Reed: Um . . . no?
Jerry: We’re surrounded by them. Both sheep and dairy. How have you never noticed all the farmland before?
Reed: It’s just fields.
I ignore the eye-roll emoji he sends in response.
Reed: So you’re their vet?
Jerry: I am.
Reed: Wow. You must be busy. I’m surprised you manage to fit everyone in.
Jerry: You know there’s not just me at my practice, right?
Oh. That I didn’t know. He’s never mentioned anyone else, so I just assumed. Wrongly, apparently.
Reed: How many of you are there?
My curiosity is piqued. I’d pictured Jerry in some cute little vet practice serving the local community, but maybe I’ve got that wrong too.
Jerry: Well. There’s four vets, then you’ve got veterinary nurses, receptionists. If you’re that interested, you can have a look on our website.
I am interested.
Very.
And I click on the link as soon as he sends it through.
Jerry: Anyway, I need to get to bed. I’ve been up since four this morning, and I’m knackered.
Now I want to know what got him up so early, but that’ll have to wait. I don’t want to keep him from his bed.
Reed: Night, Jerry.
Jerry: Night, Reed.
I stare at the message, warmth spreading out from my chest, until I realise what I’m doing and swipe back to the webpage I just opened. I settle back into the sofa.
The link he sent me goes to a fancy website:Charnwell & Haversage Veterinary Surgery.
It looks bigger than I expected, but still manages to appear cute and quaint. Like it’s been converted from an old-style cottage. Or maybe two.
I click on the About pages and come to a grinding halt at the photos that pop up. It’s a list of everyone who works there.
Jerry’s headshot is front and centre, warm brown eyes staring back at me. His hair is considerably shorter in this photo, and I’ve got to say, I prefer it like it is now. There’s no grey in this one either, so I don’t think it’s all that recent. Not that Jerry’s got a lot of grey hair, but I’m used to the silver strands threaded through the brown at his temples.
It suits him.
The two women to the left of Jerry look a little older than him, but they’re both smiling into the camera, and I instantly get a welcoming vibe from them. I bet their practice is a great place to work.
Unlike my office at the minute.
Too many reminders that Karl works in the same building.
Too many of our friends caught in the middle, walking on eggshells around me more often than not. It’s exhausting some days.
I focus back on the website. One of the guys in that list of employees looks about the same age as Jerry. His black hair has a little more grey in it, and his eyes are a bright blue that reminds me of the crystal clear sea you get on Caribbean islands. Or what I imagine it must look like since I’ve never actually been.
