I stood there, blinking at where he’d been, until I remembered that he’d asked me to leave.
I went home, was met by Ro with a big hug, wine, and pizza. After I’d told her everything that had happened and had another good cry, I couldn’t help but think about what that guy had said.
I’d heard it before; I was sure of it. I just had to place it...
“I’ll be damned,” I said, rushing to my bookcase. I pulled out one of my favorite books ever and flipped through the pages.
“Death is not the opposite of life, but an innate part of it,” I read out loud. “What the hell.”
“What is it?” Ro asked me from the door.
“That guy. The vet,” I replied. Well, I’d assumed he was the vet. He had a white coat over scrubs, but he could havebeen a cleaner for all I knew. Not that it mattered. He’d had the awful task of giving me bad news. I held up my well-read, well-loved copy ofNorwegian Woodby Haruki Murakami. “He quoted this.”
She stared at me, a slow spreading smile at her lips. “Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh what?”
“I thought you’d sworn off men forever.”
“I did. I am,” I replied indignantly. “I mean, yes. One hundred percent. I have sworn off dating, sworn off being disappointed by men who don’t understand me, sworn off men who...”
“Who quote one of your two hundred most favorite books ever.”
My eyes met hers and I let out a pathetic whine. “Yes. Even then.”
“That wasn’t very convincing, Win. Try it again, this time with meaning.”
I stroked the cover of my book as if I’d hurt its feelings instead of my own. “Yes. Even then.”
CHAPTER TWO
DEACON CLARK
“How’d it go?”Dad asked me, a gentle hand on my shoulder, just for a moment, just for as long as he knew I could allow.
He knew my limitations.
“As expected,” I replied, taking my coat off and hanging it neatly.
“Come in and have some dinner,” Mom said from the kitchen. “I made grilled fish.”
My place was set at the table, and when I slid into my seat, she put a plate in front of me, my knife and fork at nine and three o’clock, glass of water at ten o’clock. The fish looked good, the vegetables not touching.
“Thank you.” I took a few mouthfuls. “A man brought an injured cat in,” I told Dad. “It didn’t make it.”
Dad frowned and sat opposite me. “Oh. Do you want to talk about it?”
I wasn’t quite sure what he wanted me to talk about. Not all animals could be saved; we both knew this. It was the first thing they taught in veterinary school. It was the first thing Dad had taught me as a young childwhen I would help him at his veterinary clinic. It was an unfortunate fact of life.
I took another mouthful of dinner and shook my head. “No.”
“Okay.”
“The man was quite upset.”
Dad winced. “Was it his cat?”
“No. A stray, I think. Not chipped. Poor condition.” I sipped my water. “Though there were enlarged nipples. I believe it was nursing.”
