At exactly half past seven, Harper pushed the blanket aside, slipped into her lined slippers and slowly shuffled into the kitchen. The night had been anything but restful. She may have slept, but she didn't feel like she had. Not in any way. The opposite was true. She felt like she had been awake all night.

On her way to the kitchen, Harper picked up Jill's bowl and heard the sound of claws on the hardwood floor. Then the Labrador came through. When it came to eating, nothing else mattered. Her stomach was like a black hole.

It took less than three minutes to weigh out the food and put the finished bowl in its place. It didn't take a minute for Jill to empty it and return to the kitchen to get her yogurt.

Harper and Jill would lie down again for about half an hour, then get up and go for their morning walk. Just waiting to see what the day would bring.

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After reaching the town sign, which took between ten and twenty minutes, depending on how much Jill dawdled, we followed the road to the dirt road.

Empty or not empty? And if no one was walking around, that meant nothing. It was a popular place for dogs to run off-leash and play in the fields. Although the fact that it was safe was not entirely true, as there were plenty of idiots who were not off leash.

In the meadow where most people played with their dogs because the owner was not interested in using it, Harper walked around with Jill and looked over the remaining fields where she spotted Abby and Madison. It would be a good five minutes before they were with them.

If only Harper had left half an hour later, but it wasn't about her, it was about Jill.