“All right.”
Dr. Val quickly adds, “We do that to make sure they don’t harm themselves. But she’s eaten a little bit, and she’s had some water as well, which we want to see. We also took her out to see if she’d urinate without any manipulation on our part while wearing a sling, and I’m happy to say that she did.”
“Really?” I smile, thinking about how proud I am of my sweet Sky. Then I have to ask, “What’s a sling?”
“It’s a kind of harness that runs beneath her belly that you can hold on to support her as she walks. We’ll want you to use this whenever she’s up on her feet for at least a week or so.”
“And she did it? She walked? Went to the bathroom on her own?”
“She did.” Dr. Val is all smiles.
Thank God. “Can I see her?”
“Sure.” Dr. Val turns. “Follow me.”
In the back, I’m led over to a row of stainless steel cages. The doctor points to the one in the center. Leaning down, I see the kennel is pretty tiny; it’s barely large enough for Sky, who weighs only about eight pounds. Peeking inside, I see her lying on her side facing away from me on what looks like soft paper with a plastic bottom, like a puppy pad.
“Sky?” I say softly.
When her head jerks back, our eyes meet. Sky makes a whimpering sound that breaks my goddamn heart. I feel my eyes water and let the tears fall.
“Baby girl,” I say with a husky voice. Reaching my fingers through the gate, I try to touch her.
“Here. Let’s open this up so you can pet her.” She pauses. “Gently. Avoid the sutures.”
“Right.” Once the door to her kennel is open, I reach in and touch her face. “Hey, girl.” Sky licks my hand like she hasn’t seen me for weeks. “I love you, Sky. You’re going to be okay.” I really believe it. She’ll be okay just like Alison said.
I spend twenty or thirty minutes with her, after which I sit down with Dr. Val to talk about Sky’s life for a little while. “You can pick her up after work, if you’d like. Otherwise, we can keep—”
“No. I’ll be here around six to get her.”
“We’ll go over at-home care at that time. We have a list of good physical therapy places in LIC and a few in Manhattan.”
“How do people do that? Work and physical therapy?”
“Some people prefer to take their animals for appointments, but some of these PT places have pet care while you’re at work. Those are pricey, but—”
“She’s worth every penny.” And she is. I’ll figure out the money part later. If I have to eat cheap ramen noodles for the next year, I will.
Standing, I shake Dr. Val’s hand and leave. It’s not quite eight in the morning, so I’ll be early to work, for once. It’s too bad I’m suddenly exhausted. Like the “I could fall asleep standing up kind of exhausted.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alison
I’m dreadingthe day ahead of me, and it stinks because this day started off with a great deal of promise. That is until I realize I may have screwed myself out of a paycheck. One I really need if I ever hope to make it as a self-employed consultant.
Kissing Ben Schilling was a dumb, stupid, and irresponsible thing to do. But it’s done. It’s out there. Now I’ll have to figure out a way to end things with Ben before they get started, and I need to do it as discreetly as possible. The only good thing about his morning? We didn’t talk about work or that stupid green folder.
“Good morning, Alison.”
I’m startled from my thoughts of kisses and doorways by a masculine voice. “Sam.” Too bad it’s him. And so early. As soon as I got back to my apartment, I showered and headed into the office early to get my ducks in a row. Now I kind of wish I hadn’t.
“Got a lot of people to harass today?”
Harass? I do have a list of people to talk to, but… “I’m not—”
He chuckles, and it’s not in a good way. Patting my shoulder, he smirks, “Just joking around.”
