They’d gone all out, even made a waiting area for patients with one of those bead boxes for us to play with.
When my name was called, I went up, reminding myself that if I didn’t feel comfortable with what they wanted to do to Pup-Pup, I could leave. There would definitely be someone else who could help, maybe a tailor or someone from a craft show if I looked hard enough.
I’d stepped up to the far table, still looking down at Pup-Pup, when I heard a familiar voice.
“Pup-Pup needs some TLC today?”
I looked up to see Jovan standing there in his white coat, with his stethoscope ready to save the day. It wasn’t the same stethoscope from back then. This one was definitely pediatric-oriented with bright colors on the earpieces and wrapped in ribbon of some sort. It wouldn’t be good for being in a hospital where germs were everywhere, but, for this, it was perfect.
“Yeah, he has a boo-boo.”
“May I see him?” he said. I handed Pup-Pup over, Jovan looked him up and down. “He’s been very well loved.”
I suspected that was code to being misshapen and with some fuzz missing.
“Yes, Doctor. Can you make him better?”
“No, but my friend, Dr. Clark, can. He’s really good at surgeries, and he can fix this little one up in no time. Do you want to tell me how he got hurt?”
“No, Doctor.” It was the very last thing I wanted to do.
“That’s what I thought.” He lowered his voice slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me Zoe hurt Pup-Pup that day in the park?”
I shrugged. “You were so nice. I didn’t want you to feel bad.”
“Well, do me a favor next time, and just tell me. I could’ve had him all taken care of already. Okay?”
I didn’t respond, feeling guilty for how I handled things. It wasn’t like he hadn’t asked me straight up if Pup-Pup was fine.
“Look at me, Ernie.”
Slowly, I lifted my eyes to meet his.
“That’s better. It’s nice to see you, Ernie.”
“Thank you, Dr.”
Clark was probably more of a tailor and less of a doctor by trade, if I were to guess. He knew his way around a needle and thread like a boss. He even fixed some things I didn’t know were wrong, including a seam that was about to give.
“He’s good as new,” he said, handing him back to me. “And do you know what all puppies need?”
“No, Doctor, what do all puppies need?”
He pulled out a small teal crocheted duck. “They need toys.” He handed it to me.
“Did you make this?”
He shook his head.
“Bridger did.” He pointed over to a daddy talking to their little who was wearing pajamas covered in ducks.
“I’ll take good care of it,” I promised and then went to check out the other stations, knowing that there were people waiting for his help.
My original plan was to take care of Pup-Pup, play with any friends I recognized, and then be home before it was too late. Instead, I went from station to station, going through the motions, my eyes always falling back to Jovan.
When a Ms. Lily announced that the doctors were off duty, but that everything else was still going to be running for another half hour, I knew it was now or never. He’d said if anything was wrong, I should tell him, and I was going to test that out.
“Jovan?”
