by Abby Deuel
“I forgot how much fun it is to have a puppy,” Mandy said to the two dogs, who lifted their heads only high enough to acknowledge her presence. “It’s OK. I was the one who left you with an irresistible set of cushions. Note to self, puppy-proof at least one room in this house. Admittedly, those cushions weren’t my style anyway,” said Mandy.
She fixed herself a fresh pot of coffee to warm her chilled bones. She didn’t bother to clean up the kitchen, opting not to disturb the slumbering dogs. That task could wait until later. She knew they’d been locked inside a fair bit over her recovery; she was glad that they had found a harmless outlet for their pent up energy. She mentally went through a checklist in her head to ensure that she had done all of the necessary tasks for the morning. It seemed that she hadn’t forgotten anyone or anything; all of the outside animals had food, fresh water, and shelter. Her plan was to have some downtime for the remainder of the day to prepare her body to go back to work the next day.
Gillian had done a thorough job keeping the clinic maintained while Mandy recuperated. It was time, however, for Mandy to resume her duties, particularly to get some money flowing through the clinic’s veins again. Gillian was a single mom who could not afford much more time off from making better money. Even though Anna’s house was now Gillian’s to live in, there was a small mortgage to pay on Gillian’s trailer until it was sold. That might take a while since the market in Crestview was not exactly booming.
Chapter 4
Mandy decided to set up a puzzle at the kitchen table. She loved jigsaw puzzles during winter. They were the perfect way to unwind and force one’s self to rest. The one that she had found in Derek’s house featured a variety of doors, windows, and cats. It was 1000 pieces which would take her the rest of the afternoon to complete. Her obsessive nature meant that starting a puzzle resulted in nothing else getting done until she had completed the puzzle. Under normal circumstances, this type of indulgence was ridiculous for Mandy. In an attempt to follow the doctor’s orders for taking it easy, a brand new puzzle would create the ideal distraction.
Anna, the puppy, took great interest in the new activity. Though still young, Anna’s feet were gigantic and her ability to control them was still under construction. Mandy had not yet broken her of the need to swat things with her bear-like paws. Anna explored the puzzle pieces Mandy had started to lay out on the table by whacking them with her feet until they fell to the floor where she could adequately man-handle them with her inquisitive mouth. In keeping with her breed, she tended to nuzzle things with her nose instead of lick them like Lyle.
Even still, Mandy terminated the game before Anna could swallow a piece, which could result in the need for an exploratory abdominal surgery to retrieve the piece. Even if Anna didn’t swallow a piece, she might relocate one, leaving Mandy to finish the puzzle only to find that a few pieces were missing. This particular puzzle was unopened, perfectly suited for Mandy’s obsessive compulsive tendencies, provided she could refrain Anna from thieving any pieces.
Just as obsession could be an issue with puzzling, Mandy’s photographic memory enabled her to excel at the activity. She rarely needed to consult the puzzle picture once she had studied it thoroughly upon opening the puzzle. This is how she had discovered that her memory seemed to be less efficient when the color red was over-represented in the image. Mandy had learned to overcome this quirk of her brain by paying closer attention to anything red that she needed to remember. In fact, she purposely avoided any red pens in her life so as to avoid unnecessary blanks in her recall abilities of information.
Puzzling and resting continued throughout the afternoon. The dogs were content to stay inside and keep Mandy company. Now that they were clean, Mandy was all too glad to see them relax inside instead of romping outside in the cold mud. She knew that they may have experienced undue stress from seeing Mandy so sick in the hospital. Sometimes the world gives a person a forced period of down time. Mandy was learning to take the hint from the powers that be to give herself a break.
Not feeling the need to exert herself, Mandy had a favorite staple on a cold day, a grilled cheese sandwich. She shared the crusts with her faithful hounds, who sat at her feet looking pitiful until she offered them what they perceived to be their fair share of the warm meal.
Under normal circumstances, Mandy would have been unpacking more boxes, were she not under orders to rest. The many times she had moved in her life had always been a frenzy of activity, not stopping until all of her belongings were in their place. She had even stayed up all night on more than one occasion until the task had been completed. This time, Mandy knew that her energy reserves needed to be rationed. In addition, she knew that she could take years to unpack and settle in because, for the first time, she would be staying in this house for the foreseeable future. This thought prompted her to let out a deep, soulful sigh. The dogs looked up at her, mirroring her sigh of contentment before curling up together on their self-made stuffing bed.
“You guys look very comfortable with this arrangement. I, on the other hand, need something more to sit on. This bench is not very soft without its cushions that mysteriously self-destructed while you were assigned to watch the house,” said Mandy, retrieving a thick blanket from a box to put along the kitchen dinette seats. “That’s better.”
Just as she was getting comfortable for the remainder of her lazy day, there was a knock at the door. Lyle ran to it, barking while Anna shuffled behind her, alerting the presence of an intruder with her deep bark. The chorus of barking was rather melodic, Lyle’s soprano created an unusual harmony with Anna’s contralto. This was the first time Mandy had been a witness to her new pooch opera up close. She had trouble focusing on opening the door instead of watching her gorgeous dogs sing.
