by Abby Deuel
While Gillian was preparing the vaccines like an expert, Mandy walked up to her. “I’m not sure we’re both on the same page. I came here to settle up the clinic for a buyer. I’m not going to stay on as the vet here. I have my own life,” Mandy said.
“Anna told me about you. She said you’re not too keen on staying in one place. Look, I’ve thought about this already. You’re a vet and this town needs a vet. Why don’t you just stay and help out until the clinic sells. It can’t hurt to make a little money for the clinic while you’re here, can it? At least for Anna’s legacy’s sake,” Gillian said.
Before Mandy could answer, Gillian had walked back into the treatment area to get six pet health records for the new pups. She returned with all of the items needed for the consult room’s occupants and said to Mandy, “Righty-o, let’s vaccinate some puppies!”
They entered the consult room to find six roly, poly Australian shepherds, each with different markings. Some had blue eyes, some brown, and some a mixture of each. There was a little puddle in the corner where one had peed. Walter was all smiles, proud of his new pups.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Bell,” said Mandy.
“Well, hello there. I’m Walter. These are Selby’s newest litter,” said Walter. He had his gangly long legs crossed over one another and he was leaning over his palm. Even all folded up like a pretzel on the chair, one could see that he was a very tall, lean man. His head was crowned by a straw hat with more holes in it than would surely allow for it to do the job of keeping the sun out of his face. But, Walter looked like a guy who wasn’t fond of shopping, judging by the boots as old as time and coveralls that had evidence of many a project on them.
“They’re lovely. Any problems at all with any of them? Any coughing or sneezing? Everyone eating ok?” asked Mandy.
“They’re fit as fiddles. No problems here. I was out tending to my crops but I don’t have anyone else to bring them in and no puppies of mine miss their shots. So, here I am,” said Walter.
Gillian picked them up one by one for Mandy to examine and administer the vaccination. They were wriggly but Gillian was a great puppy handler. She had a gentle touch while still managing to maintain authority over animals.
“I appreciate you taking time out from the crops to come in. And is Selby receiving enough calcium in her diet? It must be quite a feat to feed six growing puppies,” said Gillian.
“Yep, I’ve had her on puppy food since two weeks before she whelped, just like Anna said to do. I didn’t want her to get the clamps like she did last time,” replied Walter.
“Eclampsia,” said Mandy with a smile. She really did love being a vet, especially in rural towns where people were so genuine. Eclampsia can be a shocker to a pet owner; it causes seizure-like issues until the calcium level in the blood is corrected. “That’s great that you are giving her calcium. And do you have plenty of dewormer for Selby and the gang?”
“Sure do. Anna, bless her heart and soul, gave me plenty when we did the x-rays to see how many pups were brewing in there,” said Walter.
As Mandy was finishing up the last of the vaccinations, she instructed, “Well, these will be due for another shot in three weeks. Between now and then, their immune systems are jump-starting so don’t let them near any unvaccinated animals. We don’t want any of these little guys to be back in here sooner.”
“Thanks Dr. Bell. Will do. You have a nice day and Happy Halloween! Back to the fields I go,” said Walter.
“It must be time for another cup of tea,” said Gillian.
“You sure drink a lot of tea,” Mandy said.
“My mother was from New Zealand and we grew up drinking cups of tea at hourly intervals throughout the day. There were always cookies, or biscuits as mom called them. It seems to help the day go by nicely so I’ve kept the tradition going.”
“New Zealand. I have always wanted to go there. Have you been?” asked Mandy.
“No. She emigrated here before I was born. An overseas trip is a little out of my realm financially. I have seen loads of pictures so it feels like I have been there through my mother’s stories and memories,” said Gillian. As the kettle boiled, Gillian smiled and said, “Well, Mandy, what do you say, will you stay on until the clinic sells?”
Lyle heard the sound of a food wrapper and came over from the chair she was sleeping on. Despite Mandy’s efforts to raise her without the temptations of people food, years of being in the reception area of clinics made her familiar with the characteristic sound of food being unwrapped. Most people could not resist her intense eyes so she usually got a tidbit. It was like Pavlov’s response to a wrapper, not a bell. She showed off with her best sit and gave Gillian a deep stare. Gillian sneaked a little piece of vanilla wafer to the gentle mouth hiding under the desk.
