"Special connection? Please be careful, I
don't want some jerk to hurt you. I'll kill him if he does." Sam
shook her head in warning and exasperation at her friend's naivety.
She knew there was something special about Garrett, but she wasn't
sure if it was what Riley was expecting.
"I know you have my back, but try not to kill
him unless I want you to, alright?" she joked. "OK, we have a ton
to do today. Let's look at our schedule and figure out when we'll
have time to clean this office and make room for Ryan."
They worked quickly through their morning
appointments, snatching moments in between to push the bookshelves
and desk around to split the space in half. At noon, Riley's cell
phone rang; it was Garrett.
"Hey, how did your flight go?"
"It was long and uncomfortable, but I'm on
the ground now and we're going into our meeting. I needed to hear
your voice before heading into the room. It's a bit of a big deal
for me, so I'm hoping you'll wish me luck."
"You bet. I'm sure it'll all work out and
you'll have good news when you walk out. I can't wait to hear about
it, and if it's that big of a deal I think we'll need to celebrate
when you get back." She heard a chuckle on the other end.
"Truer words were never spoken my Kismet.
Take care and I'll talk with you as soon as I can. Bye."
"Bye." She knew she had a goofy grin on her
face, but she couldn't help it. It was so great hearing from him.
It helped to fill the gaping hole residing in her stomach since he
left her house.
She had three surgeries that afternoon which
kept her busy until 5:00. By the time she gave care instructions to
the owners picking up their pets, it was almost 6:30 and she still
needed to chart the paperwork and get to the shelter. She was
starting to feel the results of being up too late last night too.
She was yawning as Sam walked in to say goodnight.
"See, dating is hard work. No one ever
believes me." She laughed. "I'm locking up - we have everything
cleaned up, set up and all animals fed. See you tomorrow
morning."
"Great, see you tomorrow, Sam. Thanks for
being such a fantastic friend."
Riley ran to the fridge to get her PB &
J. On her way back to her office she heard her phone ringing. She
sprinted in and picked it up right as it stopped. "Dang!" She
quickly hit redial on Garrett's number and waited.
"Hey, I thought I had missed you."
"I was just grabbing a sandwich before I had
to leave for shelter duty. How did the meeting go?" She heard him
sigh and she felt a heaviness in her heart.
"It could have gone better, but I'm not
giving up hope yet."
"I'm so sorry. It sounds really important."
She didn't know what else to say. She had no idea what this meeting
was about, so any words would be platitudes.
"It's extremely important, but like I said, I
won't give up. I'll never give up."
He sounded so determined it made her shiver.
She'd never heard his voice that hard before. "Good. You shouldn't
if there is something you really want."
"I have to go Riley. I won't be coming back
tonight, but hopefully tomorrow. I'll be in touch once I know.
Please take care, my Kismet."
"OK, I will and you too. Talk with you
tomorrow." She heard the phone disconnect and sat there with an
overwhelming feeling of disappointment. She wasn't sure if it was
because he wasn't coming home, or if it was because he sounded so
distraught. She shook off the bad feelings as well as she could and
finished up her charting.
It was about 7:45 when she finally arrived at
the shelter. Mike was on duty. Luckily, there weren't any new
animals, so she checked on the ones who had arrived the previous
days to make sure the sutures were all looking good and meds were
disbursed correctly. The terrified Shepherd mix from last week was
still there. He had started to put some weight on, but he was still
a bit skittish.
"Mike, how is he doing? Is he warming up to
anyone yet?
"A tiny bit, but it'll be a long haul. I'm
afraid to say he'll be here for a bit unless we can find a foster
home to take him and give him some extra love. He's still too
skittish to adopt out."
She was saddened about the news. She knew she
couldn't take another pet, but it didn't keep her from wishing. She
sat down and waited for him to approach so she could give him some
extra TLC. After sitting with him for about an hour, she decided it
was time to go get Wolf and head home for the night. She could
barely keep her eyes open.
"I'm heading out Mike, I'll see ya next
week."
