Page 6 of Capricorn Blessed

I’m not sure how smart goats are supposed to be, but he seems to understand as he starts to eat.

Moving to the couch, I sit down and use my phone to google what to feed goats. Looks like I’ll be hunting somewhere that sells hay and alfalfa. Guess that’s a problem for tomorrow. For now, I’m going to search social media and see if anyone is missing a goat.

The next day’s work passes quickly. My mind keeps wandering back to Billy and hoping he and my apartment are okay. After he ate, he spent the rest of the night sleeping on the couch while I had no luck finding anyone who admitted they had lost him. I did find a stable willing to sell me some hay, so at least while we are stuck together, Billy will be well fed.

I move to a desk in one of the shared office spaces after my last patient to catch up on my charts. Most days I try to keep up, so I’m done when my patients are, but today I couldn’t seem to keep up. A stack of files and my laptop sit in front of me. Sighing, I open the top file and glance at my handwritten notes before finding the digital patient file.

I know the digital files make it easier to share information with all the doctors on the team, but it can feel very redundant sometimes having to retype everything I’ve written. Oh well, the faster I get started, the faster I can get finished.

A hand lands on my shoulder as I close the last file. I flinch so hard that I almost fall out of the chair. A familiar deep chuckle reaches my ears.

“Dennis, when did you get here?” I ask, spinning the chair around to face him.

“About ten minutes ago,” he answers. “You seemed so focused, I didn’t want to interrupt. How was your day?”

Shrugging, I answer, “Same old, same old. Although I’m thinking of investing in a tablet, so I can do my notes once and be done. How was yours?”

“It was good. I got to dismiss two patients as recovered. Seeing as it’s only five o’clock, could I tempt you to join me for a drink?”

“That sounds tempting, but I have an errand I have to run outside the city tonight.” I stand and gather the stack of files to return to the nurses’ station. “Otherwise I would say yes.”

He reaches out and lifts the stack from my arms. “What errand? I don’t mind making a stop, and I’m sure we can find somewhere near there to go or come back and find something in the city. After all, we live in the city that never sleeps.”

“Ummmm...” I debate with myself if I want to tell him or not. I mean, having a goat in your apartment isn’t a typical New Yorker thing to do. Let alone taking him to a rescue. “I need to run by a farm for a few things,” I decide to answer.

“Oh cool! Does the farm have horses?” Dennis asks. “I’ve always wanted to ride a horse, but I’ve never had the chance.”

I laugh but don’t correct him.

We head out front after grabbing our things from our lockers and changing back into street clothes, walking down the block to catch the subway. Our conversation comes easily, and before I realize it, Dennis is standing up and offering me his hand.

“It’s about to be your normal stop.” He helps me up and we scooch past the others to make our way to the doors.

As the train stops, he places his hand in the middle of my back, leading me up the stairs and back onto the street.

“Okay, where to now?” he asks, looking up and down the street.

“I just need to run by my apartment and grab something real quick.”

I lead him to my building and up to my door. Opening it, I see Billy laying on the couch. I walk in and scoop him up, turning to find Dennis waiting in the door.

“Dennis this is Billy. I found him last night.”

“And he’s made it here from a farm outside the city?” he asks.

“No, but it’s an animal rescue. I’m hoping they will take care of him.”

He nods.

“Do you think they have horses?” he asks.

I laugh and shrug. “I have no idea,” I answer. “This is my first time going there. But their website had a lot of animals.”

He smiles. “That seems like a noble thing to do. Many people would have ignored an animal in need over inconvenience themselves.”

I beam. We exit the apartment, locking the door behind us. I carry Billy down the stairs, holding him closely while Dennis hails a cab.

The driver gives me a weird look as I slide into the backseat with a goat, but doesn’t comment. I guess he’s seen stranger things working in New York. I tell him the address as Dennis climbs in and then we are making our way out of the city.

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