Trickster

Chapter Eleven

When David walks through the door of the clinic, Dr. Mac is reading something on the computer. She comments that she saw the tea party he put on for Ashley. That was very nice of him. She looks at him over her bifocals. Why didn’t he go to the stables?

David says he couldn’t leave Ashley alone. He omits the truth about his shame and embarrassment. Dr. Mac says she’s going out as soon as she’s done with the next patient. He can come along. David says he thinks Mr. Quinn doesn’t want him there. Dr. Mac shrugs and grabs a folder. Maybe while she’s gone, he can grab the broom and dustpan. The floor is dirty. She points to the balls of dog hair behind the base of the potted plant.

Oops. So Dr. Mac saw those after all. David kicks the fur balls under the chair. It feels weird around here without the others. David thinks about the others. Who will dump the wheelbarrow today? Probably Brenna, because she’s the strongest. She’ll probably take the manure all the way to the pile instead of dumping it behind the toolshed. That was another stupid thing David did yesterday. Mr. Quinn will find it eventually, and he’ll know exactly who did it.

The bells on the door jingle, and Erik walks in with his ferret. Apparently his ferret got into a sock drawer, and without looking, Erik slammed it shut on his paw. Dr. Mac brings them all into the Doolittle Room and instructs David to wash up. She asks him what the first thing to do is.

David suggests taking his temperature, checking his heart, or letting him out of the cage. Dr. Mac shakes her head and says the first thing is to close the door and latch all drawers and cupboards. Ferrets can squeeze into openings only an inch wide. When the ferret slinks out onto the table, he’s not perky at all. His front paw is swollen and bloody.

Dr. Mac picks the ferret up and examines him. She feels along his backbone and tail, and frowns. Then she moves along each of the bones in his leg. He pulls back and squeaks in pain. Dr. Mac asks Erik when the ferret hurt his tail. Erik answers there’s nothing wrong with his tail. But Dr. Mac says he’s not moving it, and there’s some swelling. It could be broken.

Erik thinks hard. Then, realization dawns on his face. He explains that when he sat in his recliner last night, the ferret screamed and took off. Dr. Mac stops petting the ferret. She says recliners are death traps for ferrets. They nap underneath, and then when someone sits down, they can get squished. He probably broke his tail trying to get out of there.

Erik runs his hand through his hair. He says the guy that sold him the ferret told him it was an easy pet. It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. Dr. Mac pauses, her right eyebrow way up on her forehead. She calmly says that if Erik wants an easy pet, a ferret is a bad idea. She needs to do X-rays because she’s pretty sure he has a broken tail and some broken bones in his paw.

Erik asks if it’ll be expensive. If he keeps costing him money, he’ll have to turn the ferret loose. David is shocked. Erik doesn’t care about his ferret at all. Dr. Mac says she knows a woman who runs a rescue shelter for ferrets in situations like this. If Erik pays for the X-rays, she can arrange for the ferret to be sent to the shelter. Erik agrees.

After Erik leaves, David exclaims to Dr. Mac that he’s a moron. David is shocked by Erik’s behavior. Erik would rather dump the ferret than take care of him. It’s irresponsible. Dr. Mac writes a note in the ferret’s file and adjusts the water bottle hanging from his cage. Then, she slowly explains that when taking care of the ferret got too boring or challenging, he took the easy way out. It happens all the time.

David nods his head. He understands. Dr. Mac points out that David also sometimes cuts corners. David defensively says that he’d never hurt an animal the way Erik did. Dr. Mac asks about Trickster. Oof, that hurt. David slumps on a stool. He says there’s a piece of him that he can’t even stand. The corner-cutting part. He starts doing things, then they’re boring, and he just… stops. He wishes he could just take that piece out.

Dr. Mac says maybe he needs to grow a new piece. A “do-things-right” piece. David spins on the stool. He was responsible today, taking care of Ashley. He did flood the kitchen, but then he cleaned all of it up. When he wanted to quit, he kept thinking about Trickster, and how his corner-cutting hurt him.

The phone rings. Dr. Mac picks it up. It’s Mr. Quinn. When Dr. Mac hangs up, she rushes to get her things. They’re going to the stables. Mr. Quinn has a sick horse.

When David asks if it’s Trickster, she answers, “No. It’s Starfire.”