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 loud thump from the waiting room. She pushes open the door to find Brenna and David standing over a large plant that’s toppled onto its side. Roots, dirt, and broken leaves are scattered across 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 just as confused as the rest of them. 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. Maggie rubs her temples, wondering how one afternoon can go so wrong so fast.
Sunita warns them a patient is arriving in just a few seconds. David grabs the plant, Brenna shoves the pot under a chair, and Maggie drops to her knees to scoop up the dirt with her bare hands, her fingers turning black with soil. They barely finish 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 into the pot, and Maggie empties the dirt from her hands on top, patting it down until the plant looks almost normal again. She hurries to the intercom and buzzes Gran to let her know that Mrs. Cooper has arrived.
David asks if he can get a tour of the clinic. Maggie hesitates, still a little rattled from the plant incident, but she reluctantly agrees. She shows David and Brenna the receptionists’ desk with the computer, and the operating room with its rows of shiny, stainless equipment. Maggie takes extra care to tell David he can’t touch anything in there. On their 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, filling the room with soft rustling and quiet snores. And next, they have an unusual creature: Dr. Gabriel Donovan. He’s a real live veterinarian. He’s scruffy, but he doesn’t bite.
Playing along with the joke, Dr. Gabe snaps his teeth and barks. Brenna giggles and blushes, clearly charmed. 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 back in high school and came back to be Gran’s associate once he graduated from veterinary school.
They move onto the lab, where the air smells faintly of antiseptic, and Maggie explains that’s where they analyze blood, urine, and fecal specimens. Brenna warns David not to touch the microscope sitting on the counter. 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 the space herself to groom a boarder.
A vet clinic is like a small version of a hospital, complete with all of the same everyday needs. They also need laundry machines to keep towels and bedding clean, and a “cafeteria” so they can provide special diets to animals with different illnesses.
Lastly, they move to the boarding kennels, where the air fills with barking and the click of nails on the floor. Maggie explains they’re kept separate from the animals in the recovery room. They have room for ten dogs. Each one has an inside cage, along with its own run—a long, fenced-in area where it 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 all the way out 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, tilting her head thoughtfully, before saying that won’t be necessary. They’re over the crisis, and they still have Brenna. But she admits she couldn’t have done it without them today.
After the volunteers leave, Maggie turns to Gran, who looks like she’s a thousand miles away, lost in thought. Gran explains that during Aunt Rose’s call, they arranged for Zoe to come stay with them for a while. Maggie’s stomach twists into a knot at the thought. The last time she and Zoe saw each other was a year ago, and it didn’t go well between them. She can’t help but wonder how awkward the next few weeks might be. 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 Zoe around and make her feel comfortable.