She Howled, They Came

by Gabrielle Demonico

  Tina leaned forward in her chair and clasped her hands together in a tight, prayerful ball. “I’m so sorry, Doctor Hurley. I’m doing the very best I can. It’s just that, well, I was kind of in over my head the first week or so, but I’m getting better and…”

  He raised his hand again. “Tina.”

  “Yes?”

  He lingered for a moment and then slowly lowered his hand down until it came to rest on his desk.

  “I’m only kidding,” he said.

  Tina tilted her head in confusion. “What?” she said. “But you… You just said they were serious issues and…”

  He chuckled. “I know. Uhh, humm. You seemed nervous so I thought I’d have a bit of fun with you.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “Tina, those sorts of things happen to everyone. It’s nothing to be concerned about. I have no doubt that your mistakes are just that… mistakes. Uhh, humm. I’m sorry. Just relax, really. This is not one of those kinds of conversations at all.”

  Tina’s shoulders, near her ears moments before, began to lower. As she became aware she was not about to be fired, her upper body drifted backwards. As it did, the soft leather wrapped around her like the cool sheets of her bed at night.

  Satisfied she’d gotten the past her momentary fright, Doctor Hurley continued, “I’ll be direct with you, Tina. Jokes aside, you… you have a way with animals… There is something quite different about the way they interact with you as compared to the other members of my staff. Uhh, humm. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s remarkable.”

  Caught off guard, Tina opened her mouth to reply, but before she could he interrupted.

  “Do you intend to pursue this as a career? I mean, beyond being a technician. Are you interested in owning a practice someday?”

  “Yes!” Tina blurted out. Perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm. She composed herself and continued, “Only I… I… don’t have enough money for veterinary school right now.”

  Doctor Hurley nodded in understanding. “Yes, well, a number of programs are available. Uhh, humm. I’m sure you could find something if you set your mind to it.”

  “Yes sir, but… I don’t want to go into debt for school,” she said. “I know that means it will take a lot longer to get there.”

  “I understand. I respect that,” he said. “I felt the same way when I was your age. I put myself through school and never borrowed a dime to do it. Uhh, humm. Of course, loans were more difficult to come by in my day, but in any case, you are to be commended for that.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Tina said. “I…”

  But before Tina could continue, there was a knock at the door to his office. As he looked up, Tina did half turn over her right shoulder in the direction of the voice. The only emergency room nurse on the floor, Tracy, poked her head in through the doorway.

  “Doctor Hurley,” she said. “We need you right away in the emergency op.”

  ***

  With half the staff and the other ER nurse still at lunch, Tina trailed behind Doctor Hurley on the way to her first emergency procedure. As they entered the room, Doctor Hurley blocked Tina’s view of the operating table.

  Instead, she glanced to the right where she saw someone she immediately recognized. Kimmie, one of the coaches from her gym, stood in the corner with eyes glued on the cat and dog paw-patterned tile floor beneath her feet. She paced back and forth in a tight, two by two foot area across from the operating table.

  “Kimmie?” Tina said.

  The woman’s head tilted up as she stopped and looked at Tina. Kimmie’s eyes glistened with moisture as she lifted her hand up and covered her mouth. As Tina walked in her direction, she heard Doctor Hurley in the background while he talked to Tracy, the emergency nurse that came to get them moments earlier. Between their muffled words, the distinctive clank of stainless steel surgical instruments bounced off the interior walls of the operatory.

  “I don’t know,” Kimmie said as she chewed on her thumbnail.

  “What?” Tina replied. “You don’t know what, Kimmie?”

  “Bosco… he…” Kimmie began. “He… he was in the back and…”

  As Kimmie attempted to explain the situation, Tina spun her head back towards the center of the room. Bosco lay there, sedated, as Doctor Hurley stood over him. Tina turned back and placed a hand on Kimmie’s upper arm as the trainer continued to try and explain what happened.

  “I heard him cry out… you know, he yelped.” Kimmie said. Her voice staggered as the rest of the story came through in fits and starts. “I was… I was the only one there… it was between classes… I… I ran back and found him pinned under a stack of forty-five pound plates… he whined and cried… oh… oh my God… it was so awful.”