“Hello,” Mandy said, giggling, as she opened the door. “Join us. We are about to do our rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata,” while the dogs wiggled from side to side, welcoming their guest of honor, Gerry, one of the police officers in town. He had made it clear that he was more than thrilled at Mandy’s decision to stay in Crestview. Not only had she been helpful with solving murder cases, but Gerry found Mandy to be just the right mixture of damsel in distress and a modern-day Cleopatra. A woman of strength and independence, Mandy was on Gerry’s radar.
“It’s good to see that you’re in high spirits. I was worried that you would be losing your plot, being on forced house arrest. You’re looking well. How do you feel?” asked Gerry.
“All is well here. We’ve been working on a puzzle. Would you like a cup of coffee?” asked Mandy. “I still have some freshly brewed coffee on the warmer.”
“Why not? As long as I am not intruding. I waited until now to come visit, hoping that I wouldn’t be interrupting a nap,” said Gerry. “Let me get the coffee. I didn’t stop in to make sure you are resting just to make you serve me coffee.”
“I won’t argue with that. You know, I’m not really the napping type. Although I must admit that I may have indulged in one or two since I was discharged from the hospital,” said Mandy.
“That was the whole point of putting you on house arrest. You were supposed to be listening to your body, resting as needed,” said Gerry, busying himself with dispensing coffee. “It hasn’t started snowing yet but it looks like you have had your own little snowstorm in here.”
“The dogs had a blast rearranging the stuffing in the dinette cushions. They’ve been cooped up more than I’d like so I didn’t stop them from finding a way to burn off some steam. I didn’t like those pillows anyway. I’ll clean it up once they’ve had their fun,” said Mandy. Gerry brought two fresh cups of coffee to the table. “Thanks. How’s the world outside of this house doing? Anything new in Crestview?” asked Mandy.
“Nothing to speak of. We’re waiting for your return before starting any new dramas,” said Gerry with a cheeky wink.
“I highly doubt that. Though most everyone has welcomed me here, there are still a few who would rather me see Cre
stview in my rear view mirror,” said Mandy.
“Like who? I can talk to them,” said Gerry.
“It doesn’t matter. I will prove my worth over time with any naysayers. I don’t want you to make it any worse,” said Mandy.
“Point taken. You just let me know if you ever need backup,” said Gerry.
“Will do,” said Mandy, squelching a yawn as she spoke. “Excuse me, I guess all that talk of naps that I don’t take made me feel a tad sleepy.”
“I can take the hint. I just wanted to check on you. Tomorrow is the big day. An early night’s a smart idea. Back to work. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything,” said Gerry, putting his cup in the sink.
“Thanks. And thanks for stopping in as well. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can grab lunch?”
“We’ll see how your day goes. Gillian may have your day all mapped out, knowing her,” said Gerry.
“True,” said Mandy, as she saw Gerry to the door.
Mandy made her evening rounds to check on the animals before snuggling in to bed with her book. She could rest her heading knowing that she had finished the puzzle. She was reading a history on the development of trimethoprim sulfa, a commonly used antibiotic. It might be boring to some, but Mandy was finding it to be a fascinating story of how one drug changed the ability of society to care for its sick and injured. An early night seemed like the most logical choice to mark the end of her forced rest.
Chapter 5
Morning came after a relaxing evening followed by a good night's sleep. Mandy woke up extra early to start her chores. With the fence mended, she could resume a more normal routine, albeit a time-sensitive one since she had to go back to work. Mandy let the dogs out to do their morning business. It was much easier to just let them out the back door, knowing that the worst that could happen is that they would get dirty in the mud. Country living was ticking so many boxes for Mandy.
The coffee had brewed on a timer. Mandy stood at the kitchen window, surveying her domain, while sipping her coffee. The era of self-indulgent laziness over, it was time to return to her normal manic routine. She downed her coffee and headed out to start her outside chores for the morning.
The snow hadn’t quite arrived yet. In fact, the temperature had not dropped below freezing. This did not mean that the ground was dry. Far from it. In fact, there was mud in every corner of the farm. The sheep, though a small breed, were capable of decimating the inactive grass with their stampede of happy hooves. The grass was not technically growing at this time of year but was still able to be ruined. Therefore, Mandy had been giving the sheep alfalfa and grass hay that Derek had put up that year. The challenge was to keep them all in good condition so that they would be ready for breeding season in the Spring when the grass would come back to full glory.
Mandy dished out the hay with high calorie pellets to grateful sheep. They pranced and danced around, showing their enthusiasm for another day, albeit a cold one. Mandy stood, leaning on the fence, watching her four-legged friends. She decided that many people could learn a lot from sheep. They were simply content to have all of their needs met, rather than seeking more out of life than could be achieved. Admittedly, she thought, their minds did not get tainted by things that corrupt most people like money, love or lack there of, competition, etc. It was easy to be stress-free if your major tasks for the day were eating, drinking, and sleeping.
“Better keep moving,” Mandy said to herself. “I still have to get cleaned up to go to work.”
