Vetted Further

by K'Anne Meinel

  “How was your day? They finished the roof?”

  Sitting in front of the fire, Allyssa began to tell her what she had done, and then Fiona told her about her cases. It was nice and quiet except for the occasional wind gusts, the dog snoring in the corner, and the fire crackling merrily. Occasionally, a wind gust came down the chimney, but Allyssa had a grid in front to prevent sparks from spitting out and burning their lovely floor. By the time Fey had completely thawed out, Allyssa had a microwaved pot pie on a plate for her and was eating one herself.

  “You know, this may not be the best food, but it really hits the spot,” Fey moaned as she tasted the creamy goodness.

  “Yeah, it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s full of sodium,” her wife agreed, smiling.

  They went to bed early since the storm was now in full swing, and in the morning, they looked out to find a drifted nightmare.

  “Did you have any calls scheduled for me today?” Fiona asked, looking out at the ongoing storm.

  “Yes, but nothing we can’t delay until after the storm. I’ll make the calls,” she offered.

  “I’ll get dressed and check on the stock. Want anything from the mobile home?”

  They made a list and Allyssa tried not to worry when Fey went out into the blowing storm. She couldn’t lose her way since the ranch yard was mostly fenced and there were vehicles and buildings to keep her from getting too far off course. Still, the entire time she was out in that howling storm, Allyssa worried. She was pleased when Fey returned and they could sit and chat and even play board and computer games to pass the time. The cats and the dogs went out briefly before loudly demanding re-entrance to the warm cabin.

  It took three days for the storm to blow itself out. Allyssa was up on the backhoe early in the morning after using a shovel to dig it out. The snow had drifted off the barn and all around the machinery. She managed to clear the snow away from Fiona’s work truck and headed down the driveway in the backhoe, using land marks under the snowy mess as best she could. She kept shoving the deep snow out of the way, using the colors beneath the snow to discover when she was off the drive. She managed to dig them out a narrow path after several hours’ work, then found the road that led to the highway. The highway was clear, but the road was sketchy. She dug just enough for Fiona to get out and waved her on her way to the long-delayed and now urgent calls that managed to get through. Those whose lines had gone down in the storm were now frantic. She waved to Fey as she inched out with the truck onto the road. She wished she didn’t have to go out, but this was their bread and butter.

  On her way back to the ranch, Allyssa further widened the path, trying to get the maximum amount of snow off the drive before the winds picked up and blew the road shut again. She piled snow high on either side and worried in places where a ditch or a drop might cause Fiona to plunge off the side. She was careful on the backhoe but even she had a few close calls. She cursed herself for not putting out those flags that would have lined the driveway and told her where the edges were and she made a mental note for next year. She also realized they’d have to have double the size in some places where the drifts made the pileup extra deep. Maybe they should put up snow fences next year?

  Allyssa took a well-deserved break when she returned to the cabin. She caught up on the calls that had come in during the hours she had been away and then returned to plowing out the ranch yard. She made the horses and the llama go out in the paddock and waited for a buyer who was coming to look at one of the trailers. This buyer was planning on using it for snowmobiles. It was a good trailer, and she knew they would find it useful. She had replaced the tires she and Fiona had deliberately damaged to prevent the rustlers from getting away.

  She was glad when the guy who wanted the trailer had come and gone. She was several hundred dollars richer…in cash. She continued using the backhoe to clear out more of the snow from the yard, widening the driveway further where it entered their little valley. Afterward, she gassed up the machine and put it back in its place. She took several flats of canned goods up to the cabin now that they had more room up there. This would make it easy to heat up dinner if they chose to eat there. The mobile home seemed extra cold that day, and she wondered if the heat was working at all. Checking the propane tank, she saw it was low but not so low that the heat shouldn’t work. Putting the animals back in the barn after their day out in the snow, she headed back to the cabin to wash up. She was just in time to see Fiona pull up in her truck.

  “Hi, there. How was your day?” she greeted her wife, leaning down for a hug and a kiss of welcome.

  “The roads are terrible, and how do those farmers and ranchers expect me to get out to their places if they don’t plow the drive? I see what a good job you did, and while the wind is trying to blow it shut again, I can at least get through!” she complained.

  “Rough day, eh?”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” she bitched, but smiled at the kiss and enjoyed the hug.

  That storm was the start of a pretty spectacular winter. It was a constant battle for Allyssa to keep their yard and driveway relatively snow-free. Fiona flatly refused to go down some ranchers’ driveways if they weren’t plowed. Her four-wheel drive could only handle so much and getting trapped in the various ravines and valleys people chose to live in wasn’t fun. More than once, she had to be pulled out, even with the four-wheel drive engaged. More than once, she ended up sleeping in her camper with the heat on full and worrying if anyone would find her. When one night turned to two, she told that rancher in no uncertain terms how angry she was that he hadn’t even checked on her!

