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“It was a need here,” he said. “I’m sure you’re seeing that, as you weren’t even supposed to start working full time yet.”
“Oh, I see it. I can’t believe how busy I am. I expected it at some point, but not right away. I’m still trying to figure out where everything is here and getting Josie all set. School is starting in a few weeks and that is going to be another new routine for us.”
“News travels fast on the island,” he said. “Plus it was in the paper and all the island's social media accounts.”
“I haven’t even gotten to that part of things yet,” she said, shaking her head. “The list of things I need to do for the business and my life. Things for Josie. It’s growing rather than shrinking.”
“Do you feel overwhelmed?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure why he was asking but found it refreshing that he was. “At times. Then I tell myself I can only do so much and it will all work out the way it needs to. You said you grew up here, so you always wanted to run a garage? It was your father’s, right?”
She didn’t think it was bad to say that she knew that information.
“It was,” he said. “My grandfather’s before that. My father has a brother, Bill. He’s the old chief of police. He didn’t see himself being a mechanic for a living, but he does enjoy it and in his retirement helps me out with overflow. My father, he’s retired from running the shop a few years now. He does things at a garage at his house too.”
“You don’t have a problem with that?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I’m sending them the work. Most are fine with it. There are still plenty that only want my father doing the work and it’s just as well.”
“I find that old-fashioned thinking.”
“It’s the way of the world,” he said. “The truth is, it’s an honest living but hard work. Owning a business on the island isn’t easy either. Getting supplies or staff are the top of the hard part of the list.”
“I’ve been told that and that I’ve got to plan things out or make trips to Boston if I want it faster than shipping.”
“I have products shipped to Boston and there are couriers you can hire on the island to pick up things daily if you don’t have staff to do it.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah. There are a lot of Bond businesses at the docks in Boston. One is a shipping and receiving office. Packages are delivered there and then sent over with couriers or held if someone knows they will be in Boston. It’s faster at times than having companies deliver right to the island where it’d have to go through the post office most times.”
“Which would tack on a few more days. Got it. Those are things that are good to know. I don’t suppose you’ve got the names of some couriers that you might use?”
“I do,” he said. “Not the information on me. It’s at the garage. Bond Shipping does it as a service too, but it’s pricier. Sometimes I like to give the business to residents on the island trying to make some extra money.”
She nodded, liking the way he thought. “Do you still have my card?” she asked, reaching for her purse. “Or did you give it to Connie?”
“I gave it to Connie.”
She pulled another one out, flipped it over and put her cell number on the back. “That’s my personal number if you want to text me the information. Or you can email me. That’s on the front, just a general mailbox.”
“I can do that,” he said.
Their sandwiches were brought out and he asked while they ate, “Did you always want to be a vet?”
“I did,” she said. “I love animals. I think most little girls do, but I never outgrew it. What about you and working for the family business? Or was it assumed you’d do it?”
“I guess it was a combination of both. I enjoyed it and I’m good at it. My brother Grayson is a year younger than me and he had no interest. He doesn’t like to get dirty.”
She laughed. “I think that is where most little girls lost their love for being a vet. It’s not all about playing with puppies and kittens. There are a lot of dirty things involved with it. A lot of sad things too. When you see your first sick or hurt animal, reality hits you hard.”
“Life is dirty,” he said.
“I know that firsthand,” she said. “But I do want to thank you again for everything you did for the clinic. Just walking into the building and finding it so well maintained was a relief for me. I’m not one for asking for help. It’s hard for me for a number of reasons.”
“And this prevented you from figuring it out, asking for help, or hiring people and waiting,” he said.
“Exactly,” she said. “It’s an overwhelming feeling. I’ve felt that a lot in my life or recently. But this time, it was a nice one too.”