She made her way from the sheep feeding paddock to the chicken house for her last outside chore before heading into the house. There were only a dozen chickens which meant that there were not necessarily a dozen eggs to pick up each day. She made a point of picking up whatever eggs were there twice a day. She wasn’t worried about any of the hens brooding on them; with no rooster, they could never hatch since they weren’t fertile. However, if a chicken accidentally broke one and got a taste for the yolk, they might start eating eggs regularly. This could result in no choice other than to cull that chicken. Mandy was learning a lot about farming but was not yet ready to kill and eat her animals.
At the chicken house, instead of happy chickens waiting to be let out, she found a distinct hole in the fence with feathers everywhere. She rushed into the chicken house to count heads. One was missing. The others seemed unsettled. She followed the trail of feathers out to the remainder of the chicken-yard, finding a pool of blood at the end of the feather path.
There was no evidence of even a piece of a corpse. Whatever had eaten the poor chicken right in front of her feathered friends had managed to pull her out of the hen house and into their fenced yard. The culprit must have then jumped the fence or eaten her right where the pool of blood was.
Mandy was not one to be squeamish for blood or natural parts of life. However, she felt it was her duty to keep her creatures safe from being brutally murdered. She searched the area for tracks or scat and found evidence of a dog-like paw in the mud outside the chicken yard fence. She decided that they were too small to be a coyote or coy-dog. It was more likely a hungry fox.
“This, I am afraid, will have to wait. I will come home before dark to make sure you ladies are put up and that your door is re-enforced. For now, you are on your own,” Mandy said to the puffed up ladies. She went back to the house with the eggs she had collected, placing them in the fridge next to the already accumulated three dozen.
“I’m going to have to get creative with uses for eggs. There’s only so many one girl can eat. Let’s bring some to the clinic to see if we can give some away today, girls,” Mandy said to Lyle and Anna, who were waiting in anticipation for the next activity for the day. Every morning, they’d been ready for any indication that Mandy was getting ready to leave for work. Lyle knew that she went to the clinic with Mandy and that she never missed a day. She was so confused when everyone stayed home the last few days.
Today, they were waiting patiently for a signal and Mandy finally gave it when she pressed the remote start for the Jeep. Anna was young enough to not have much of a clue as to what was going on around her. She was content with whatever life brought her way. Lyle, on the other hand, was conditioned to know Mandy's every move, almost before Mandy did. Lyle was teaching Anna the ropes, something which made Mandy chuckle from time to time. Lyle was a patient guardian, leading Anna down the path to become just as wonderful of a dog as Lyle.
“Almost ready, girls. Now that we have to drive to work and can't walk, let me put some coffee in a to go mug for the ride. You can head on out to the Jeep,” said Mandy, opening the door to two exuberant dogs.
Lyle took her place in the passenger seat, which meant Anna had now adopted the backseat as her own. One day, Mandy knew that it would be ridiculous to drive to work with two large dogs every day. For now, she couldn’t leave Anna home alone to destroy anything and she certainly couldn't leave Lyle who had been her constant companion for so many years. With a fox on the lurk, she might have to rethink her dogs’ roles, making them earn their keep, guarding their farm like normal dogs.
Mandy glance to the side and in her rear view mirror to check both dogs; each were actively smiling, brimming with happiness because they were once again in the Jeep, headed to work. Mandy knew that they needed a purpose since they were both working dogs. The time off from being a veterinarian had enabled her to realize just how important it is to be able to know what makes a person, or dog, tick. She could not keep them from their work much longer. She would have to learn how to let go of her dogs and let them blossom. She found herself wondering if parents feel this kind of turmoil when their kids go to school for the first time.
“You are being a little silly,” Mandy whispered to herself. Lyle nudged her hand as if in agreement.
Chapter 6
Arriving at the clinic, Mandy saw that Gillian had, not surprisingly, beaten her there. The dogs busted in the back door, running up and down the halls to find Gillian for a proper morning gr
eeting.
“Hello, ladies,” said Gillian. Both dogs sat patiently waiting for her affection. She petted each one thoroughly before they were satisfied and trundled off to check on the rest of the clinic. Anna must have found Jimbo because a hiss and a thundering of paws could be heard from the front of the clinic.
“How goes it?” asked Mandy.
“You know, same old,” said Gillian. “It’s pretty uneventful here without the vet and lots of hospitalized patients. I have reorganized everything but the last thing to tackle was the radiographs so I am glad you are back. I was not looking forward to that task.”
“Oh my, you were down to the dregs. Thanks again for keeping everything going. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Do we have anything scheduled today?” asked Mandy.
“I’ve tried to keep it light on your first day back. One thing that is on the radar this week is the German short-haired pointer meet is going on out at the O’Mally place. They call them GSPs for short out at the Pointer Club in case you want to get immersed in the lingo. We are on call for any and all issues that they may have. Patrick O’Mally is the owner of the land and host for the Pointer Club. He’s for another vet on site but they always make arrangements for us to be available to help in case they need more supplies or a facility. They pay us well for being on call for the week even if we see nothing,” said Gillian.
“That’s interesting. Why aren’t we just on call. Why is there another vet?” asked Mandy.