  Tina shook her head while Kimmie struggled to keep her cheeks free of tears. Her swollen red eyelids were evidence that she’d already wept. Tina moved close and hugged her.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “Bosco will be all right… Where… Where are Chuck and Max? Do they know what’s happened?”

  Kimmie shook her head. “No. I mean, yes… I mean, I called both of them but I haven’t heard back. My calls went straight… to their voicemail. Oh, they are going to be so pissed. Poor Bosco…”

  “Tina,” Doctor Hurley interrupted. “Right away, please.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied. She squeezed Kimmie’s forearm before she walked away. “Don’t worry.”

  Kimmie managed a weak smile in response as she wiped away still more tears.

  Seconds later, Tina stood next to Doctor Hurley and over the sedated Bosco. Through the large canine’s short white coat, the area of the injury came into view. In any other circumstance, even the most gruesome of accidents didn’t affect her. But as Tina looked down at him, emotion crept into her throat. A series of deep purple and crimson-toned bruises spread outward from the site of the trauma. His leg buckled in two directions, dramatic evidence of the force of the impact.

  “Looks to be a clean break,” Doctor Hurley said as he pointed down towards the dog’s mangled appendage. As he spoke, he jerked his head back a bit in Kimmie’s direction. “Is that the owner?”

  Grateful to be distracted from the image of Bosco for a moment, Tina shook her head. “No, she was watching him. Her name is Kimmie. She tried contacting the owners, but hasn’t heard back yet.”

  Doctor Hurley nodded. “Okay, well, let’s get started on him. Uhh, humm. Tracy will be back in a minute. Once she returns, would you please take… Kimmie was it… to an open examination room? When we’re finished, I’ll come in and talk to her.”

  “Yes, sir.” Tina said.

  Several minutes later, Tracy returned to assist Doctor Hurley. As she did, Tina walked over to the distraught trainer and touched her on the shoulder.

  “Come on, Kimmie,” Tina said. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  “No,” Kimmie replied as she shook her head. “I… I want to stay. This is my fault.”

  Tina moved close.

  “Kimmie, you can’t stay,” she began. “These kinds of procedures can get well… just trust me when I say you are better off not being here. In any case, it’s against hospital policy.”

  Kimmie half-listened to Tina as she spoke. Her attention drifted past Tina’s shoulder and to the operating table where Doctor Hurley was moments away from the operation.

  “Please,” Kimmie said. Tears flowed at an uncontrollable rate.

  “Tina,” Doctor Hurley interrupted. “It’s time.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Kimmie,” Tina whispered as she looked into the tear-weary eyes of the trainer.

  With reluctance, Kimmie nodded and seconds later, the women walked out of the operatory.

  About fifteen minutes later, Kimmie and Tina sat in an examination room a couple of doors down from where Doctor Hurley operated on Bosco. As best she could, Tina attempted to take Kimmie’s mind off the situation. She made them both a cup of jasmine tea and tried to engage
Kimmie in a bit of small talk. The honey-sweetened, soft floral notes of the liquid lingered in Tina’s mouth. After several minutes, it appeared as though the beverage had a calming effect on Kimmie.

  “Thanks, Tina,” she said. Kimmie held the styrofoam cup in her hand and swirled her tea as she looked downward. “I was a real mess in there.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Tina began. “I know how stressful a situation like that can be.” As she spoke, the imperfect edges of the plastic chair snagged at her scrubs. She shifted in her seat and reached down to free her pants leg of them when someone knocked at the door.

  Before Tina could get up from her chair, it opened and Chuck appeared in the doorway. Tina stood right away and moved towards him.

  “Hey,” he said as she neared.

  “Hi,” Tina replied as she stepped aside and motioned for him to enter. “Come in. I’ll let Doctor Hurley know you’re here.”

  Chuck nodded and started to pass by her but a large exam table in the center of the room pinched in at the spot where Tina stood. With her back pressed in to the wall and her left hand on the doorknob, Tina leaned away from Chuck as he entered.

