Page 41 of Fruit
“It just started out of nowhere. She’s still so small…”
“She may be small, but she’s tough as nails. Come on, Sebastián, you know Nina. You think she’s going to let this stop her?”
Sebastián frowns, looking down at his hands clasped on his lap. “I don’t even know when it started. I wasn’t paying attention…”
“Dude, it’d be a little creepy if you were staring at her all day. It’s past midnight; it was lucky you even caught it when you did.”
“I just…”
“You did good. Thanks for calling me,” I say sincerely. He looks at me, taking in the dress I’m wearing, my make-up and fluffed hair.
“You were out.”
“Yeah, and I’m glad you called me. Seriously. Thanks.”
Sebastián opens his mouth to reply, but we both turn our heads as we hear someone approach. Sebastián immediately gets up, and I follow. To my relief, the vet is smiling.
“She’s going to be fine,” she says, taking in our worried faces. Sebastián slumps with relief and I squeeze his arm again.
“What happened?” I ask.
“It was an allergic reaction, probably from something she ate. She had a rash on her belly and had some trouble breathing, but we’ve given her some medication, and she’s levelling out as we speak.”
Sebastián looks at the vet guiltily. “I gave her some of my food…”
“That’s not uncommon. It’s difficult to predict these things, but I would stick with cat foods which have not caused a reaction in the past. We can run some tests when she’s feeling better to pinpoint what it was, if you’d like.”
“Will that hurt her? The tests,” Sebastián asks.
“No. It might cause a little rash, but nothing serious.”
“Okay. Yeah, okay, that’d be good, so we know what to avoid. But—she’s going to be okay?”
“Yep—she might be a little woozy for the next few hours due to the medication, but you can take her home if you want.”
“Really? You don’t want to keep her for observation or something?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, but you can bring her right back in if anything happens.”
“All right. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” the vet says patiently. “I just need to fill out some paperwork, and I have some for you, and we can look at the fee and you can take her. Sound good?”
“Okay. Can we see her first?”
“Yes, of course. Come with me.”
We follow the vet into the exam room and find Nina lying on one of the metal tables there. Sebastián goes straight towards her, his large hand hovering over Nina for a moment before stroking gently. Nina, as the vet warned, seems a little out of it, but she’s breathing normally.
I give Sebastián some space as he pets Nina for a few moments, his face closed off. Eventually, he takes a step away, looking at me.
“Can you keep her company while I take care of the paperwork?” he asks me. I look at the vet, who nods, before turning to Sebastián again.
“’Course,” I say. On impulse, I reach up and give him a hug. Sebastián looks so put together most of the time that it’s both disquieting and humanising to see him so rattled.
“She’s fine, okay? I’ll be here, and then we can take her home,” I tell him. He nods against me, his arms wrapping around me lightly for a moment before he steps away.
I scratch the back of Nina’s neck lightly as I wait. My mind wanders to the strain in Sebastián’s voice when he called me, his hunched position and drawn face as he sat in the fluorescent lights of the waiting room, unable to hide. It’s not that his worry had been disproportionate, exactly, but it had been almost incongruous with the calm way he deals with difficulties in the youth club.
