That morning, the air in City B was fairly chilly after heavy rain had poured down since before dawn. Inside Paw-sitive Care, the scent of peppermint cat shampoo mingled with the smell of wet earth. Wanda had just finished wiping the front display window, while Adi was busy counting the cat-litter stock in the back corner.
The shop's doorbell rang sharply, shattering the silence.
"Good morning, welcome to Paw-sitive Care..." Wanda greeted him warmly with her signature smile, without turning around as she straightened a row of cat collars.
"G'day... Good morning," a deep voice with a foreign accent replied from the doorway.
Wanda turned and was slightly startled. A tall foreign man stood in the doorway—probably in his early fifties. He wore a plain gray T-shirt, cargo shorts, and a slightly faded baseball cap. His distinctly Australian face looked warm beneath a thin, graying beard, but the worry in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Sorry to bother you... do you speak English?" the man asked, scratching the back of his neck even though it didn't itch.
Wanda nodded slowly, trying to recall the English vocabulary she'd learned back in college. "Yes, a little bit. How can I help you, sir?"
The man let out a relieved sigh, as if he'd just found a rescuer in the middle of the wilderness. "Oh, thank God. I'm Peter. I'm staying at a rented villa near the hill up there. There are three stray cats—a mother and two kittens—and they look starving. I need proper food and maybe some flea medication for them."
Adi, who had heard the foreign-language conversation, immediately poked his head out from behind the shelf and gave Wanda a questioning look. Wanda waved a hand to tell him to relax.
Wanda smiled reassuringly. Patiently, she led Peter to the shelf of nutritious food specially made for stray cats and kittens.
"For stray kittens, this wet food is better. It's easy to digest," Wanda explained slowly but clearly, demonstrating a scooping motion with her hand. "And for the mother, this high-protein dry food will give her energy."
Peter watched every one of Wanda's gestures and listened closely to her explanations. It wasn't only her knowledge of pet food that caught his attention, but also the calmness, warmth, and simplicity in the face of the woman standing before him. To Peter, Wanda radiated the loving peace of a mother—something he rarely encountered amid the hustle and bustle of his business life in Sydney.
"You are very kind and knowledgeable," Peter praised her sincerely, his eyes fixed on Wanda's brown eyes. "I've been in this city for a week just for a holiday, but I spent two days looking for the right pet store that actually cares about stray animals."
"It's my passion," Wanda replied humbly. "Animals deserve love too, just like humans."
While paying at the counter, Peter happened to notice the 4R photo Wanda had tucked beside the register—a picture of Wanda with Noni and Nana.
"Your daughters?" Peter asked, pointing at the photo.
"Yes. Noni and Nana. My whole life," Wanda replied, her proud sparkle impossible to hide.
Peter smiled warmly and nodded with deep respect. "You are a great mother. I can see that."
After Peter walked out carrying his shopping bag, Adi immediately jogged over to the checkout counter with a mischievous grin.
"Whoa, Ms. Wanda! Where'd that Aussie guy come from? He's handsome, too—tall and strong. He hasn't taken his eyes off you this whole time!" Adi teased, giving her sleeve a gentle nudge.
Wanda sprayed cleaning solution onto the counter to hide the faint blush on her cheeks. "Hush! What are you talking about, Di? He's just a tourist who happened to rent a villa up the hill and felt sorry for the stray cats. Don't make things up."
"But I'm serious, Ms. Wanda. The way he looked at you was different. Like he was really paying attention," Adi teased, unwilling to lose.
Wanda simply shook her head and laughed softly. At forty-seven, Wanda no longer gave any thought to romance. Her only focus in life was raising her children and taking care of this store. Still, she couldn't deny that Peter's warmth and sincerity that morning had left a small glow in her chest.