“Well, that’s actually exactly what they are,” he said with a laugh, finishing turning the tiny screw he was attaching to a metal arm as he peered through a set of magnifying lenses. “Big snow slide off the barn roof. They didn’t get out of the way fast enough.”
“I guess they froze,” she said wryly.
Chuckling, finished with his task, he flipped up the lenses, looked at the small motherboard he’d attached to the mechanical arm he was holding and smiled. “That might do it.” He actually kind of braced himself before looking directly at her. It was Christmas day, late afternoon, and due to the unceasing snowstorms, he hadn’t seen her since he’d left her house in the early morning hours after their first, and thus far only, night together. If you didn’t count the nights they’d spent together over the phone.
He was dead certain he’d blown everything that had happened, everything he’d been feeling since, way out of proportion to actual reality.
And he really, really, wanted to be wrong about that.
He turned toward her, and his face split in a wide welcoming grin, one that matched hers exactly. He felt immediately ridiculous for second guessing even for a fraction of a second what he knew was real.
“Welcome to my laboratory.” He gestured to the long wooden table laden with cords, gears, wheels, and metal rods. Several computers were lined up along the wall behind him. “A lot more rustic than yours, somewhat Frankensteinian perhaps, but I call it home.”
Avery still stood just inside the door. She grinned at his description, then turned her attention to the bits and pieces strewn all over his table. He saw her scan the various parts, then look at the schematics that were up on the various computer monitors. Her eyes went wide and she looked back at him. “Prosthetics?”
He nodded.
“For animals?”
“I’m working on a computerized, voice command enhancement that will work with some of the prosthetics already in use, as well as prototypes I’ve been developing for some time. The idea is that they will work in a similar way to voice command software.”
“You mean like Siri, or Alexa?”
“Exactly. It would give the animal a fuller range of motion.”
Avery walked around the table and stopped right in front of him. He had to curl his fingers into his palms to keep from yanking her into his arms. She reached up and tugged the magnifying lenses off his head and patted his shoulder. “I hate to be the one to break this to you, Dr. Doolittle, but despite what you’ve seen on TV, animals can’t talk. How will they give the commands?”
He took the lenses from her hands and laid them on the table. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear anything you’re saying. My big brain is all clouded up with this.” He did pull her into his arms then, and did what he’d been dying to do from the moment he’d closed the front door to Lavender Blue five days ago. He kissed her. Then kissed her again.
“Better,” she said, looking a little dazed herself when he finally lifted his head.
“I’m sorry, what?” he replied. “I still can’t hear you.”
She grinned, then pulled his head down and kissed him right back. “Hi,” she said, as her lips left his.
“Hi, yourself,” he replied. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” she said softly. “Is it okay to say I’ve missed you?”
He wanted to scoop her up and carry her directly to the house, to his bed, and he wanted them both to stay there until the new year. “It’s okay to say anything you want.”
“It seems funny, since I just found you, and we’ve only just…” She trailed off, shook her head. “But I really have. Phone calls are wonderful, and I appreciate your giving me so much of your time, given what you needed most was to get some sleep.”
“We shared that time,” he said. “I’d have gone without all sleep if necessary. When obstacles arise, you do what’s needed to keep things moving forward.” He slid her arms around his waist and kept her close. “My days are better now, because you’re in them.” Now he smiled. “Is it okay if I say that?”
She looked up at him. “Very okay.”
“Even though we haven’t been able to see each other face-to-face in a few days, I feel like we already have a running, ongoing conversation. You’re part of my daily dialogue. I want to tell you things, ask you things, hear what you’re doing.” He looked at the table. “I’ve wanted to show you this since the night we decorated the tree, when you were talking about finding your thing.”
“My thing,” she repeated. “Prosthetics?”
“They’re my thing,” he said. “A pet project I’ve worked on for a long time.” He smiled. “I don’t pack and bring my ornaments with me, but I do ship all this stuff wherever I go. And…I could use your help. I was hoping maybe you’d be willing to lend me your analytical skills, help me with some of the schematics.”
She looked surprised but intrigued by his request. “Well, you know what they say, two big brains are better than one.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
He led her over to one of the computers, punched a few keys, and brought up a movie file. “Watch this.” The clip was just a few minutes long, but it showed a small, mixed-breed dog, with his hind two legs strapped to a small wheeled cart. “That’s Mookie. He’s part French Bulldog, part something we don’t know.” He smiled with her.
“What happened to him?” Avery asked.
“IVDD. Intervertebral Disk Disease. It’s when the disks between the vertebrae in the cervical or thoracolumbar areas of the spine—the neck and back—degenerate. In Mookie’s case the inner disk material protruded and ruptured into the spinal canal.”
“That sounds awful.” She looked from the screen to Ben. “It can’t be surgically repaired?”
“It can, and Mookie had successful surgery once, but the degeneration in his case was pretty severe, and when it happened again, it wasn’t reversible, leaving his hind legs paralyzed.”