"OK, see ya then. Have a good one."
The night was frigid and wet. She had one of
those bone deep chills, which wouldn't be eradicated unless she
soaked in hot water. With a steaming hot bubble bath in mind, she
picked up Wolf from doggy daycare and headed home. As she parked,
she looked at her house from the car. It looked dark, empty, and
lonely. She felt almost desolate and didn't know the reason why.
She could assume it was because she missed Garrett and wanted to be
with him, but it seemed silly, especially since she just met him.
She stepped out of the Jeep and opened the back for Wolf to jump
down. As they walked to the house, she almost felt ill.
Maybe
I'm coming down with something.
She ran a bubble bath and grabbed her
neglected book. She'd have to reread the last few pages because
she'd been away from it for weeks. Her phone rang as she was
heading to the bathtub, towel in hand. She was delighted it was
Garrett and felt better almost immediately.
"Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?"
"Actually, I think I might be coming down
with something. Hey, isn't it midnight there? What are you doing
awake?
"You're not coming down with anything. You
miss me, and I miss you, and that's why I'm awake."
She laughed, "Ya, because I can't live
without a guy I met a few days ago." She only heard silence on the
other end. "Sorry, that was rude, but it does seem a bit
farfetched."
"Remember the special connection we talked
about last night? Nothing is farfetched when you share something
special. I'm feeling better by just talking with you on the phone,
how about you?"
She didn't want to admit she was feeling
better, her scientific mind couldn't wrap itself around the
thought, it sounded way too "woo woo" to her. "I'm feeling better,
maybe I'm just tired, and now that I'm home I can rest. I will say
I'll be happy to see you again."
"I'll be happy to see you too. Please pick up
the phone if you start to feel poorly, whether you believe me or
not, you'll feel better for it. Good night, my little Kismet. Sleep
well and have good dreams."
"You too." She ended the call and looked at
the phone with confusion. Could that call really have been the
thing that made her feel better? That didn't make any sense, but
none of this did. She felt off kilter ever sense she met him.
She walked into the bathroom, pulled the plug
on her claw foot tub, and decided to head straight to bed instead.
It had been a long day and tomorrow was going to be full of
commotion with integrating Ryan into the office. She wrapped up in
his jacket and snuggled into bed with Wolf and Oscar as
sentinels.
She slept fitfully, waking up every hour or
two with nightmares about Garrett, and more of the same hollow
feeling of never seeing him again. By the time morning came around,
she felt utterly depressed. As she lay in her bed, trying to decide
if she cared about getting up or not, she received a call on her
cell. She almost ignored it, but decided to roll over and
answer.
"My Kismet, please tell me you're alright. I
had nightmares all night. I waited as long as I could this morning
to call - hoping I wouldn't wake you." His voice was full of
emotion and strain.
She assessed how she felt, she was starting
to feel better, and it was beyond ridiculous. She'd been
independent all her life, never needing a man.
Why am I so lost
without him?
They barely knew each other. With a frustrated
huff she said, "I'm feeling better now, thank you. Garrett, what is
going on? I don't understand how a phone call can help me feel
better. I'm so confused." She was near tears.
"Sweetheart, please hang in there. I'm hoping
to be able to explain more when I get home. If my meeting goes well
today I'll be home tonight and I'll come straight to wherever you
are and explain. I promise. I'll try to call you again in a few
hours. Take care and try not to worry about what you don't
understand."
"Fine, but I don't see that happening. I'll
talk with you later." She set the phone down and took a deep
breath.
What is happening to me?
She crawled out of bed and got ready for the
day, being sure to put a turtleneck and thermals on under her
scrubs to combat the bone deep chill she knew she'd have. Since it
was Ryan's first day, she wasn't sure how long she'd be at work, so
she decided to give Wolf an extra treat this week and take him to
doggy daycare again. She grabbed a hot cup of coffee and Garrett's
coat on the way out of the house. She buried her face into the coat
and his scent on the fabric helped calm her slightly. Not caring
what the girls would think of her she tugged it on; she needed the
extra comfort.
