Page 13 of Honest Neglect

“Come on, honey,” she urged me gently. “You need to eat something.”

“I know,” I sighed. “Thank you, Grace. You’ve done so much for me and Silver, and I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful.”

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Grace replied as she went to fill up my glass of water again. She had been rushing around since the moment I had arrived here, doing everything she could to take care of me, and I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to express just how grateful I was for all she had done.

It turned out that she was a retired veterinarian, and she had been taking care of Silver as best she could. Though Silver was a little scorched from the fire, she hadn’t received anything other than flesh wounds, so there was no reason for us to think she would need further treatment, beyond just resting up and getting plenty of food. Grace had a stash of dog food out back for when she ran into stray dogs, and Silver had already eaten her way through nearly all of it. Right now, she was curled up on the couch next to Leroy, fast asleep.

Leroy and I had spent most of the night talking, as I tried to explain to him the enormity of everything that had happened. Turned out, he knew Warren from his military days. He was the one who pinned the medals on him. He remembered Warren for his brave service, and as soon as I had brought up his name again, he had been eager to do what he could to help.

I sipped on my water as Grace made herself some breakfast. Even though she had been up most of the night too, it hardly seemed to have affected her.

“How do you run on so little sleep?” I asked her enviously.

“My job,” she replied with a shrug. “Had to be ready to be up at all hours of the day and night if someone thought their beloved cat was acting a little funny. You get used to it.”

She flashed me a warm smile, and I returned it. She reminded me of my mom. In fact, I was sure she and my mom would have gotten along well, maybe not meeting under these circumstances, but in some alternate reality where they could become friends.

I leaned back in my seat. Leroy had told me to get something to eat while we took a break, and I didn’t know how long it would be before I was back to being interrogated again. I knew he was on my side, but the way he spoke sometimes, it was hard to believe it. I guessed that was why he had gotten so far in the military. They liked that kind of thing, right?

“Don’t mind my husband,” Grace told me kindly, as though she was reading my mind. “He gets a little short-tempered sometimes when he knows it’s important.”

“It’s okay,” I replied. “I know he’s just trying to help.”

“He is,” she agreed, and she glanced beneath the table at Silver. “Speaking of help, how about you finish up and then we can take her outside so I can get a better look at her? I want to make sure she’s not carrying any injuries, and I can give her a saline drip in my stables.”

“You have a clinic here?”

“Just a few things, for the horses,” she explained. “I spent most of my time as an equine vet, and I still have a few of the old things living out back. Just can’t bear to get rid of them. The hopeless cases especially.”

She flashed me a smile. I finished up my soup and followed her outside, coaxing a tired Silver behind me. Now that she could finally rest, it seemed as though the enormity of her journey was starting to get the better of her. Her tail was drooping, and she was dragging her paws with every step.

Grace flicked on the lights in her stable and led Silver over to an examination table at the far side. I helped lift her up, and I couldn’t help but notice how light she felt in my arms, as though she had lost weight.

I stood back and chewed my lip as I watched Grace give Silver the onceover, praying that everything was going to be okay with her. I knew she had been through a lot, and she might have been carrying an injury I didn’t even know about.

“It looks as though she’s doing okay,” Grace told me finally as she stepped back. “Her paws are pretty torn up, and she’s dehydrated. I’d like to give her a saline drip, if that’s good with you.”

“That’s fine,” I replied, breathing a sigh of relief. As Grace put the drip in, I stroked Silver’s head, but she didn’t make a peep in protest.

“I also noticed she had some scorched fur,” Grace remarked, almost casually. “You know anything about how that might have come to be?”

“She was in a fire,” I replied. Even though Silver had made it out alive, I couldn’t help but think of all the other animals who must have perished there because of me. That was a burden I would bear for the rest of my life.

“I heard there was a fire at the animal shelter across the county,” Grace commented. “Was that the one she was caught in?”

“I think so,” I replied, scratching Silver’s head. She planted it down between her paws, her eyes already drooping as she struggled to stay awake.

Grace fell silent for a moment, and, as she put away the drip, I could see that her hands were shaking. Her face was filled with anger, as though she was barely containing herself right now.

“You think the people who are after you might have had something to do with this?” she asked me quietly.

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes,” I replied.

Grace didn’t say anything for a moment as she pulled off the gloves she had been wearing.

“I can’t stand people who do anything to harm animals,” she told me matter-of-factly. “I’ve seen it a few times over the years, but it never gets any easier. People like that? They don’t appreciate everything animals can do for them. The love they have in them. They’re monsters.”

She let the words hang in the air for a moment, then frowned and turned to me.