But it turned out that I didn’t have to worry about that because we pulled into the clinic where Blue worked, and Jax killed the engine. Blue, distracted and oblivious, didn’t notice what we were doing until we got out of the car.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be,” Blue started to say, then he seemed to clock the fact that Jax and I were out of the car. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to help you,” I said. Sliding up next to him, I put my hand on his shoulder.
“No, you should go and…”
Jax cut him off. “Go and eat food and talk about how we should have stayed to help you? Dream on, Blue. There will be other dinners. Your job is important to you, and you’re important to us.”
He blinked at us and moisture gathered in his eyes, but he quickly blinked it away.
“I don’t know how much we’re qualified to do, but we’ll help where we can.”
Blue took a deep breath and when he exhaled, he looked a few pounds lighter. “Okay. Come on in. I’ll get you guys masks and gloves, and we’ll touch base with Rex about what needs to be done.”
As far as first dates went, this turned out to be one of the more memorable ones. We were there barely long enough to get a quick tour and a rundown of what to expect when the first load of animals showed up.
The first two vans pulled in, stacked to the roof with animals in crates. Jax and I helped unload the carriers. After the smaller crates were taken from the top layers and carried inside, the larger crates were put on carts and wheeled into the building.
The smell was wildly unbearable and not something I cared to dwell on. The masks didn’t help much, but it was better than nothing. Once the animals were inside, the vans left to go back to the scene. The vet staff—Rex, Blue, and a small handful of people whose names I quickly forgot—worked like a well-oiled machine.
It took a bit, but once we got into a rhythm, Jax and I would bring a new patient in and hand them off to one team of vet staff, who did an initial exam while they waited for Rex to come have a look. We’d head over to one of the other teams and takewhatever animal we could to the kennels in the other room. Sometimes we were allowed to give them food and water.
The animals who required more care than Jax or I could deal with were handled by Blue and the staff. Some needed IV fluids. Most of them would need more thorough exams later, but the volume of animals that had come in made me queasy.
At one point during a lull, we’d washed our hands and then Jax had disappeared, only to return a minute later with an armful of bottled water.
“Found these in the staff room. Take one for yourself; I’ll pass the rest out.”
Jax was so good at taking care of people, and it was that thought which had me smiling when he returned a minute later with just one bottle of water left for himself.
“What?”
“You’re just perfect. That’s all.”
“I’m perfectly covered in filth.”
I scanned him from head to toe, and yeah, we were both covered in pet fur and other things that we wouldn’t think too hard about.
“I bet you’re glad you didn’t wear basketball shorts today,” I quipped, noting the grime on his jeans.
“These jeans will never be the same, though.”
“I’m going to burn this shirt when we’re done.” I sympathized as Blue rounded the corner. His eyes lit up when he saw us and despite the fact that we were all covered in animal hair and other… stuff, he walked right up to where Jax and I stood, shoulder to shoulder. Blue waltzed in and claimed the space between us. But instead of being a wedge and forcing us apart to make room for him, Blue brought us closer together.
Jax raked his hand through Blue’s hair. “You okay, babe?”
“Yes.” Blue let out a sigh and curled his arm around my waist, tugging me closer. “No. But I like that you’re here. I can’t believe you stayed.”
“This is a far better first date story to tell.”
Blue laughed, but it was a weak laugh tinged with sadness. I knew he loved his job, but I also knew how hard on him it was sometimes. Times like tonight, when humanity’s uglier side was on display. These animals had deserved better than they got.
“You say that now, but there’s more animals on the way.” Blue sounded weary, and I started to wonder if he was going to be able to make it through the rest of this. But then he took a deep breath, and I watched him rally. He took another deep breath, one that didn’t sigh out of him. His shoulders rolled back, and he straightened up. “It’s just one more van. We can’t handle more than that. There’s no room here, so they’re taking some of the others to a different clinic across town. We understand if you want to go home, it’s been a long night, and we’re not done yet.”
“We don’t mind,” Jax answered for us both. “We’re not going anywhere, not until this is dealt with and you can come too.”
Sometimes, when Jax and Blue looked at each other, I’d get this pang in my chest that felt a bit like envy. Today, I felt that, but there was also this rush of warmth there. A feeling of safety and comfort washed over me. I knew that these were two people I could count on for anything. They hadn’t given up on me, even though I wouldn’t have blamed them if they had. That warm feeling wrapped itself around me, and I knew then that this wouldn’t just be the story of our first date. It would be the story I told when people asked how I knew I loved them.
