Friday Five — A rat?

It’s Friday, so it must be time for The Friday Five writing prompt! Five different words each week to get the creative juices flowing. To visit the other participants, click here.
This week’s words are: index, opposed, mark, suggest, depend
Back to #SaveFred … You can find the last entry here.

A Rat?

“What’s my fault?” Joel grabbed a card file and thumbed through several dozen index cards until he found the one he needed. “And who’s Fred?” Anxiety was clearly evident on his face.
“Fred is my pet rat.”
He flopped back into his chair. “Rat.”
I rolled my eyes so hard they all but fell out of the back of my skull. “Yes. Rat. I suggest you change your tone when you say that. He thinks, he feels, he loves, just like a dog or cat.” By the time I ended my tirade, I was standing, hands on the desk, staring directly at him, my nose inches from his. “My attachment to him doesn’t depend on him having a fluffy tail to wag.”
Joel held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’m not opposed to folks having pets outside the norm, I’ve just never met someone with a rat before.” He made a mark on the card he’d pulled out, then refiled it. “Look, I get why you broke in here, and I believe that it’s your car. If you’d just show me some ID and I’ll compare it to the registration, we can settle this all right now.”
“Really?” Relief made me weak and I fell back into the chair.
He smiled, and I remembered how attractive he was. “Really.”