Stopping short, I turned and looked at him, tilting my head and furrowing my eyebrows. Not only had he called me by my first name, but he complimented me. I smiled, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it didn’t. Larry nodded, awkwardly patted my shoulder, and continued down the hallway.
“Well, this day is just full of surprises,” I said to the sugar gliders in my lab coat pocket. They just stared at me with their unblinking, enormous eyes as I headed to the exam room.
“It’s about time, Dr. Crews. I hope that lady didn’t traumatize my babies,” Ms. Lovejoy said, reaching her hands out for Ginger and Juniper.
“It’s good to see you too, Ms. Lovejoy. How’s Pepper doing?”
“Oh, Pepper is fine. She’ll need her hooves trimmed soon, but my little gliders need their nails trimmed today, and you need to talk with your receptionist. She offered a cat treats when there was a bird unrestrained in the lobby! And her hairstyle. This isn’t the set of an eighties hair band video, you know.”
“An eighties hair band video, really? I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you multiple times to bring Ginger and Juniper in a cage and not your pocket. What if they escaped? A fur coat is not proper transportation, you know. Plus, there are a ton of trees outside. What if they decided to pull aBraveheartand jump to freedom in the parking lot?
“Oh, the coat is fine, Dr. Crews,” she said, shooing her arm at me like I wasn’t making sense. This lady was going to drive me to open up those mini bottles I kept in my bottom drawer for emergencies.
“Hmm,” I said, taking back Ginger and giving her a once over before trimming her nails. We switched, and I did the same with Juniper, making notes on the computer and checking that they didn’t need vaccinations or bloodwork. I checked to make sure Dana left, and the lobby was empty before walking Ms. Lovejoy to the front and waving her off.
Dr. Duvall was finishing the last appointments, so I headed back to my office and sat down, slipping off my shoes and laying my head on my desk.
I needed to check on Phoebe, and I wanted to text Mark, but I remembered my text chat earlier with the girls—I had to pull back.
A mental image of me dragging a kicking and screaming Mark toward a giant blinking sign that said ‘Relationships This Way’ flashed across my mind, and I snorted, pushing the image aside and shaking my head.
My emails were probably getting away from me, so I sat up and turned on my computer, determined to make some progress. There was the usual junk, bills, and coupons, but one stuck one.
It was an email from Kelli, the nonprofit director ofAll Four Paws.She wanted me to come up this weekend to tour the facilities and take a deep dive into the financials. My finger hovered over the reply button. I didn’t want to leave, but I owed it to myself to see if I had what it took to take this next step in my career. Heading up a nonprofit was always my big picture plan, and this could be my chance.
Before I could let myself overthink and second guess, I clicked reply and told her I’d drive up first thing Saturday and spend the day with her. I’d text my mom in the morning and tell her I’d spend the night. It would be good to see her and my dad and get out of my head for a few days. Hopefully, if I took a break from pretending to play house with Mark, I’d get my head on straight.
I opened my bottom drawer and stared at the mini bottles. I wanted to get out of the office, but I wasn’t ready to go home. Blowing out a deep breath, I stood up and slipped off my white lab coat, then pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted the girls again.
Me: I changed my mind. I don’t want to go home yet. Who’s up for tacos?
Addison: ME! PS I totally ordered that purple sparkle dick kit. I ordered one for all of y’all, each in a different color.
Olivia: No, you didn’t.
Annaleigh: Are you serious?
Addison: With express shipping.
Olivia: I can be at El Guapo’s at seven.
Me: I’ll have chips and salsa waiting.
Annaleigh: With cheese dip?
Me: Duh.
Addison: See you then!
How hilarious would it be if I asked Mark to make a purple sparkle mold of his dick before he walked out of my life? The thought of using a big purple Mark-shaped cock with that thick vein on the underside that felt so good on my tongue instead of that grossly inadequate buzzing thing in my nightstand sounded incredibly appealing.
Thinking about Mark had me thinking about Phoebe, and I stood up and headed to the kennels, grabbing my stethoscope and bending down to open her cage to take a peek. Her incision looked pink and healthy, and her intestine function sounded perfect. Aside from her looking pissed that she had to wear the dreaded cone of shame, she was healing perfectly. I sent Mark another selfie, one of just Phoebe, then sent him another message letting him know I was going out with the girls for dinner and not to wait up.
He responded with okay, and I stared at my phone, hoping three little dots would appear and he’d text more. Just because I was pulling back didn’t mean I wanted to go back to a comfortable silence. I cradled Phoebe in my arms and carried her to my desk, setting her on my lap and thinking. Chick jumped up and sniffed the newbie, and I petted them both, trying to think of a fun fact or something to say. I’d even take a heaping dose of my weird awkwardness at this point.
Me: Phoebe wants to tell you a fun fact about the wheel.
Mark: Tell me, baby girl.
