“Actually,” I say, clipping the nail carefully, “that’s easier in some ways. People tell you what’s wrong and half the time they’re describing the symptoms they noticed, not the thing that’s causing it. With animals, you have to find the actual problem.”
He turns this over. “Is that why you like it?”
I don’t ask myself that question as often as I should. “Partly,” I say.
“Do you know a lot about, like, all animals? Or just some?”
“All of them, some. Some of them, a lot.”
He nods like this is useful information. I finish the clip, apply a small antibiotic, and put the rabbit back into the carrier. The kid watches the whole process like he’s taking notes.
“I’m thinking about being a vet,” he says, on the way out.
“Good,” I say. “Study biology. Don’t give up on math.”
I watch him, his mom, and the rabbit walk out. I stand in the empty exam room and then go to make coffee. It occurs to me on the way that I’ve been standing in this town long enough to be accidentally mentoring someone. This is data. I’m not going to examine the data right now. But it’s still data.
Hanna finds me on Saturday.
Not by accident. I’ve been around Hanna enough to understand that Hanna doesn’t do anything by accident. She comes in with a kit-supply exchange, the official reason, some items the station medical kit needed restocked and some expired supplies coming back. This is something Dr. Fenn has beendoing for years. Hanna leans against the exam table like she has all the time in the world, which is how I know she scheduled this.
“How’s business?” Hanna asks.
“Busy,” I say. “Fire season is brutal.”
“Are you managing okay? I know Dr.Fenn’s setup isn’t exactly intuitive.”
I pause for half a beat. “I rearranged the storage. Don’t tell her.”
Something moves through Hanna’s expression, subtle, calibrated, the tell of a person who is running scenarios in her head. “Did you.”
“It was practical. The original system made sense for her workflow, not mine.”
“Mm,” Hanna says, with a neutrality that isn’t neutral.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing. You rearranged the storage. You’re adapting the practice to your workflow. That’s—professional.”
“That’s what I said.”
Hanna lets it rest for a moment. She knows how to wait out a silence. “How long have you been doing locum work?”
“Two years.”
“Where before here?”
“Idaho, mostly. Eastern Washington before that.”
“Never anywhere twice?”
“Never anywhere twice. I did a placement in Wyoming when I was just starting out.”
Hanna nods. “What made you start moving?”
This is a question people ask sometimes, and I have an answer for it, something about wanting diverse clinical experience, learning different practice styles, the professional value of exposure to varied caseloads. The answer is technically true.
“I wanted the experience,” I say.
