Up for Adoption

Good Times

The day had finally arrived; after everything we had done for the past couple of weeks, all of our hard work was about to pay off. Or so we hoped. The day of the fundraiser had finally come and I had never felt so anxious or excited in my life. I could barely eat breakfast that morning and Austin shot me a look of concern as I threw almost half my oatmeal down the garbage disposal.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked me. "I would hate for you to faint in the middle of the fundraiser today."

"I'm fine," I lied.

Austin walked over and patted my shoulder. "It's going to be alright," he said. "Just remember, no matter what happens, I'm really proud of how far you have come this summer."

Hearing those words would have made me happy if not for the anxiety coursing through me like a tidal wave. I wanted to believe that everything would be all right, like Austin said, but there was too much riding on the fundraiser and there was a lot to lose if it failed. And I didn't just mean the dogs but my friends, Gina, Olivia, Brady, Tom, even Bree. The shelter was the place where I had met all of them and became  who I was today. And even though I had only started volunteering to prove something to my brother, I had discovered something about myself that I probably never would have known. Who would I become if that all went away? Austin said I had come far this summer, but was it possible to go back? Would the new me disappear alongside the shelter?

"You'll be okay," Austin said as if he were reading my mind. "Just remember, it's just a place. And it's the people there who make a difference, it's them who matter. And you'll still see Gina, Brady, and Olivia, I guarantee that. And part of the shelter will be with you, too."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

He smiled and winked at me. "You'll find out soon enough."

When we arrived at the park, I was elated to see how many vendors there were and that more than a few people had already shown up. Even if though it was less crowded than I thought it would be, the fundraiser seemed to be off to a good start as the people stopped and stared at the dogs wandering around in their built-in pens in the middle of the park, smiling and wagging their tails at their potential adopters. Austin and I walked around the park looking for Gina and the shelter's tent and marveled at the other vendor's tents that held handmade jewelry, fresh fruit, clothes, hot dogs, ice cream, pottery, and much more. We were just finished looking at a jam vendor when I looked up and saw Gina waving at us as she stood outside a blue tent right next to the dog pens.

"There you guys are," she said. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

"We were just admiring the scenery," Austin said. "It's quite a sight."
"It is turning out better than I hoped," Gina smiled. "I think the odds just might be in our favor."

"Hey, Kendall!" I turned and saw Brady running toward me with a big smile on his face and Olivia flanking him. Her smile grew wider as she ran forward and wrapped her arms around me, holding me so tight that I could have sworn I heard one of my ribs crack. She stepped back as Brady came forward to peck me on the cheek and then stepped back with a sheepish grin when he saw Austin raising an eyebrow at him.

"Is there something I should know?" My brother asked me.

I just shrugged and giggled as Brady shuffled uncomfortably under Austin's harsh gaze.

"Is there something I should know as well, Brady?" Brady blushed and turned as his mother walked toward him with his hands on her hips.

"Mom, I...well...," Brady turned to me for help but I wasn't sure what to say either. I was pretty sure neither one of us knew where we stood but at the very least, we were more than just friends.