  Allyssa, concerned about Fiona as she traveled about, began to ask questions of other vets she was in contact with. She wondered how they got around on calls in the harsh winter weather. That was how she first heard about a truck called a Mobile Veterinary RV. It was like the big truck Fiona drove with the camper on the back, but it was made especially for veterinarians and others who did traveling work like Fiona. Having something like that custom-made would cost too much, and they would never be able to afford it, but maybe, someday, they could find equipment and alter it to suit their needs. She continued asking questions of those she was in contact with over the internet and did a lot of research.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  As Christmas approached, they both hid things for the other. Allyssa sent out hundreds of Christmas cards showing a horse pulling a sleigh driven by someone that looked amazingly like Fey. She had the printer add ‘Herriot Veterinary Services’ on the side of the sleigh and signed the card from them both. Clients, friends, and family all received the same card. Depending on their relationship with the client, sometimes the card was addressed to the actual pet. Family and friends, including those back in Denver, also received a letter Allyssa took the time to write, letting them know how the ranch was doing, how their practice was growing, and enclosing pictures she had taken with Fey’s phone. The pictures didn’t come out perfectly on the phone or the printer, but everyone got the idea.

  Allyssa sent away for yarn and using internet videos to teach herself, managed to knit a hat, mittens, and scarf for Fey. The results gave her lots to laugh about before she was satisfied, but she pushed on, determined to give her wife something handmade that she could use. The tassel on top of the hat looked a little lame. It tilted to one side no matter how tight she tied it, but overall, the colors would complement her brunette wife. She filled a stocking with mints that melted in the mouth, something she knew Fey would love. She also stashed extra mints in the camper after Christmas as she knew Fey hated the thought of arriving at a farm with bad breath and was scrupulous about brushing her teeth. She also stuffed other goodies into the stockings: a large apple, the largest orange she could find, nuts, and small presents they could both use like Swiss army knives for each of them—one blue and one red, so they could tell them apart.

  Fey knew that Allyssa was planning a small celebration for the two of them. She also knew Allyssa had more acce
ss to shopping than her, except those things that came through the mail, were delivered by Fedex or UPS, or anything she had sent to the post office box. She managed to pick up matching crates to store the ornaments that Allyssa picked up in bulk to decorate their small tree. Allyssa had insisted on a live tree they could plant in the spring and enjoy in years to come, not wanting to kill a tree. Fey found that thought endearing. She also bought special ornaments for them both: a set of running horses that could be clipped to the branches of their tree, a shepherd dog that was close to Rex in coloring, a set of several cats wearing Santa hats that reminded her of the cats slinking around the barn and cabin, and a llama that looked nothing like theirs. She knew that Allyssa would appreciate the sentiment. For her big present to her wife, she bought a digital camera that came with a bunch of accessories. She insisted on cash from one client for a large job she did, so she could buy the camera, tripod, extra lenses, memory cards, and carrying cases without her wife’s knowledge. She knew Allyssa would love it and would learn to take the pictures she wanted of their charges.

  Fey barely made it home for Christmas Eve. The animals had no idea it was an important holiday, and she was so exhausted, she seriously considered pulling the truck over to sleep. Only the fact that her wife was waiting with supper in the oven and she desperately wanted to spend this Christmas with her wife kept her going forward despite the snow coming down in earnest. She could barely see the road and slowed to a snail’s pace as she crept along the slippery path. She had the window open a crack, the cold, crisp air keeping her awake. She nearly went off the road in several places as her windshield wipers swept up the rapidly accumulating snow. It was late as she finally came over the last hill into their rapidly closing driveway and parked the truck in front of the cabin.

  “Oh, God. I didn’t dare call you for fear you wouldn’t or couldn’t answer in this weather,” Allyssa nearly cried into her neck as she pulled her from the truck. “Get in out of this cold,” she admonished, although she was the one not dressed for it. “I have hot cocoa on the hearth and Christmas songs on the computer.”

  Fey could tell Allyssa was upset. She glanced at the rapidly falling snow and realized just how worried her wife had been. She let her pull her and her box of drugs into the cabin and out of the weather. She would worry about restocking her truck in the morning, if she even bothered to go out. Glancing around the warm cabin as her wife helped her out of her wrappings and then looking out the window at the falling snow beyond the windows, she hoped she wouldn’t be called out this one day of the year.

  * * * * *

  After a late but peaceful evening with a nice dinner, hot chocolate, Christmas music, Christmas lights sparkling on their tree, and relishing their quiet time alone together as they randomly spoke, they went to bed to enjoy each other and their first real holiday together.

  Waking early to the sound of the phone ringing off the hook, Fey got up. She knew it was someone needing her and her services. Remembering she needed to stock the truck, she did that as Allyssa quickly prepared a couple hot sandwiches for her trip using leftover roast beef.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized, sad that they wouldn’t have a peaceful Christmas together.

  “We’ll celebrate when you get home,” Allyssa promised, trying not to feel petulant about the call that was taking her wife away.

  “You can open–” she began, but Allyssa shoved a sandwich in her mouth to shush her.

  “Eat, stay warm, and come home to me as soon as you can,” she ordered with a smile, sending her wife on her way, waving cheerfully despite the depth of the snow and the unending work that seemed to come their way. She looked longingly at the Christmas stockings hanging from the fireplace as well as the packages that remained unopened under their Christmas tree. She spent most of Christmas Day plowing the long driveway to the road and back as well as the ranch yard, so Fey could drive into a cleared area. The snow was still coming down, and she worried that not everyone was as conscientious about keeping the roads as clear as she was.

