Page 50 of Never Too Late to Date

‘Please try! I will pay for everything. Medicines, scans, even your time. I have money.’

Alex frowned.

‘It’s not just about the money. And of course I wouldn’t charge for my time. What do you think I am? This is a practical decision based on the evidence in front of me.’

Vicky’s hand shook as she stroked the dog’s back, the nearest part she could reach. She had a little curl of hair on top of her head, just like Scout. The animal’s pathetic attempt at a cry in response to her touch almost broke her heart.

‘Damn the evidence. If you think she’s got a chance, even a tiny one, then please help her, I’m begging you.’

Alex looked at the dog, up at her and down at the dog again.

‘And in the unlikely event she does make it, are you going to commit to looking after her? On top of your other work at the sanctuary?’

She jumped at the tiny sign of him wavering. It was very faint, but it was definitely there.

‘Yes! Of course. I’ll do anything if you’ll help her. She’s called Dolly, by the way.’

The name had come to her a moment ago, but it felt right.

Alex threw his hands up in the air in surrender.

‘On your head be it.’

‘Thank you, thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me yet; there’s a long way to go. We might still lose her.’

Alex gave the dog a last stroke before reaching for the tools of his trade, laid out ready on the trolley.

‘Strap yourself in, Dolly, for a very bumpy ride.’

The relief washed over Vicky in waves, but there was no time to relax. All she’d won was a tiny victory in the battle to save Dolly. It would sound crazy to say it out loud, but she already loved this dog and knew she’d do anything for her. Alex had his serious face on.

‘Our first job is to get this big wound stitched up. She can’t afford to lose any more blood. Let’s give her something to dull the pain too, but not too much. It’s better if she’s conscious and we can monitor her vitals. Knocking her out completely could be the end of her.’

Vicky gave an involuntary cry of her own. She was going to have to toughen up if she was to be of any use. Taking herself back in her mind to the urgency of an intensive care hospital ward calmed her breathing instantly.

‘Can you pass me one of those syringes on the lower trolley?’

Alex’s voice at her side jolted her into action. She was his assistant here, not a gawping bystander.

The next two hours passed in a blur, as they worked together to help heal Dolly’s devastated body. Her wounds, the obvious one and some others hidden by her fur, were sutured and her broken front leg was set in plaster. Dolly now had several shaved patches where the stitches needed to go, and the vulnerable pink skin underneath the fur tugged at Vicky’s heart.

Drawing on her theatre experience, at least she was easily able to predict what Alex would need. The instruments might look different and be a lot smaller than she was used to, but the same principles applied.

Twice Dolly tried to raise her head and let out a tiny yowl, and the third time her head fell limply back onto the table. Vicky noted Alex’s concern.

‘She needs a little more anaesthetic. We don’t want her trying to move and making things worse.’

Vicky reached for a new syringe and passed it to him. They’d barely spoken since he’d started the surgery. A camera positioned on the ceiling would have shown them moving round each other in perfect accord, picking up and putting down the instruments as needed, creating intricate patterns with their footprints. It made for a curiously intimate setting.

Another twenty minutes later, and a long sigh from Alex told her that they were nearly at the end of their task. He ripped off his plastic apron and threw it in the bin at the side, before scrubbing his hands again. The phone in his jacket, hung high on a hook at the other end of the room, had been ringing on and off for the past hour, the ringtone harsh in the quiet of the room. It had started up again, and this time it wasn’t stopping. Alex reached for his jacket.

‘I had a full clinic this afternoon, and that will be Maria, my veterinary nurse, asking me where I am yet again. She can only plead a sudden emergency for so long when there are patients waiting. I’ve got to go.’

Vicky glanced at her phone and was shocked to see it was already five o’clock.

Alex reached over and touched one of Dolly’s paws that wasn’t in plaster.