“With a bird?” Tanika asked. “Not that I recall, but we were focused on finding you, you know?”
Jackie nodded. “Maybe I’m delirious.”
Bronwyn rubbed her shoulders. “That is understandable. You’ve been through a lot!”
Jackie sniffed. “I just want him to be okay. I can’t lose him. I don’t want to be alone.”
“You still have us, Jackie,” Tanika smiled. “I mean, I know we can’t compare to PeeWee. We can come through with the snuggles if you need us to, but not the face licks.”
Jackie snorted. “Now you know damn well I don’t let my dog lick me in the face!”
“I know, I just said that to make you laugh,” Tanika nudged Jackie playfully.
“Thanks.” Jackie looked at her Montblanc smartwatch. “It’s been almost an hour since they took him in for surgery. I haven’t heard anything yet.”
“Let’s have faith, my darling,” Bronwyn said, patting Jackie’s hand. “We are going to be with you until he’s out. You’re not alone.”
Jackie rested her head on Tanika’s shoulder and squeezed Bronwyn’s hand. With what little belief she had in the Almighty, she prayed.
NEARLY FOUR HOURS LATER, JACKIE’S PRAYERS WERE FINALLYanswered.
“Ms. Miles. I’m Dr. Kettles. PeeWee made it through with flying colors and is resting well, coming out of anesthesia. It took a lot longer than expected; there was tissue damage that needed repairing. You wouldn’t think a tiny little bead would cause such a problem, would you?”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “A bead? Was it a yellow bead?”
The vet looked at Jackie. “Yes, it was yellow. How did you know? You have a bracelet missing a bead?”
“A wild guess,” she played it off. “So can I take him home?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Miles, but that brings me to another issue entirely. PeeWee may need to stay here in the hospital for a few days. There were some concerning things discovered during surgery.”
“How concerning?” asked Jackie.
Dr. Kettles sighed. “Well, as we were operating on PeeWee, we saw a pretty sizable mass in his large intestine. It could be nothing or…”
“Cancer?” Jackie said, her voice cracking. Tanika and Bronwyn, on either side of her, squeezed her hands.
“We were able to biopsy the mass, so I don’t want to jump to conclusions until we get results from pathology. In the meantime, PeeWee is going to have to stay at the hospital for observation. He needs time to recover from surgery, and we may want to begin treatment right away depending on those test results. Ms. Miles, I want to set expectations realistically—he could be with us in the hospital for a week or more.”
“A week?” squealed Jackie. She felt her friends grab her, supporting her by the elbows so that she wouldn’t hit the floor if she passed out. She had never been apart from PeeWee for longer than a few days. If she had to be away from home for a time, she usually took him along. She had even traveled internationally with PeeWee. He had just as many stamps in his passport as she did.
“He’s in good hands with our team, Ms. Miles. PeeWee is a strong dog in otherwise good health. We will be in touch as we know more. You have my info in case you have any questions.” The vet patted her shoulder gently. “You’re welcome to visit PeeWee once he’s fully awake and ready to socialize. For now, he’s sleeping. You should go home and get some rest too.” With that, Dr. Kettles exited the waiting room.
“C’mon Jackie, let’s get you home,” Tanika said. “We can order some takeout and chill. I’ll drive.”
“And I’ll call Kenny. Thyme can drop him by the hospital so he can get your car back to your place.”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “Please tell Kenny to put on a pair of drawers before he thinks about getting in my whip. I don’t need my leather smelling like patchouli.”
Tanika laughed so hard she snorted, grabbing Jackie’s purse and throwing away the candy wrappers that littered their seats. They’d been there for hours, entertaining themselves with sugar, weak coffee, and countless episodes ofLiving Singleon Tanika’s iPad.
“Well, I can’t make that promise. At least not about the patchouli,” Bronwyn shrugged as she gently ushered Jackie out of the hospital.