  A client hesitantly drove up for some meds Fiona had prescribed for their dog. Allyssa, remembering the order, dispensed them along with a bill and wished the client a cheerful, “Merry Christmas and drive safely,” as she sent them on their way. Why they would assume a veterinarian’s office would be open on Christmas day and the staff would be there waiting on them, she didn’t know, but she wanted to appear happy to see them and wish them well.

  Fiona returned in the late afternoon. Allyssa had cleared all the drive she could see on the four-wheel drive that morning, but it was now just a memory. Already, the snow was coming down to close it again.

  Fiona wondered if they should have established their practice outside of town but realized that would have defeated the purpose of having the ranch and they would still have to travel. She sighed. She was tired and often wondered if other vets felt the way she did about the random calls that pulled them away from their families. She knew vets that refused to go out unless it was an emergency and then got irate if the call didn’t meet their criteria for an emergency. To a farmer or a rancher, it was always an emergency if they had to call their vet. She knew that Allyssa was strict about certain calls, and she would tack on extra for a holiday call like today. She was relieved to be home and headed for the shower, the hot water cleaning away the smells from the animals she had treated.

  “Hungry?” Allyssa asked with a smile as she came out of the bathroom in her robe.

  “Starved,” she admitted. It was then, she noticed her wife had lit candles around the cabin, turning off the main lighting and setting a table for the two of them. A small ham was neatly sliced, and each plate held a baked potato, squash, and two green vegetables. On the side she saw cranberries and a couple of desserts, including one made with Jello. “Wow! This is a veritable feast,” she said enthusiastically. She absolutely approved and leaned up to kiss her wife. “I don’t know how you did it, but it looks great.”

  Allyssa was so thrilled that Fey had noticed. She had been uncertain when to start everything. After all, the microwave could only hold so much. She had kept the hot plate on low to keep some of the vegetables warm, and when Fey had come in to take her shower she had pressed buttons and turned a knob to get everything warmed up and on the table. As the microwave ticked off the seconds and the hotplate heated their food, she lit the candles and set the table. By the time Fey was out of her shower, the food was on the table and looking fine. She was so proud of herself that she could barely wait to take that first taste. The lights on the small Christmas tree twinkled as they ate and appreciated each other. Rex was trying hard not to beg, looking away if they happened to look at him staring longingly at their food. The cats were a little more conspicuous, two of them watching every bite.

  “Do you want your presents now?” Fey asked, seeing her wife glancing at the small stack of presents and the stocking she hadn’t bothered to take down.

  “Let’s clear this before the animals lunge at the leftovers,” she said, gesturing towards their not-so-innocent faces.

  “Let me help you.” Fey got up to help, and between the two of them, the bulk of Christmas dinner was soon in the fridge. “Everyone okay in the barn?”

  “Yep. I managed to get the ATV into the paddock and pushed the snow up to the fence. Tomorrow, maybe I can get the backhoe in and throw the snow beyond the fence and get some space for the horses and llamas to move around. I think they are getting sick of the barn. That llama can be a little mean.”

  “What’d she do? Bite? Spit?” she asked, worried that an animal would hurt her wife while she was away and unable to help.

  “She put her ears back and would have kicked me, but her cria distracted her and I got out of the stall. She’s a bitch,” she said succinctly as she quickly started washing the dishes.

  “Uh uh. You made dinner, so I’ll wash,” Fey told her, taking away the washing sponge and the dish she had started to wash.

  “I’ll finish cleari
ng the table,” she volunteered and was just in time to stop one of the cats from trying to eat the sweet cranberry sauce. “Shoo! Scat!” she commanded, making a lunge at the cat, who eyed her at first to see if she was sincere and then ran away, angry at being caught.

  They soon had their feast put away and sat down to admire the tree. Each exchanged a stocking, enjoying the contents they had contributed. “We always had nuts and small candies in our stockings,” Fey admitted.

  “We always had the large apple and orange and a few nuts but no candy. ’It’s bad for your teeth,’” she said prissily, parroting her mother, and they shared a laugh.

  “Did you hear from your family?” Fey asked as she examined the knife she knew would be handy to keep in her pocket. She admired the blue color and wondered where her wife had found it. Seeing the red one in her wife’s own stocking, she smiled at her for gifting herself. She’d done the same when they placed their last order of medical supplies. She had a new microscope, which she had really wanted and justified it as not only a business expense but a present to herself.

  “Yes, my mother and sister called, and I called my father,” she sighed.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Despite my sister’s visit, both my parents seem to think this is just temporary and both asked when I would be coming ‘home,’” she made quotation marks in the air as she said it. “They don’t seem to understand that this is home.” She looked around the cozy cabin, her only regret was they weren’t in their own home this winter.

  Fey saw her glance and could read her face. “Any regrets?”

  “None. You?” she asked, her gaze returning to her wife and her pleasure returning despite her family.