Page 19 of Second Act
Chapter 6
At seven forty-five the next evening, Carla walked into the examination room where Jessica and Tiana were wrestling with a German shepherd mix who didn’t want to have his temperature taken. “Hon, you gotta stop and eat something,” the receptionist said to Jessica. “I saw your dinner still in the bag on your desk.”
“I’m a little busy right now,” Jessica said, holding the dog’s haunches so he didn’t leap off the table. “In fact, could you get Matthew in here to help?”
“As soon as this one’s done, you take a break,” Carla ordered.
Jessica knew better than to argue when Carla was on the warpath, so she nodded.
“Mattie!” Carla yelled down the hallway. “Get your butt in here and help out the doc.”
With the assistance of the extra tech, they got the dog’s examination completed. As soon as the dog and his owner exited, Carla appeared at the door and gave Jessica her “don’t mess with me” look.
“I’m going, I’m going,” Jessica said, stripping off her gloves and tossing them in the trash before scrubbing her hands and arms.
“I nuked it for you, so it might be edible,” Carla said. “You got two more patients and then we’re closing up.”
She’d lost track of the time and forgotten to eat...again. It wasn’t as though she was losing weight, because she was often so ravenous afterwork that she would grab some fat- and carb-filled fast food and stuff it down at nine o’clock at night. She really had to choose healthier meals.
When she got to her desk, she found Geode sniffing a tuna melt and a walnut-and-pear salad from one of her favorite places, the Ceres Café. When she bit into the sandwich, she tasted tarragon, garlic, lemon, and a sharp, tangy cheddar. “I’ll save you some tuna if you let me eat in peace,” she said, shooing the cat off the desk.
Her cell phone pinged with an incoming text message, but she ignored it until she’d polished off half the sandwich and several forkfuls of salad.
She glanced down to see Pete’s name and swiped it.Business trip got canceled. Would really like to see you before Saturday.
A shimmer of pleasure suffused her body. It felt nice to be wanted. She mentally reviewed her schedule. She was committed to Hugh on her evening off, and the rest of the week was filled with work.
Maybe a late drink on Thursday night? Nine-ish?
There was virtually no delay before he replied,As long as I don’t get in trouble with your fairy godmother, I’ll be at your door then.
A smile curled the corners of her lips.She may get huffy and leave some residual mice and pumpkins around. But if you don’t mind me in rags, it’s all good.
My first response about what I’d like to do with your rags could get me in trouble,he texted back,so I’ll just say that I find you beautiful in whatever you wear.
He was upping the level of flirtation. Her stomach felt unsettled by the escalation, so she gave Geode his promised treat and packed up the rest of her dinner.
Her phone pinged again, and she debated whether to read it or not. She wasn’t sure she could handle another exchange with Pete right now. But she looked anyway and found Diego’s name on her screen.
Khonsu vomited. Not looking so good. Can you come?
“Oh, dear,” she muttered as she texted him back:Two more appointments and then I’ll be there.
When Jessica walked through the front door of the Carver Center, Emily was leaning against the reception desk, wearing her usual tailored skirt and blazer and talking with the night guard. A look of relief crossed the director’s face when she saw the vet.
“Diego is downstairs with Khonsu,” Emily said as she pushed off the desk. “We cleaned out a storage room and moved both dogs in there. I’ll show you where it is.” She led the way to the stairs, her low-heeled pumps clicking on the gray linoleum. “It would be devastating for Isaiah if something happened to his dog. But you already understand that.”
Jessica nodded. “Khonsu isn’t a puppy or elderly, so giardiasis shouldn’t be fatal for him.”
“You’ve saved more than one of our dogs,” Emily said. “I trust you to pull Khonsu through.”
But Jessica had lost plenty of patients over the years. Every single one of them broke her heart a little, but the dogs at the center were especially precious because the kids loved them without reservation.
At the foot of the stairs, Emily bypassed the kennel area, turning into a narrow hallway with several doors leading off it and pushing open the second one. “There’s not a lot of room in there, so I’ll leave you to it.” She wrinkled her nose as the stench wafted out into the corridor. “Not to mention that you need a gas mask to survive in there.”
Jessica laughed as she walked into what was really a large closet.
“Doc, it’s so good to see you.” Diego knelt by Khonsu’s crate, his brown eyes clouded with worry. “He wouldn’t take his metro, and then he vomited. He seems really weak.”
