returning to his work.