‘See, he’s picking up already,’ I said encouragingly.
‘That’s right,’ said the vet, starting to unpack various items from his bag. ‘I’m going to give him some fluids and charcoal immediately and I could take him back to the surgery with me overnight, or you can look after him here, if you prefer.He’ll need monitoring all night and might need some more medication.’
‘I’d rather keep him here,’ said Nick. ‘Laura is a nurse and has been amazing so far.’
The vet glanced at me, and we gave each other the faintest whisper of a smile.
‘That’s fine,’ I said. ‘I can monitor his temperature and heart. Anything else?’
‘Help me with these subcutaneous fluids now,’ said the vet. ‘You can give more in a few hours, if you’re all right with that?’
‘Absolutely,’ I said, and watched closely as he slipped the needle in.
Twenty minutes later, he left, with instructions to call immediately if we were worried. A steady stream of visitors then ensued, and everyone had to be reassured that Steve would make a full recovery.
‘It would be terrible if Steve died,’ Astrid confided to me when we were out of the room for a while. ‘We all love him, but he’s so terribly important to Nick.’
‘He’ll be fine,’ I assured her. ‘He’s a big dog and the vet said that acorn poisoning isn’t usually too serious at this time of year, because there aren’t many left. You’ll need to keep an eye on him next autumn, though.’
Astrid looked glum.
‘Next autumn I’ll be in Texas.’
I squeezed her hand.
‘One day at a time, eh?’
By eleven o’clock, the rest of the household had gone to bed, and it was Nick, Steve and me left in the warm kitchen. Greg had found a camp bed, which Angela had fitted out with a sheet, pillow and duvet so that Nick and I could take turnssleeping. Steve would need his next lot of fluids at about one in the morning, so I took the first sleep. I thought it would be impossible to fall asleep lying on a camp bed in the kitchen with Nick sitting a couple of feet away, but, to my surprise, I dropped off quickly and was all too soon being awakened by a gentle hand on my shoulder and Nick’s voice saying my name.
‘Laura, I’m sorry, but it’s time to wake up.’
I’m used to having to get up throughout the night to attend to patients and sat up, alert to my surroundings.
‘How’s Steve doing?’ I asked quietly.
‘Really well, I think,’ said Nick. ‘He seems pretty chilled. He’s woken up a couple of times and tried to get up.’
‘He might need a wee,’ I said. ‘I think we should help him outside before I do the next lot of fluids.’
Nick woke Steve as softly as he had woken me, and the big dog did indeed start to get to his feet. We helped him to the door and out into the freezing garden.
‘This can’t have been what you were expecting,’ said Nick between chattering teeth.
‘No,’ I agreed. ‘But a nurse’s life is always one of surprises; it’s one of the reasons I love the job – no two days are the same. I had a patient once with a pet lizard, which was hardly ever in its cage. It sat with him a lot of the time, but it liked to watch me in the kitchen. I got used to it after a while, but I can’t pretend I missed it when the job finished.’
Nick chuckled. Steve was ready to go in now, and staggered back to the Aga on wobbly legs, where he lay down again.
‘There you go, boy,’ I said, patting his head. I got a feeble tail wag in return. ‘Now, I’m going to give you a little injection – it won’t hurt, and you’ll carry on feeling better.’
I inserted the needle and sat down on the floor with the bag.
‘This won’t take long,’ I said to Nick. ‘Why don’t you get some sleep?’
‘I don’t feel tired in the least,’ he said. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘I’d love one,’ I said. ‘Something without caffeine, though, please.’
A few minutes later, Steve’s fluids were nearly done, and Nick and I were both sipping from steaming mugs.