Mandy pondered the prospect of staying here for a bit. She remembered a story Anna had told her of her first late night call when she opened the clinic out here, and about the kind of folks Anna had encountered. It was to meet Mr. Kingle at the clinic because his daughter’s chicken had been attacked by his best dog, Max. Out in this part of the country, a dog that attacks an animal has a short life span so it was going to be a sad call. When Mr. Kingle had brought the chicken and dog in, she had a closer look at the chicken first. She found a bit of barbed wire matted in with the blood and feathers. She told Mr. Kingle that Max may have been at the scene of the crime, but the barbed wire was definitely the source of the problem. She cleaned the chicken up and sent Mr. Kingle on his merry way with Max at foot. The next day, Anna’s clinic was bustling with locals. She was a hero after she managed to save Mr. Kingle’s best dog from being put down for attacking chickens.
Mandy thought about the fact that she had already paid off her student loan and she owned her RV. While she was close to her family, they were always up to come and visit her wherever she was. She had no real engagements anywhere and this seemed like a good way to pay her friend Anna some respect. After a deep breath, Mandy said, “I suppose I could just stay until we get an offer on the clinic. I have no other plans at the moment and I brought my house with me. Why not?”
Gillian grinned and dunked her vanilla wafer into her fresh cup of tea.
“I haven’t given you the keys to Anna’s house. Here they are. I was watering the plants and feeding her cats until you got settled in. It’s yours now. I will take you over there and show you around when you are ready,” Gillian said as she handed Mandy a set of old-fashioned keys.
“I can’t say that I am looking forward to looking through Anna’s house. Although we were close friends, it’s kind of strange to finally see her home and her not be the one to show me around,” Mandy said, looking down thoughtfully.
“I understand. It is all very weird and sudden. She has, er had, the most wonderful cats. One is Emma and she is a giant tabby cat with more personality than a whole room full of comedians. And then there is Jimbo, he is a tuxedo and just likes to be around people, not touch them. He is often eerily, silently staring at nothing. Anna thought maybe he could see things, you know, that we can’t see. He goes crazy for kitty treats.”
“Well, perhaps after work we can make a detour to her house so I can take over looking after the cats. You do enough.”
“I really don’t mind. I’ve grown attached to the cats. In fact, I thought about just bringing them to live in the clinic. They must get lonely in the house. Now that you’re here, it’s totally up to you.”
“That’s not a bad idea. All clinics should have a cat or two, right? And Lyle loves cats.”
“Let’s go after work and start the relocation process. We can go together in my truck after the last appointment.”
The rest of the day was filled with fairly routine small animal appointments. A few skin infections, a coughing Siamese, and limping terrier. Gillian totaled up the day’s earnings and canceled out the register. She prepared the deposit for the night drop at the bank.
“Are you ready to go meet the kids and see your house?”
Gillian asked.
“Sure. Let me go put Lyle in the RV.”
“I’ll meet you at my truck. I’ll lock up the clinic.”
Mandy smothered some peanut butter inside of a bone for Lyle and left her snuggled up on the rug in the living room area.
“I won’t be too long and you’ll get to meet your new brother and sister tomorrow.” Lyle looked up as if understanding what Mandy was saying.
Taking a few deep breaths, Mandy boarded Gillian’s truck. They silently drove the few miles to Anna’s house. Mandy paid close attention to the route so she would be able to make her way there next time. The house was a little A-frame cottage off a long driveway from the main road. Even in the wind-down to winter, Mandy could tell that Anna’s green thumb had infected the whole area. There were flower beds and a veggie garden, as well as nice mature trees around the property.
Anna had never married and had no living relatives. Mandy was her closest friend in life. It wasn’t that Anna wasn’t marriage material; she had just chosen a life of solitude and animals. She had set up a nice life for herself in this little town and Mandy knew she had been happy here.
They entered the front door via the sweet little porch trimmed with banisters and rails cut from natural timber. It gave the house an earthy character. Emma was sitting right at the foyer entrance, meowing and rubbing their legs as they tried to walk into the living room.
