I went through the usual facts about my bestie. “He’s fifteen, which is young for a tortie, and other than the obstruction in his gut at the moment, he’s a healthy dude. He lives in a special habitat in my back yard, and he’s way more social than you might think. He loves meeting people, eating flowers, and napping.”
“If we skip the ‘meeting people’ part, it sounds like a good life,” Drew chuckled. “Does he bite?”
“No, but maybe I should train him to?” Honestly, having a guard tortoise sounded kind of badass. For sure, no one would see it coming.
I hid my shock when Drew sat down on the floor beside me. Winston strolled over to check him out.
“Can I touch him?” Drew asked.
“Sure. His shell has nerve endings, so you can give him a little scratch there, or under the neck. He likes that.”
I tried not to be charmed as Drew leaned lower to look Win in the face. “Hey there, bud. You’re going to be fine, okay? Don’t you worry.” He ran his hand along the top of Winston’s shell.
The door opened and the vet walked in. “Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m Doctor Patel. How are we feeling?”
“Oh, we’re not?—”
“We’re just a little worried,” Drew cut me off with a look.
I guess our charade was officially underway.
“Of course,” Dr. Patel replied with a nod. “Let’s go through the procedure, and what to expect afterwards.”
She described the surgery, which made me wince, and then outlined what I’d need to do to ensure proper healing afterward. The more she talked, the more freaked out I felt.
“Any questions?”
“I have one,” Drew said. “Are there any warning signs we should be aware of? Like if something isn’t healing right?”
“Excellent point, thank you for reminding me,” she said. “Watch out for swelling or redness at the incision site, inappetence, lethargy, and avoiding his usual level of contact. If you notice any of that get in touch with us. Otherwise he should be fine until our scheduled follow-up appointment.” She paused to smile at us. “You three are adorable together. What a sweet family.”
“Thank you.” Drew smiled warmly at her.
“If it’s okay with you I’m going to snag our patient and start getting him ready.”
“Love you, Winnie,” I said to him as she picked Winston up.
“You’ve got this,” Drew added. “See you on the other side, bud.”
He sounded so convincingly concerned that my heart unfroze a touch. We settled up at the front desk, then walked outside and squinted at each other in the fading sunshine.
“You okay?” Drew asked.
He sounded sincere… but maybe that was part of the act? Were we being watched? I tried to look around discreetly but he caught me at it.
He shook his head and sighed. “I wasn’t asking just for show. I actually want to know.”
“Fine. I’m okay.” It wasn’t a lie—“okay” could mean lots of different things.
Drew studied me, dubious. “You look like you’re about to cry.”
“I’m worried, all right? It’s not every day your tortoise goes in for surgery.”
“You can say that again,” he mused. “You need to keep your mind off of it for now. Let’s go to dinner.”
I was starving for real food after snacking from the production’s craft services table all day, but I was already feeling anxious and antsy, and unpalatable company would only make that worse.
“Come on,” he coaxed. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Plus it’ll probably help sell our story if we’re seen out in public together.”
