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‘Great, thanks. Now, if you follow me we’ll take Shadow into the examination room.’
Gus closed the door behind them in case Shadow tried to make a run for it. Lucy scooped her cat out of his carrier and hugged her to him before setting him onto the table, where she continued to make a fuss of the feline.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll take our time,’ said Gus, knowing that sometimes clients were more nervous than the animals. ‘I appreciate I’m new to both of you but I’m patient, I don’t need to rush, I’ll be gentle.’
‘I’m a bit overprotective, I’m afraid.’ Although she did relax a little bit now Shadow didn’t seem too put out.
Gus fussed over Shadow, stroking him head to tail, and the cat purred as he faced away from Gus to lift his head at the sight of a bird out of the window, perching on the branch of a tree.
Gus let the cat choose his position, moving about on the table, and worked around him. With a stethoscope in one hand, he used his other to stroke Shadow beneath his chin. Lucy moved so she was in front of her cat and put her hands either side of his face, making him purr all the more as Gus felt Shadow’s stomach, checking for swelling or abnormalities. He and Lucy swapped positions so he could inspect Shadow’s eyes and ears. Gus checked his limbs, his paws, weighed him, and with Lucy’s assistance, did everything else he needed to do.
‘You have a healthy, happy cat here, Lucy,’ Gus concluded, leaving Shadow’s owner to cuddle him as he updated Shadow’s online records using the laptop on the counter.
‘He might not be happy in a minute,’ said Lucy, when she saw Gus finish typing and begin getting ready for the main purpose of the visit: the booster shot.
‘Let’s get this over with,’ said Gus, coming closer again. ‘If you hold Shadow against your chest while he’s on the table, that’s the easiest way.’ She did so and while Lucy cuddled her cat and reassured him this would be over soon, Gus administered the shot quickly and efficiently.
‘You were very good with him.’ Lucy pressed her face against Shadow’s fur while Gus added the information to the online patient record.
Gus smiled at them both. ‘I’m honoured I had such a well-behaved first patient.’
‘How does it feel? Having your own practice here?’
‘Amazing. It’s good to be in the Cove.’
‘We’re making a local of you already,’ she said, hearing the shortened name he and all the others in the village tended to use.
‘Take your time putting him in the carrier,’ Gus urged as he wiped down and disinfected the exam table and Shadow seemed unsure when he was lifted up again. Even if Gus was busy with patients, he didn’t want people to feel as though they were on a conveyor belt. In some of his workplaces, that was how it had seemed, but what he wanted for this practice was for it to be a real part of the village, for clients and their animals to feel like more than a number.
‘Thanks, but look, he’s happy to get in, he knows we’re going home.’ Shadow had voluntarily gone inside the second he was put on the floor and he’d curled up at the end as if to say it was time to leave.
‘Good for him.’ Gus opened the door for Lucy to go through first.
‘May I ask you a question?’ Lucy, cat carrier in hand, turned to face him when they reached the reception area.
‘Go ahead.’ He expected her to ask about Shadow and whether he might have a reaction to the vaccination or enquire as to when to bring him for the next or whether there were any others he needed. But she didn’t ask anything about Shadow.
‘What made you volunteer to sit naked and be drawn?’ She realised her question had shocked him. ‘I’m just wondering, I mean you don’t seem like the sort of guy who would do it. Not that it takes a certain type.’ She began to smile. ‘I’m blabbering on now. But I’m only curious. I was there to draw, but I’m pretty sure I’d never have the guts to pose.’
‘I did it as a favour for someone who I’m very close to. I didn’t feel I could say no. She’s done a lot for me over the years.’
‘Well, now she owes you, I’d say,’ smiled Lucy.
When the front door opened, Barney came in and Gus joked, ‘Have you brought me a chicken to look at?’
‘No, the chickens are all good.’ He didn’t have to explain any further because Harvey followed him inside soon after, along with his dog Winnie, who trotted straight over to Barney for a fuss. When Barney had given Gus the run-down of the people in the Cove, he’d talked a lot about Harvey, who Gus remembered was like a son to Barney. And by his recollection, Harvey was married to Melissa, and his brother Daniel owned the Little Waffle Shack and was Lucy’s other half.
‘Here’s the patient,’ Barney went on. ‘I’m just here because I was at Harvey’s anyway – Lois is baking and wanted me out of her way at home.’
‘I don’t have an appointment,’ said Harvey and added hopefully, ‘I thought I’d come in on the off chance.’
Gus looked around at the empty waiting room. ‘Not enough people know about me yet, so turning up without an appointment is no problem at all.’ He crouched down to fuss over Winnie, a golden Labrador with a glossy coat that showed she was just as well cared for as Shadow. Gus had a sense that he’d find that theme of animal lovers ran amongst the people of the village, and it made him feel grounded, as though he already knew a bit about everyone, whether he could put all the faces to names or not.
‘Winnie’s all right, isn’t she?’ Lucy settled her carrier down on the floor while she fished out her car keys.
‘She’s good, just has a nasty tick on her ear which needs to come off,’ Harvey told her as she stroked Winnie and the dog wagged its tail.
‘That’s a relief. I’d better get Shadow home and go back to work. Thanks so much for today, Gus.’