“Time for supper. Emma, Jimbo, come and get it,” Gillian said as she filled their bowls with crunchies.
“This place is beautiful. What a lovely spot Anna had,” Mandy said as she took in the ambiance. There wasn’t much art on the walls, just a few photographs of wildlife had been blown up and placed front and center on each wall. The exposed beams along the ceiling provided texture for the remainder of the walls. There was an old-fashioned pot-bellied stove in the center of the home that would provide heat to the adjoining open plan rooms. The kitchen was sweet, yet functional, with a window overlooking the woods in the back. On the kitchen table sat Jimbo, staring intensely at the chimney above the fireplace before making eye contact with Mandy and Gillian.
“Hi, my little man,” Gillian said as she handed him a few treats from the treat jar on the counter. He purred in response, but made no attempt to make physical contact with his treat supplier. “I took the liberty of cleaning out the fridge of anything that wouldn’t keep. I didn’t know when exactly you’d be arriving.”
“Wow, that was very thoughtful. Thanks.”
In typical Gillian fashion, she started the grand tour of the house without taking a pause for Mandy to explore herself.
“Well, here is the kitchen, living room, and a dining area. There’s central heat. For most of the year, the stove is ample for this small house if you are home to keep it stoked. There is a bathroom off this direction under the stairs.” The house was open plan, with warmly colored exposed beams as support beams and room separators. Anna had used a natural color palate. There were soft blues, calming grays, and a variety of creamy whites. It almost felt like they were in a river scene. Anna must have enjoyed nature walks because there were little trinkets from excursions, like a collection of smooth, round river pebbles arranged on one of the enlarged window sills in the dining room. A variety of feathers were displayed on the center of the dining room table inside what looked like irregularly shaped gourds. The curtains were plain, leaving the main focal point in each room the view from the windows. Someone had taken time placing the windows to highlight the property surrounding the house.
She made her way up the stairs, waiting for Mandy to follow. “Up here is the main bedroom and another bathroom. There are only two bedrooms and two bathrooms. This is kind of a second living room in the loft. Anna used this space a lot. The loft had an overstuffed leather couch and thoughtfully placed reading lamps.
“Going back downstairs, I’ll show you the other bedroom and laundry area.” They made their way downstairs again and veered off from the end of the kitchen to the extra bedroom. The house was cleverly built with the use of all of the nooks and crannies that an A-frame home creates. There were adorable little shelves in many of the unusable areas and closets in other crevices, providing ample storage, although Anna clearly was not a hoarder.
The laundry room was nothing fancy. The highlight of that room was an antique porcelain utility sink with ornate faucets. In the spare bedroom were stacks of boxes, some empty and some full, with piles of household items surrounding them. Anna must have been doing some cleaning. She also must not have been expecting any visitors as there was no way someone could sleep in this room the way it was. At some point, Mandy would have to do some sorting here to see what needed to be kept. For now, she was happy to leave it be. It still seemed a bit like an invasion of privacy, with Anna only just recently deceased.
“Isn’t it a nice little house?” Gillian asked.
“It is indeed. I’ve always though A-frames had more character than the standard box house. Anna had nested very purposefully here.”
“I agree. I have dreams one day of building a little house. I haven’t yet settled on what type to go with. This house has many of the elements I would want. In reality, I live in a rented trailer. Well, should we pack up the cats and bring them into the clinic?”
“We shall. At least that will save us both making trips over here for now. I will have to come back and start sorting through things. I am not quite ready for that yet.”
As Mandy was talking out loud, Gillian was rounding up Jimbo and Emma. She located Emma easily since she was sitting in front of the sink meowing. Jimbo, on the other hand, was playing a little hide and seek game. Although an aloof cat, he loved this game. Mandy spotted him running up the stairs and scooped him up when he tipped over belly up in defeat. With the cats safely in their cages, Mandy and Gillian loaded up the cat bowls and food. They emptied the litter pan and brought the remaining litter and liners.
