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Raced over here for me even though it's been six months since I've had a conversation with her that lasted more than ten minutes. She embodies the idea of family, of the support and loyalty and sense of belonging I've always lacked with my actual family and never been able to find anywhere else.
Brit steps out of the hug and grips my shoulders to look at my face. "Tell me what happened, Dandelion, because that phone call made no sense."
Her arm around my shoulder, we walk inside and sit in the waiting area. I fill her in and she looks appropriately appalled and worried.
"Poor little skunk," she says. "Jared said they have to amputate his legs? Are they sure?"
My eyes burn, which is ridiculous. How can I already be so attached to a wild animal? "That's what they said. They were talking about euthanizing the little guy."
Brittany gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth. "They can't do that."
"That's what I said, but even if he survives the surgery, he won't be able to live in the wild again. I looked it up while I was waiting for you and according to the wisdom of the internet, wild skunks don't do well in captivity."
Brit pulls out her phone and starts scrolling, talking while she's looking for something. "Remember the Christmas party when we were kids? The one where Clover and Keating dared each other to race across the iced over pond, even though all the adults said it couldn't hold their weight?"
I roll my eyes. "They thought they could run faster than the cracking ice."
Brittany laughed. "Thank goodness Goldy had the sense to talk them out of it. Remember? She came up with a tree climbing contest instead."
"You know what I found out once I grew up and moved away from home? Other families sit around and chat about their lives, eat good food, maybe play a non-competitive hand of Go Fish. It took me until I was twenty to realize just how weird our family is."
"Wonderfully weird." A fond smile fills her face as she looks up from her phone. "Do you remember what Clover found in her tree?"
I laugh. "That squirrel was so mad. Did it really throw acorns at us, or am I remembering wrong?"
Brit laughs with me. "You're remembering right. And do you remember how you walked up to the tree trunk and looked up into the branches and talked to the squirrel?"
"He was afraid more than he was mad," I say, remembering. "I just spoke in a gentle voice to let him know we wouldn't hurt him or steal his nuts."
"And that squirrel calmed right down and went back into his home."
I shrug, not understanding the point of her story. "Clover got out of his tree and we all got quiet, so he felt safe. What does that have to do with me having a traumatized skunk to take care of?"
Brit looks at me, eyes wide, lips parted, something like amazement on her face. "Dani, you were eight-years-old, one of the youngest of our group, and you told all of us to hush because we were scaring the squirrel. You walked up to the tree while the squirrel tossed acorns at you and had a conversation with it. Then, like magic, the squirrel settled and calmed. We all thought you were magic. Nana would have said you have an affinity for animals."
I stare at her, confused. Her adopted grandmother, my great aunt, was a practitioner of folk magic and a healer. Having an affinity for animals in her book would be like having a sort of magic. "Seriously? I thought I was just doing what anyone would have done. Animals prefer calm. It's not rocket science."
Brit shakes her head. "It's magic. Think about it, Dani. Has anything else like that happened to you before?"
I spin through the Rolodex of my memory. I've always loved animals, wild and domesticated. "Is it weird if I petted a wild raccoon before?"
Brittany stares. "Like at a fair or something? Or just walking along through the woods?"
"The second one."
Brittany throws back her head and laughs. She gives her whole body to joy when she laughs, just soaking it all up. "No, Dani," she says when she lowers her chin to look at me, mirth still brimming in her eyes. "It's not weird. It's wonderful. Now, let's figure out what you need for that skunk, because if anyone can take care of him, it's you."
"Huh." I let her confidence in me soak in. "Okay. Let's do this."
Brit smiles and we scroll and chat and figure out everything I'm going to need to take care Skidmark.
"Hey, Brit," Jared says as he and Dr. Ellis walk into the waiting area. "Thanks for coming out."
"Of course." Brit glows with something like adoration as she looks up at Jared.
"This is doctor Liz Ellis."
Dr. Ellis smiles at Brit and shakes her hand. She's pale, with dark circles under her eyes, but her expression gives no indication of Skidmark's status. "You're Jared's girlfriend. It's so nice to finally meet you."