Avery’s expression fell and she turned back to the monitor. “He looks young. So I guess it’s not always an age related thing?”
Ben shook his head. “He’s four. Average life expectancy for a dog his size would easily be ten to twelve years, quite possibly more.”
“So he has a long time to go, dealing with this.”
“The cart he’s strapped into allows him to get around without dragging his hind legs behind him.”
“Oh, look at him go,” Avery said, transfixed by the happy little dog racing around an outdoor enclosure with other, fully functional dogs. “And he even goes over bumpy terrain.” She looked at Ben when the clip ended. “You designed that?” she asked.
“I did build that particular cart, yes, but it’s been done before. A wheeled cart has become a standard type of prosthetic for dogs with various hind quarter issues. Paralysis, weak hips, or amputation. They vary somewhat in design due to the situation, but they have improved substantially over the years, with things like wheels that can traverse uneven, open ground.”
Avery turned so she faced him, resting her hip against the table. “And you want to improve the technology to include voice command. What would that enable to the animal to do?”
“Well, sit, for one, lie down. They do have spring loaded versions that allow some version of squatting if the animal has the muscle control for that, but being able to relieve themselves and not being in a strapped upright position all the time would really improve the quality of life. They don’t wear these all the time, so they can do things like lie down and get help with the other things, like relieving themselves. If I can create a voice command system, at the very least, the owner can give a voice command from wherever they happen to be and assist the animal without having to physically go to them and get them in and out of the harness each time. Eventually, my end goal would be to have a system sensitive enough that a dog could be taught to bark i
n a way that would trigger various computerized functions. Not a fix for all animals, of course, but it would be an amazing step forward in the field.”
Avery was watching him as he spoke, and he could see the admiration, the respect, and the sincere interest in her eyes. He liked that part best.
“Have you ever considered prosthetics for farm animals?” she asked. “Like, if Scooter had been injured in some way. Could you do something that would have helped him be mobile?”
He nodded. “It’s been done in varying degrees, but the possibilities are more limited given their daily routines are far different from those of house pets.”
“True,” she said. “Still, the possibilities are there. Especially with smaller critters like pygmy-sized goats.”
“Agreed.” He stepped in so she was in his arms once again. “I don’t want to take you away from what you’re doing at the farm, but you mentioned it was your slow time of year, and I recall there was begging involved, and you gave me carte blanche to use your genius however I wanted.”
She smiled up at him. “I might have been under the influence of an extreme level of pheromones at the time, but I stand by my declaration.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said, chuckling. “As it happens, notwithstanding the past few days of emergency calls, this ought to be a slow time for me, too. In a regular practice where there are no boarding facilities, the holiday season is typically when I can put in the most work on this. Maybe, when you have a spare hour here or there, you’d be willing to let me show you the specifics of my current prototype, get you to look over the diagrams. I think a fresh pair of eyes, especially paired with your analytic skills, might help me resolve a few of the—”
“I’d love to,” she said before he could finish. “I can’t promise I’ll be any help, but I’d be very interested in learning more and doing what I can. This project is really fascinating. How did you get into it? Never mind. Don’t tell me. Your mom came home with a three-legged kangaroo or something.”
“Or something,” he said on a laugh. “Not a kangaroo, but you got it in one. A friend of my mum’s had a dog with IVDD and they were at a loss on what to do to help their pet. She contacted me, I did some research, and the rest, as they say—”
“Is this voice-controlled version something that could be put into production? Like a business?”
“I don’t know. The voice command elements and parts, perhaps, but each animal would need a unique fit.” He looked at Avery. “I’m not doing this as a money-making venture. I like being a vet. This is something I do just to help, because I can, and I enjoy the challenge.” He smiled. “My way of using the big brain, I guess.”
She smiled at that, and he saw a flicker, a split second when she looked away. “Avery,” he said quietly, tipping her chin up so her eyes met his again. “I’m not—this isn’t supposed to make you feel like you’re not—”
“I know,” she said. “And it doesn’t. Truly. I meant what I said, about no longer feeling that I’m supposed to go out and save the world. Chey and I were talking about this the other day. I don’t think I have to do anything, or prove anything, but I wouldn’t mind having my own thing. A thing I’m particularly passionate about, that calls to me personally.”
“I definitely get that. And I know it’s not just something you can go out and find; it has to happen organically. You said you always like to keep your mind actively working on something. What kinds of things do you do?”
“I set up learning tasks, studying something that interests me. It could be anything from learning about a new region.” She smiled. “Like dialects in Australia. Or learning a new language, or anything that intrigues me, really.”
“Like researching exactly what makes two people fall in love?”
Her pupils expanded and her lips parted, just slightly, but she didn’t look away. “Like that,” she said, sounding maybe a little breathless. She cleared her throat, and added, “It doesn’t serve any greater purpose. More of a continuing education kind of thing.”
