Page 39 of One Hot Summer

“Well, I think he’s only been stung the once, which is good, but it’s on the back of his tongue,” Dr Stevens said, removing his gloves. “It’s swollen, which is why he’s struggling to breathe, but there are no signs of an allergic reaction. I can give him something for the pain, to see if that helps to relax him a little, while the swelling goes down. But in a few hours, tomorrow morning at the latest, I expect he’ll be back to normal.”

“Oh, thank you.” I smiled. “That’s such a relief. When he was hunched over and struggling to breathe, I really panicked.”

“Cats are notorious for getting stung by wasps and bees. Mostly wasps. Bees have the sense to fly away. Wasps fight back and then, well, this happens. And always this time of year too, when wasps are everywhere and cats see an opportunity to chase and pounce.”

I watched as Dr Stevens prepared a small injection that would hopefully give Bing some comfort.

“Well, thank you so much for seeing us. I know he isn’t your favourite patient.”

“I can’t deny that Bing and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but you never know, we might be best friends one day.” He turned around with the needle ready. “Before that day comes though, do you want to hold him down again? Just in case.”

As Zack was away for the evening, I called him on the way home from the vets to fill him in on the drama.

“Is he all right? Does he need to stay there overnight?” He had been so concerned for his buddy. “I can come back if you want?”

“Not necessary, he’s on the back seat in his carrier growling to himself, so no different to normal.” I sighed. “So, it looks like I can’t go shopping now. I’ll have to go on this posh holiday with my old raggy clothes and out-of-date bikinis. I hope they still fit.”

“Whatever you have will be absolutely fine, I’m sure,” he said. “You always look amazing, so please don’t worry.”

“Thank you,” I turned into my road, “I’m almost home. I’ll leave you to your evening.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

When I’d got Bing home, he stumbled out of his carrier and ran into the living room and on to the sheepskin rug by the fire, curling up into a ball. I brought his food and water to him, so he didn’t need to go too far if he woke up hungry or thirsty, and then settled myself at the kitchen table to call Sarah. It rang several times before she picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, are you busy?” I asked. “I was wondering if you wanted to call over for a coffee and keep me and Bing company?”

“Oh, well actually,” she hesitated, “I just wanted a quiet night tonight. Do you mind?”

“Of course not, it’s last minute. Blame Bing, he went to battle with a wasp and ruined my shopping plans. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m just tired. I had a full day of meetings, just one after another.” I heard her hold back a yawn.

“That sounds rubbish. How’s the dating app going?” I hadn’t heard about any impending dates since we last went on it together.

“It’s going okay. There was a guy who messaged me who seems nice… normal, even. We might be arranging something for tomorrow.”

“Oh, exciting! Tell me about him. It’s not the postman, is it?” I teased.

“Ha, no, not him. I’ll tell you about him after I meet him. We’ve spoken quite a bit, sent a lot of messages back and forth. We were messaging until one o’clock this morning actually, which probably wasn’t the best idea and it’s probably why I’m so tired now.” She stopped to yawn again. “Alessandro has been quite chatty too. We had a phone call the other night. It was nice to hear his voice again.”

“You should go back to see him,” I suggested. “Take a few romantic days away.”

“Ha, maybe. He suggested that too. Have you started packing for your romantic holiday? One week to go! I bet you’re so giddy now.”

“Not packed yet, plenty of time for that, but I’m so excited. And now he’s moving in I can’t tell you how happy I am. There’s so much to look forward to.” I smiled to myself. “Oh, we need to arrange a date to bring Bing over before I go. When is best for you?”

“Ah yes, bring him anytime, I don’t mind when. You’ve got a key so you can just let yourself in if I’m not here.” She yawned again.

“Sorry if I’m keeping you up. I’ll get off if you want to relax for the evening.”

“Don’t say sorry. I’m fine, honestly, just had a long day and think I’m getting a headache.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave you to rest and we’ll chat later.”

“Call me in a few days and I’m sure I’ll be feeling better. And we can finalise a day for you to bring Bing over.”

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