He simply waited, expecting me to provide, to obey, to break.
I hadn’t broken, at least I didn’t think so.I needed out.And here was my moment.
I felt so relieved, and yet also like I was betraying him.Had he made me think like that?
“Sorry,” he muttered, no apology in his voice.“You know I love you, babe.Just find someone to take the kid.Or put it in an orphanage or something.”
“It?Anorphanage?He’s my brother!”I yelled into the phone.
There was a pause.“You know I’m joking.But you’re due back for your overnight on Sunday.”Jay’s tone darkened, each word sharpened to a blade’s edge as he dropped the boyfriend-act and spoke as my supervisor.“If you don’t show, you’ll lose your residency.It’s a three-year contract with limited absences allowed, in case you forgot.If you miss one more day, you’re out.”
I could barely breathe, fearful of disappointing him and terrified I had to.I was just months away from finishing my residency, from being qualified to sit for the specialty exam.I couldn’t lose it all, not now.
He remained silent.Expecting obedience.
When I didn’t reply immediately, I heard the rage in his voice.“Don’t make this difficult.It’s a simple choice: family bullshit or your career.You decide whether you’re smart enough to keep what you’ve worked for.”
ChapterTwo
ERIKA
I pushedthrough the front door into what had been my playground growing up, Midstreet Veterinary Clinic.The stench hit me hard—a strange blend of deodorizer, microwaved Italian food, and wet dog.I switched to breathing through my mouth, a skill I’d mastered after years of dealing with truly awful smells.
I hadn’t decided yet if I should outright kill Josh or chew him a new asshole.Maybe chew first and kill second?Prison sounded like a happy vacation from the new reality of my life.
The barn-like vet hospital housed two sides.The left was a small animal clinic for dogs, cats, and assorted smaller pets.The right side was reserved for large animals like horses, goats, llamas, sheep, and cows.Usually, not pigs.Dad never liked working with them.Not treating pigs was odd since this part of the state was considered hog country, but Dad always said there were better vets out there to handle the hogs.The right side of the clinic served primarily as a mobile truck garage and the supply storage.
Tracker stuck close to my side.Three years ago, a client surrendered him to me when he couldn’t pay to fix his fractured leg.I didn’t know I needed a dog until I spent six months helping him recover from surgery.One of my prouder moments as an ER vet had been fixing his complex fracture and seeing it heal.
“Thank God, you’re here.”Marty Winters stood from behind the reception desk.She rushed around and pulled me into a hug I hadn’t realized I needed.She smelled of sugar cookies and hand sanitizer.
“You haven’t aged a day since I left.”I smiled at her as I pulled away.“I missed you.”
“You grew up, hon.I’m so sorry about your father.Bless his soul, he was a bright light here.”Her copper-red dyed hair and the wrinkle-free complexion she long ago credited to nightly cold-cream treatments kept her looking no more than her late forties, although she had to be in her early sixties by now.Somehow, in addition to managing the clinic and working as a receptionist, greeter, debt collector, and janitor for twenty years—maybe longer—this amazing woman also led the Ladies League at the Methodist church and sat on the Festival Board for the town.The Ladies League competed with the Women’s Society out of the Baptist church for Festival Board seats.
Marty scooted behind the counter to flip through pages in a hand-written appointment book.This had to be one of the only practices in the state that didn’t use a computer for their appointments.“There’s a stuck cow up at the Sawyer farm.She’s been pushing all night and now she’s down.”
“I’m sorry about the cow.”I picked at peeling paint on the reception desk counter, wondering why this was important.
The décor of the waiting room hadn’t changed in two decades—the wood paneling, the spindle chairs, and the slightly off-blue paint on the walls.I think I saw a magazine that I might’ve read in my teens still in the magazine bin.They hadn’t even changed the photo of a cow with his tongue out that my dad found at a yard sale in the early nineties.
“It’s Dr.Chomping’s day to do the farm calls, but since he’s no longer with us, God rest his soul, and Dr.Hurst is seeing dogs and cats today, you’re up.Dr.Hurst is fully booked all day.You remember how that goes, I'm sure.”Her tone implied I needed to do farm calls.
“Whoa.”I held up my hands.“I’m here to talk out details with Josh…I mean, Dr.Hurst, and go home.Home as in Pennsylvania.”
She pushed keys across the counter.“You remember how to get to the Sawyer farm?”
I stared at the keys.“I don’t work here.”
“The truck’s been sticky on the first startup of the day,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard me.“You have to pump the gas three or four times before turning it over.She only needed a jump twice this month.”
“I haven’t touched a cow since vet school.That was years ago.I'm not licensed in NC.”
“Yes, you are.Your dad kept your license up.He said you were moving back after graduation and even posted your license.”
“What?”Sure, I might’ve taken the NC Board exam in a moment of insecurity triggered by doubt I’d get the internship I wanted, but I didn’t think I’d told him.Or maybe I did during our holiday call?“He kept my license current?How?”
“You also pay a once-a-year privilege tax.”She opened the file drawer and pulled out a file folder labeled, “Licenses.”She held up a one-quarter sheet of paper that was a North Carolina medical license with my name and the current year.