“Well, I’d be happy to add a course in prosthetic development to your on-going curriculum if you’re interested.”
“Enroll me,” she said with a laugh. “How do you fund all this? Do you have sponsors?”
He shook his head. “Out of pocket, thus far. In some cases, pet owners I’ve helped have contributed to supply the cost of materials, which honestly aren’t that pricey, not at this stage. I can build most things from parts taken from used computer components and scrap metal. My folks hold a fundraiser back in Australia twice a year, and that’s grown quite a decent nest egg. They’ve invested the funds raised for now. It’s become a pretty good foundation to launch this into a more developed system, when the time comes.”
“That’s…amazing. Your folks sound like such wonderful people. I’d love to meet them sometime.”
“They’d love that, too.”
She looked truly surprised. “They know about me?”
“Don’t panic,” he said with a smile. “My mom can read me like a book, even via FaceTime. She dragged it out of me.”
“What did you say?” Avery asked, not looking upset, but curious.
“Just that I’ve met someone they’d really like, which is true. I think you all would sincerely enjoy each other.” He cupped her cheek, lifted her gaze to his. “I’d like to share my family with you. Not because you need one,” he added, “but, they’d get you, Avery. And who doesn’t need more people who get them in their lives?”
“That’s a lovely thing,” she told him, clearly touched. “Thank you. Whether I ever meet them or not…thank you for wanting that for me.”
“Always.”
She blinked a few times and he leaned down to kiss the dampness from the corners of her eyes. “You do realize that you’re an amazing person, thingless or not, right?” He lifted his head. “Look at the life you’ve built, the joy in it. There’s no measure anyone could apply to what you’ve accomplished here and not have that equation equal success.”
She tipped up on her toes and kissed him, gently at first, then more intently. “There’s a lot more joy in it now,” she said. “Thank you for that, too.”
She stepped back then and smoothed her hair, and the front of the jacket she still had on. He noted she’d worn the no-longer-white coat and smiled.
She squared her shoulders and clapped her hands together, then held them there, giving the room a quick once-over. “Okay. So. Where do we begin?” He could see the wheels already turning and she hadn’t even looked at the first diagram.
He grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. We can start over here.” He led her over to the bank of monitors showing a series of schematics and started to explain them to her, fully aware he had no real idea what he’d just unleashed.
He watched as she pulled a clean notepad over and started making a quick series of notes, shooting rapid-fire questions at him, and knew he was damned sure going to enjoy finding out.
Chapter 12
“You will? That’s wonderful. Yes, thank you so much. I will tell him. We’ll be back in touch.” Avery hung up the phone and did a little jig.
“Good news, I take it,” Vivi said as she entered the manor house kitchen.
“Very,” Avery said. “I’ve been in contact with a few of the professors at the university where my parents taught, where I got my first doctorate. Engineering and computer science fields. I thought they might be able to help with funding ideas for Ben’s prosthetics. It turns out they can do more than that. I spoke with Dr. Farrell just now and he thinks they might be able to get students to work on actually making the basic computerized components as part of their coursework. It’s a curriculum model that might work with other colleges and universities as well,” she said, almost vibrating with excitement. Her mind was already spinning on the myriad of possibilities generated by just that one phone call.
“That’s marvelous news,” Vivi said, eyes sparkling with delight.
“I’m already wondering if we could maybe include veterinary schools, or animal behavior scientists, maybe create a program where students could work here in a hands-on way, directly with special needs animals.” She looked around for a notepad and a pen. She needed to start writing this down. “And he had wonderful ideas about how to get grant funding.”
“That all sounds very exciting,” Vivi said, crossing the room to give her a tight hug. “What a fabulous way to kick off the new year.”
“I can’t wait to tell Ben,” Avery said, kissing Vivi on the cheek. “I have to finish prepping the dried lavender so we can make the dresser drawer sachets and dryer packets, but then I’d like to head out to Doc’s if that’s okay? I want to tell him about this in person. Then we’ll need to sit down and sketch out several proposals, for the coursework and for the grants. I don’t think I’ll be back for dinner.”
Vivi turned Avery back around and pulled her into another tight hug, stilling her for a moment. She kissed Avery’s cheek, then leaned back, her arms still around Avery’s shoulders. “I can take care of the rest of the sachets. With the tea room closed and the window replacements on hold due to this crazy snow season we’re having, I’ve got time on my hands.”
“I know, but I feel like I’ve been handing off too much lately—”
“You’ve done the work of three of us pretty much since we first moved in here, so we can have time for our other things.” Vivi beamed. “Now you have other things, and we’re here for you. That’s how this works.”
Avery smiled, and felt a little stunned. “I guess I do have a thing, don’t I?” And she didn’t just mean her relationship with Ben. She was truly invested in his side project, but in a completely different way than he was. She loved what he was doing, that he was finding new ways to help animals facing mobility issues, and she wanted to support that goal any way she could.
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