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“Very,” I replied.
He pulled me into his arms. “It won’t be long, now. If she’s still holding on after the fundraiser, we’ll see about bringing her home with us.”
“Yeah?” I asked hopefully.
“Against my better judgement, yeah,” he spoke quietly, his gaze serious as always.
“I’ll take that deal.”
Barrett left for work earlier than me. I slipped back into the bathroom and pulled out the second pregnancy test. Who knew you could buy these things in bulk? I stood nervously over the stick watching it not grow two lines and laughed at my anxiety. It was stress. I threw the test in the garbage and headed to my office for the morning to check in with Junie and Minty. I’d spend the afternoon at the shelter. The fundraiser was the next day and there was still a lot to do.
Muffin was even more lethargic than the day before. The coughing had increased, and even the brief stints outside to go to the bathroom exhausted her. I kept her with me in my office all afternoon. I put a sign up on my door indicating the need for calm and quiet. I made my calls, checked on all orders, ordered anyone who needed to talk to me to come to me, and I cuddled that dog as if it might make a difference when I knew it would not. The anticipation was more terrible for its familiarity.
Barrett came by my office at six.
“You sleeping here tonight?” he teased.
I smiled. “Maybe,” I murmured.
He lumbered over to my comfy chair where I was curled up with Muffin. Reaching out a big, gentle hand, he wrapped an errant curl around his finger.
“Would you like to see how she spends her evenings? The night shift is here.”
That picked me up a bit. I hadn’t seen this side of her care.
“Yes, I would like that a lot, actually.”
Barrett nodded and gathered Muffin’s things and my bag. He locked my office door on the way out and we walked together to the surgery.
Usually, the surgery was brightly lit and buzzing, I’d never seen it at night. The lights were dim, and music played softly over the speaker system.
A young woman called from inside one of the rooms, “Is that you, big man?”
Barrett looked at me out of the corner of his eye, his voice amused. “Hard to find good help. Stay calm when you see who it is,” he warned.
Derry, Zale and Mara’s niece, was busy setting herself up for the evening.
“Derry!” I exclaimed softly, “It’s so good to see you!”
Derry laughed softly, “My mom is sick of me. Told me to get a part-time job while I sort my shit or she’d sort it for me.”
I gently passed Muffin to Barrett freeing my arms to hug Derry. I laughed with her. “That sounds more like your dad than your mom.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Oh, believe me, he has come off with some gems, too. They’re not used to me being at loose ends. It’s making them anxious.”
“When did you start here?”
“Last week. It was only just now when the big man and I figured out our connection. I was looking for Muffin and he said his girlfriend had her. Blah, blah, blah, her name is Willa, blah, blah, blah… Here you are.”
I laughed out loud. Derry was a force of nature. Little time for small talk and social pleasantries, ready to get on with it and get to the good stuff.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said with relief, “and to show my appreciation, I won’t even ask you what you’re planning to do with your life.”
Derry raised an imaginary glass. “To Willa, my new best friend.”
Time to get serious. “How does Muffin spend her nights?”
Derry nodded. “She goes into her enclosure now for dinner and stays there until eight when I take her out to the dog run for the last time. She usually sits with me until about ten and then she goes to sleep until about two. At two she gets restless, so I take her out and cuddle her for half an hour and then she goes back in and sleeps until breakfast when the other shift comes in.”