“Alright, let’s see how they are in the car. At least it’s a short drive. I’m not sure they’ve ever even been in a vehicle because Anna always brought home what vaccines or medicines they needed,” said Gillian.
After a noisy car ride, they all arrived safely at the clinic. Since the appointments were done for the day, they would be able to settle in at the clinic tonight before meeting any people. Mandy opened Emma’s cage while Gillian opened Jimbo’s. They set up some snuggle spots under the window in the office and made sure the cats knew the location of their food, water, and litter pans. They sprinkled a bit of cat nip in some choice locations to encourage the cats to explore and become accustomed to their new digs. Mandy thought about the long term plan for these cats. They could live in the clinic and be sold with the property although she never trusted just anyone to look after an animal, especially a friend’s animal. She could adopt them herself and travel in the RV with them. At least for a while, she didn’t need to think about it. She had a fair amount to do before she would even be able to try to sell the house and clinic. And if Gillian got her way, she would never be allowed to leave.
The cats were already sniffing around. The cats would be occupied all night trying to take in all of the scents that a vet clinic inevitably offers, regardless of how clean it is.
“Let’s leave them to explore. I will come in early and check on them to make sure they are ok,” said Gillian.
“I can check on them later tonight, too.”
They quietly sneaked out the back door, leaving Jimbo and Emma with privacy.
“I don’t suppose you’d like to go out to dinner tonight?” asked Gillian.
“Sure. I can’t be bothered cooking tonight.” said Mandy.
“I’ll meet you at the Inn at 6:30pm after I have fed my horse and checked up on Hamish,” said Gillian.
“Sounds good. Who’s Hamish?” said Mandy.
“Oh, he’s my son. He’s 10 going on 20.”
“You look pretty young to have a ten-year old.”
“Well, we can’t all be wise w
hen we’re young. I made a few poor decisions when I was younger. Hamish sure has made my life full. I don’t regret a thing. We struggle at times to make ends meet. He helps out a few of the local farmers in exchange for some feed for our horses. We had to sell two last year because we couldn’t keep up with the feed bills even being subsidized. We still have two horses and we don’t want for much. He’s fixin’ to be quite the horseman, too.”
“My life hasn’t been too straightforward either. I’m no stranger to working hard which is why Anna and I were such close friends. Everybody else in vet school had life handed to them on a silver platter it seemed. It was refreshing to meet someone who had their feet firmly on the ground. I look forward to meeting Hamish.”
“Right-o. Not tonight, though. He has a project he’s working on with his Grandma tonight. I’ll bring a few friends for you to meet instead. I’ll see you in a bit. I heard you already know where it is, so I won’t bother with instructions.”
“Cheers,” said Mandy with a smirk.
Chapter Four
Mandy opened the back door and Lyle darted up the stairs to the RV. She gave Lyle her dinner and sat back in the Lazy-boy chair. She had a book on hiking in America and pulled it out to look at where she could go for some outdoor time. There was a sizable lake not far away that sounded like it had adequate camping and a nature trail. They allowed pets, remarkably. It claimed to have good bird watching although Mandy had never been patient enough for that. Perhaps she would check it out at the weekend, if she could make some headway with Anna’s possessions.
Anna had described this area of Illinois when they were in vet school as being pretty flat with not much for miles but corn, soybeans, and isolated stands of woods. Farming was a huge part of the economy here. Anna had described the frenzy in the air during planting and harvesting. Anna had always said that if Mandy could come visit, Fall would be the best time because the trees were losing their leaves, peppering the countryside with deep reds, oranges, and yellow. She warned Mandy about the dangers of driving on country-roads during harvest time because of the bustling combines and grain trucks. She had said that it was her favorite time of year because of all of the festivals. Each town seemed to have a tradition to keep up with via a charming town fair. Some of the town celebrations that Mandy could remember her mentioning were for the harvest of apples and of broom corn. Anna had vividly described the Halloween Hoedown that her town had where everyone took a break from the demands of crop harvesting to gather and celebrate the fruits of their labor. Mandy was deeply sad that she would be witnessing all of the Fall energy without Anna to be her chaperone. She would carry the torch, albeit it temporarily, in Anna’s absence.