  Face-to-face, he brushed up against her as he came into the room. When their torsos touched Tina felt him pause, for just a moment. Her soft curves pressed into his midsection as he lingered there in a snug white tee. Tina’s breath caught in her throat. She snapped her eyes upwards, afraid she might be caught looking at something… something she shouldn’t. But as her gaze came upon his face, she noticed he didn’t return her glance but rather, looked in Kimmie’s direction.

  “Sorry… ‘scuse me, Tina.”

  Tina felt a rush of blood spread from the center of her chest upwards. Fingers of red-hot embarrassment licked at her ears as extricated herself from their flesh-on-flesh encounter.

  “Yes, of course,” she stammered. “Sorry about that.”

  As if that wasn’t bad enough, rumor around the gym was he and Kimmie dated… or used to date. Either way, she didn’t want to be in the middle of it. Tina lowered her eyes and looked away. In the wake of her shame, she managed to collect herself long enough to remember she still worked here. Tina glanced over her shoulder in time to see Chuck take a seat next to Kimmie and slip her hands in his.

  “Can I… get you anything Chuck? Kimmie, would you like more tea?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Chuck replied.

  Kimmie, overcome by emotion, shook her head amid a fresh outpouring of tears. Chuck pulled her close. As she leaned into him, her shoulders jerked up and down like a sorrowful piston.

  Tina grimaced for a moment as she looked at them.

  “Well, if you change your mind, please feel free to come get me,” Tina said.

  “Thanks, Tina,” Chuck replied. A soft, sad smile curled up at the edge of his mouth while he continued to comfort a despondent Kimmie. “I really appreciate it.”

  Tina nodded and left the room. As she walked down the hall back towards the operatory, the sound of a door opening from behind caught her attention. Over the next few seconds footsteps, large ones, closed in on her.

  “Tina,” Chuck whispered as he came up from behind her. “Hey.”

  She spun on her heels as he closed the distance between them.

  “Hey,” he said once more as he approached.

  “Hi.”

  “Look, um… can you tell me what’s going on with Bosco? I didn’t want to get into it in front of Kimmie.” He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the exam room. “She’s devastated. I know she thinks it’s all her fault, but Bosco… man, that dog is always sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong… Um, so anyway, can you give me the details real quick?”

  “Sure,” she said. Tina told him the story about the cause of the injury as Kimmie relayed it to her and then she let him know how Doctor Hurley intended to treat it. She finished by saying, “Doctor Hurley is operating on him right now. I’m sure that once he’s finished… you know, he’ll explain everything to you and…”

  While she spoke, Chuck’s soft, dirty blond hair slid across his pronounced cheekbones. She stopped mid-sentence as he raised his fist to his mouth and looked away from her.

  “Um,” she stammered as she tried to ease his concern. “He’s um… Doctor Hurley is the very best there is. If anyone can handle this, it’s him. I promise.”

  Chuck nodded but didn’t speak. Hidden behind the unruly strands of his hair, Tina could only make out the movement of his Adam’s apple as he fought to swallow a hard lump in his throat. They stood in silence, less than a foot between them. And except for the sounds of the post-lunch rush building up in the lobby, quiet filled the space between them.

  Tina’s hands moved to give him comfort, in the same way she would for anyone in this situation. Except she couldn’t really touch him. So instead, she dropped them to her sides and then with a subtle motion, brought them together behind her back. His vision blocked by his hair, Chuck didn’t notice the doubt she had over her decision.

  “I’ll um… be in there with Kimmie,” he said. “Thanks again, Tina.” Without turning to look at her, he started back down the hall. As he did, he reached up and flung his hair back away from his face.

  “You’re welcome,” she whispered.

  ***

  Several hours later, Tina sat in her chair behind the desk in the reception area.

  In between the thumb and index finger of her right hand, she pinched the tip of a pen. She rolled it back and forth while she held the other end between her teeth. It rattled among her upper and lower molars as it spun in place. The habit helped her concentrate since she first picked it up by accident in middle school. Now, as she worked to reschedule all the canceled afternoon appointments caused by Bosco’s surgery that day, she relied on it once again.

