Fight for Life
Chapter Eight
After Maggie hands over the phone, she asks Sherlock what she’s going to do. How does she express to Gran that she doesn’t want them to help out? Just then, she hears a thump from the waiting room. She pushes open the door to Brenna and David standing around a large plan that tipped over. Roots, dirt and all are lying on the floor. David and Brenna are yelling at each other that the other should clean it up because it’s their fault. Sunita looks at Maggie, and Maggie can tell she’s confused, too. Sunita explains that David tried to show off that he could dance, and he spun right into the plant. David insists he only ran into it because Brenna was in the way.
Sunita warns a patient is arriving in just a few seconds. David grabs the plant, Brenna pushes the pot under a chair, and Maggie scops up the dirt with her hands just as Mrs. Cooper walks through the door with a yowling cat carrier.
Maggie tells Sunita to take Mrs. Cooper and her cat into the Herriot Room. David plops the plant back in the pot, and Maggie empties the dirt in her hands on top. She buzzes Gran on the intercom to tell her that Mrs. Cooper is here.
David asks if he can get a tour of the clinic. Reluctantly, Maggie agrees. She shows David and Brenna the receptionists’ desk with the computer, and the operating room with the shiny equipment. Maggie takes extra care to tell David he can’t touch anything in there. On the way out, they run into Dr. Gabe.
Dr. Gabe explains that the puppies are doing just fine, sleeping soundly. Nodding, Maggie explains she’s giving a tour. Maggie points out the recovery room where they watch animals recovering from surgery or sickness. They usually have an assortment of critters in the cages, such as rabbits, ferrets, and dogs. And next, they have an unusual creature: Dr. Gabriel Donovan. He’s a real live veterinarian. He’s scruffy, but he doesn’t bite.
Dr. Gabe snaps his teeth and barks. Brenna giggles and blushes. Maggie admits that he is cute, but she can’t have a crush on him because he’s old, like twenty-eight or something. Dr. Gabe started volunteering there in high school and came back to be Gran’s associate when he graduated from veterinary school.
They move onto the lab, and Maggie says that’s where they analyze blood, urine, and fecal specimens. Brenna says David shouldn’t touch the microscope. Then, Maggie points out the X-ray room, followed by the Beauty Shop. Gran’s been talking about hiring a groomer to work there, but she hasn’t gotten around to it yet. Sometimes Maggie uses it to groom a boarder.
A vet clinic is like a small version of a hospital. They also need laundry machines, and a “cafeteria” so they can provide special diets to animals with different illnesses.
Lastly, they move to go to the boarding kennels. Maggie explains they’re kept separate from the animals in the recovery room. They have room for ten dogs, and each one has an inside cage, along with their own runs—long, fenced in areas where they can romp around. The last two doors are the supply closet and Gran’s office.
When they get back to the waiting room, Mrs. Cooper’s cat is yowling on her way to the car. Gran tells Sunita she has a real gift with cats. On their way out the door, David asks if they can come back tomorrow to help. Gran thinks it over for a second, before saying that won’t be necessary. They’re over the crisis, and they still have Brenna. But she couldn’t have done it without them today.
After the volunteers leave, Maggie turns to Gran. She looks like she’s a thousand miles away. Gran explains that in Aunt Rose’s call, they arranged for Zoe to be coming to stay with them a while. Maggie’s stomach twists. The last time Zoe and Maggie saw each other was a year ago. They didn’t get along so well. Gran says it’ll only be a couple of weeks until her mom gets settled in LA. It’ll be Maggie’s job to show her around and make her feel comfortable.