The silence from Brooke feels heavier tonight. She tells herself this cannot keep happening, but the thought feels thin and tired. Nevertheless, an idea does take root: this is Brooke’s last chance. She owes herself that much. If Brooke can’t bother to stick around, Valeria can’t keep waiting for her.
Anger stirs beneath the ache. After everything they’ve been through, after all this time together, she deserves better than silence. Accepting that brings a strange kind of calm. She stares at the dark ceiling of her room and lets the silence stretch, lets it sit there without filling it in for Brooke the way she always does, making up excuses as to why it may be okay that she’s doing this. Eventually, her breathing slows. The tightness in her chest eases enough for sleep to take her.
But sleep isn’t restful.
She dreams she’s standing at the end of a dock, water lapping higher and higher around her ankles. She calls Brooke’s name, but the sound goes nowhere. When she triesto move, she can’t; her feet are heavy, rooted in place. By the time the water reaches her chest, her skin has turned cold and rigid. Similar to the story of the woman from San Blas, trapped by her own devotion, unable to leave the shore, waiting forever for someone who never comes back.
Morning arrives too soon. Valeria drags herself out of bed and makes it to work on muscle memory alone. Her head throbs, her body heavy with exhaustion. She checks her schedule, hoping for a break, but it’s full—every slot. No gaps.
She exhales through her nose and tells herself she’ll be lucky if she gets a minute to eat.
8:00 a.m - Muffin
A nervous pomeranian with a nasty case of kennel cough. Her owner insists she “just swallowed a piece of popcorn wrong,” but the rasping cough and watery eyes tell Valeria another story.
8:30 a.m - Loki
A calico cat with a mysterious limp. Of course, the limp disappears the moment he’s taken out of his carrier. Classic Loki.
9:00 a.m - Beans
A senior beagle here for her annual checkup. She gets extra treats for being “the best girl,” despite drooling all over Valeria’s arm.
9:45 a.m - Daisy
A hyperactive golden retriever who broke her tail ... again.
10:45 a.m - Noodle
A rescue greyhound with dental issues. Sweet as can be, but refuses to open her mouth unless bribed with peanut butter.
11:45 a.m - Sprinkles
A Persian cat with matted fur and a serious attitude problem. It takes two techs, a towel, and nerves of steel to get through her grooming.
12:30 p.m. - Gus
A bulldog puppy with explosive energy and zero bladder control.
By the time Valeria finishes Gus’s chart, she’s barely sipped her now-cold coffee. She rubs her eyes, glances at the clock, and takes a deep breath before heading to her next appointment. The second her eyes land on the name, she feels a spark of excitement. She doesn’t wait for the vet tech to bring Miso back like usual.
Valeria walks into the exam room and finds Miso’s mom, talking gently, trying to soothe her vocal cat in the carrier.
“She still doesn’t like her carrier, huh?”
The woman looks up and smiles, a big one that makes the two pronounced dimples on her cheeks deepen. “Nah, I don’t think she ever will. Hopefully, I won’t have to put her in here for another year after today.”
“Well ... ” Valeria says, quickly scanning Miso’s chart for the woman’s name. “Camila, let me take her to the back and get those stitches out so you can take her home.”
Valeria walks toward her and reaches for the carrier, which Camila gently hands over. Miso immediately starts to meow in protest as Valeria takes her from her arms.
“We’ll be right back,” Valeria says softly, trying to reassure her as she carries Miso toward the back room.
Once inside, she carefully sets it down and opens the door. Miso stretches and lets out a low whine, but doesn’t try to run. Valeria examines her stitches, checking for redness, swelling, or discharge. The skin looks healthy. The incision is clean and well-healed.
“These are good to come out,” Valeria says to the tech holding Miso steady. She takes a pair of sterile scissors and forceps, gently lifting a stitch enough to snip it without pulling at the skin.
Miso jerks at the sound, a sharp little meow catching in her throat. Valeria stills her hands immediately and leans closer, murmuring, her voice low and even.