  In fact, Tina’s focus sharpened to such a degree that she failed to notice someone stood in front of her desk. That is until a distinct, yet familiar, mentholated aroma tickled the insides of her nose. For a moment, she thought she might be sick and her grandmother had come to rub the foul-scented ointment on her chest to break up her cold. She stopped and lifted her head towards the source.

  It wasn’t her grandmother.

  Instead, a sour-faced elderly woman stood before her.

  “See here, um… Tina,” the woman said as she squinted at Tina’s nametag through a thirty-year-old pair of half-framed reading glasses. “I’ve had my appointment with Doctor Hurley scheduled for nearly two weeks. He’s the only one who can give Mitzy the braces she needs. It’s under Estelle Anderson and damn! Excuse me.”

  She battled her dentures as she spoke. As she finished her sentence, the woman shifted her jaw from left to right to secure them in place. Poker-faced, Tina fought back a look of disdain at the woman’s oral challenge. She started to respond but the woman distracted her as she raised a small dog crate up to her face.

  A tiny nose, black as coal, bumped against the grate of the hand-held kennel. A bubblegum pink tongue poked in and out as the woman turned her head towards her pet and cooed, “I knoooww, swweeetie. Mommy knows you can’t chew your food. No one here seems to be interested in helping you at all.”

  She paused mid-sentence and shot a nasty scowl in Tina’s direction. Satisfied, she’d gotten her point across, she resumed her conversation with her four-legged companion.

  “I will get you taken care of my little pooky wooky ball. Mommy wuvs you so much! Now you be a good girl and lay down. Go ahead, lay down. Oooohhh, that’s such a good, sweet little girl.”

  Tina winced as the old woman swooned over her diminutive pet. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in the office, just not a very pleasant one in this case. As the lady placed the kennel back on the ground, Tina moistened her thumb and index finger and reached down toward the appointment book.

  “Yes, well, Miss Anderson,” Tina began. “All I can do at this point is reschedule you. Doctor Hurley is in emergency surgery and cannot be interrupted.”

  T
he old woman scoffed.

  “Uh! Now you see here! My dog’s situation is every bit as serious as any…” she paused and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, “…emergency here. My poor Mitzy can’t chew her food! Do you know what that means?”

  Tina looked up from the appointment book.

  “Well?” Miss Anderson said. “Do you?”

  Tina bit the inside of her lip as she cast a sideways glance around the office. It took less than a second to see the attention of everyone focused on her.

  “Um, Miss Anderson,” Tina said in firm but calm tone. “Ma’am… please, can you keep your voice down? Some of our patients are quite ill and…”

  “No!” the woman exclaimed. “I will not keep my voice down! Really, the nerve of you people. I have a good mind to tell everyone just what kind of terrible customer service I am getting here today.”

  Tina dropped her head into the palm of her hand as the woman’s rant ratcheted up.

  “In fact, yes,” she continued. “That is… exactly… what I am going to do. Ohhh, you will be very, very sorry… Tina. I can promise you that and…”

  “Excuse me,” a male voice interrupted. “Is there… a problem here?”

  Without lifting her head, Tina glanced up to see Max. He struck a casual pose as he leaned against the desk with his forearm. His head cocked to the right, he smirked at Miss Anderson.

  The old lady recoiled at his sudden appearance.

  Tina stifled a smile.

  Miss Anderson bristled as she turned her focus in his direction. With a disdainful tone she said, “This is none of your concern, young man. Now, if you don’t mind, I am having a discussion with this nurse.”

  But before she uttered another word, Max reached across the counter and grabbed her forearm. Tina’s eyes widened as the old woman glared at him in shock and disbelief.

  “Now, look,” Max began as he lowered his gaze in her direction. “Everyone in this place has listened to your tirade for the past several minutes. That emergency that you don’t seem to care about whatsoever… That’s my dog in there, lady. He’s hurt. Real bad. Now I know you love your pet every bit as much as I do mine. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and listen to you berate this woman while all she is trying to do is help you. Do you understand what I’m saying to you? If you don’t, you let me know because I’m plenty happy to keep explaining it until you get it through that gray rat’s nest of yours.”