Wolf was ecstatic of course, wiggling and
singing all the way to doggy daycare. "Wolf, calm down, you're
shaking the entire car. We'll go bouncing off the road at this
rate," Riley laughed.
As she walked in, the daycare owner, Mara,
was surprised to see her for a second day in a row. "Hey Mara, may
be another long day for me. I know I didn't have him on the books,
but I'm hoping you have room."
"Of course, happy to have him - he's such a
sweetheart."
"Thanks Mara, you're the best." Riley waived
and headed back out to her car, coffee in hand.
As she entered the clinic, she saw Ryan was
already there. He was in back helping Jennifer with the overnight
animals. It felt reassuring and comforting to see him. "Hey Ryan,
good to see you today. You're an early bird, or maybe an eager
beaver, which is it?"
"Well, since I'm an Oregon State grad, I
should probably pick the eager beaver," he said with a wink. "I'm
excited to start doing what I've wanted to do for years I suppose.
Hope its alright I'm here this early." He shifted back and forth,
nervous he'd maybe come in too early for her.
"Not a problem at all. I didn't get a chance
to get a desk for you yesterday. Maybe you can find time to do that
during lunch. We have an account at Office Depot. In the meantime,
you can help me review charts for the first few clients and shadow
me. Lyla keeps the schedule and it's all online. You can use any of
the terminals to see it." She led him to the terminal and showed
him how to look up the schedule and pull charts. It looked like
there were only two surgeries scheduled: a lipoma removal on a
Weimaraner and a dental on a six-year-old Lab. Both of those would
be easy.
"How about if you do the surgeries today and
I'll shadow you? Do you feel comfortable with what we have?"
He looked excited and had dimples showing.
"Yes, I absolutely feel comfortable. I can totally do that.
Thanks!"
As the morning progressed, she was glad he
seemed to be picking up the nuances of the office. He wasn't going
to be a snobby vet who never got his hands dirty, but a part of the
team. He'd be a perfect fit.
"So, how did your date go the other
night?"
She jumped, caught off guard by the question.
"It went really well."
"Good, but I had a weird vibe about him. I
know I haven't seen you in years and I have no right to meddle, but
be careful with him. There seemed to be something "off" about him,"
he air quoted. Ryan saw her eyes harden and figured he
overstepped.
She immediately had her hackles up, ready to
defend Garrett. How dare Ryan pass judgment when he didn't know
anything about him? Before she could lash out, she reined in her
temper. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm fine."
By noon, she was feeling lonely, hollow, and
depressed again. It was all encompassing and she decided to call
Garrett, even though it seemed absolutely insane to her it'd help.
Maybe he'd know if he was coming home though, so with the rationale
of finding out his flight schedule, she dialed his number. He
answered on the first ring.
"Are you OK?"
She could hear real concern in his voice.
"Yes, I only wanted to find out if you were coming back today," she
fibbed. She heard him chuckle and knew he caught her.
"Yes. We're working to get our tickets right
now."
"We? I didn't know you went with anyone." She
didn't know why it bugged her, but she felt like he was keeping
something from her.
What if it was a woman?
Where did
that irrational thought come from?
"Yes, I'm here with John, a mentor of mine.
Are you feeling better now?"
Her emotions were all over the place and she
wasn't sure if she felt better or not. She was glad to hear he was
there with a man, but that wasn't enough of a relief.
"Sweetheart, I'll be home as soon as I can. I
promise."
She could hear the emotion in his voice and
guessed the separation was maybe as hard for him as it was for
her.
"I'll see you soon. You better be ready to
tell me what's going on when you get here, because I can't handle
this feeling anymore," she choked out and then pressed end.
She felt better physically, but her emotions
were a wreck. She felt like she was losing touch with reality. They
didn't have clients until their first surgery at 2:00. Ryan had
left to get his desk, so she figured she would go for a walk, or
run, or both. It wasn't raining out, that was a small blessing in
this crazy day. She grabbed Garrett's coat and trudged towards the
door.