Untrusting (Troubled) (28 page)

“Sher, do you trust me, yet?” 
I’m talking close to her ear, her head’s under my cheek, tilting my face so I’m
inches from her ear.

“I must.  I didn’t walk out
when ya called me ‘Sally’, did I?”  She’s sounds like she’s coming
slightly awake.

“No ya didn’t.  Sher, can I
tell ya something without ya getting mad?”

“Depends.  If there’s really a
‘Sally’, then no, but anything else should be okay.”  She’s a bit more
aware.

“Sher, I love you.  I want ya
to marry me and live here with me.”

“I love you, too.  Can we be
engaged for a while, or do ya want to get married soon.”

She sounds like she’s almost asleep
and she didn’t respond except verbally.  Does she know what she
said?  I turn her toward me.  “Sher, did you say you love me and will
marry me?”

“Yes.  You’d better get some
sleep.  Ya have to be at work in a few hours.”

“Honey, if ya mean what ya said,
kiss me.”  I need her to show me she means it and it’s not the sleep
talking.  She puts her arms around my neck and pulls me into a gentle,
sleepy kiss.  I pull her to me and hold her while we fall asleep.

“Sher, wake up.  We have to go
to work.”  Steve didn’t reset the alarm for me.  Maria’s starting to
shake me when my eyes open to slits.  “Come on, Sher, or we’ll be late
opening the clinic.”

My eyes pop open.  “What time
is it?”

“It’s six thirty, get up.  We
have the boarding house and appointments this morning.  We gotta get
goin’.  I have to leave now to get Shay to day care, but I can’t leave
‘til I know you’re up.”  Maria’s anxious to leave.

I sit up on the edge of the bed and
smile at her.  “Steve asked me to marry him last night and I said
yes.  Maria, I was half asleep and I knew I loved him.”  Then I think
about the time, “I hope he didn’t say it in his sleep.”

Maria smiles, “It’s about time you
two came to terms with your relationship.  Now get moving.  I gotta
go.  See ya at the office.”  She turns and walks out.  As I’m
pulling my jeans on, I hear her car start.

I stop for a moment to look in the
mirror over Steve’s dresser.  I look different.  I’m smiling, my face
glows and my eyes have a sparkle in them.  What if I dreamed it? 
What if he was talking in his sleep?  What if….  My face drops and my
smile disappears.  I turn to finish dressing and leave with my
suitcase.  It’s the weekend and Steve will be staying at my place, or
should I stay in town because of the dogs and the boarding house.  I’ll
have to see.  I stop for coffee on the way to work.

I beat Maria to the office by
fifteen minutes.  “What happened?  I thought you’d be here sooner.”

She’s not smiling.  “I forgot
day care’s closed today.  I had to take Shay to Mom’s.  She gonna
drop him off at lunch.  She and Dad are going to Gatesville, Christmas
shopping.  Big sales today.”

“It’s okay.  The appointments
will be finished by then.  By the way, thanks for letting the dogs out. 
I put them in as I was leaving, except Chaucee.  She’s here with me. 
Now we’d better get busy with the guests.”

Chaucee insists on my attention so
I keep her with me when I let the guests out.  Maria and I clean the
litter boxes and fasten the rain shields up.  I feed the guests then we go
in to open the office.  Chaucee’s still right at my feet.

The phone rings at eight
thirty.  It’s Miss Lili.  Glen’s kids didn’t take kindly to their
getting married and Glen moving here.  They think she’s a gold
digger.  She laughs when she says it, but I can hear the disappointment in
her voice.  They’re hoping the prenuptial agreement will bring them
around.

I try to cheer her up by saying
they just don’t know her yet.  But they’ll see when they come for
Christmas.  Miss Lili says they won’t come out for any reason. 
Glen’s very upset with his kids, but he’s determined to get married, or to
“live in sin” with her.  She’s laughing when she says it.  Then she
asks how things are going with the “guests”, the clinic and the rest of us. 
I tell her fine on all fronts.  I tell her about Thanksgiving dinner and
she’s happy we went out of way to accommodate the boys.  Glen had gotten
so upset with his kids, the two of them’d had Thanksgiving dinner at a
restaurant.  I tell her how sorry I am things had gone badly.  She
says they might be home early, Glen’s that upset.  He’s over at his
daughter’s house now, trying to smooth things over.  She’s okay with
things, even if Glen backs outta the marriage.  They can still go on the
way they were before.  I have to go, my appointment is here so I hand the
phone to Maria and tend to business.

When I finish with the appointment
I find Maria sitting on Bob’s lap and Bob’s talking to Miss Lili.  Maria’s
off Bob’s lap before our patient’s owner is out of the exam room.  I get
the medication I’d prescribed and Maria takes care of the file information and
taking the payment.

That’s when we hear Chaucee barking
and having fits in the kennel room.  I open the door to the kennels and
there’s a strange dog in the room.  When I open the door wider the dog
starts growling, snarling and lunging at me.  Maria hollers for Bob to
come help some, but he’s not much help with his leg.  I have to call the
Sheriff’s Department to handle the dog.  They have the equipment for this
sorta thing.  They get the dog into a kennel in the shelter and I get some
food and water in with it.  The dog isn’t skinny, but it gobbles the food
down and half of the water.  I’ll have to hose the dog down in the kennel
since it snarls and lunges at anybody that gets close to it.  Maybe, it’ll
settle down and I can wash it properly.  But that’s later this
afternoon.  If nothing else, I can slip it a sedative.

When I go back to the clinic, Bob’s
watching the office while Maria goes after Shay.  Her mother had called
and there’s a sale she needs to get to before noon.  And my next
appointment’s waiting.  I take care of the bird and Maria’s back in time
to take care of the file and the payment.

My next appointment is one of the
puppies from the accident.  It’s here for a check up and an appointment to
be spay.  I go over the procedure with the owner and set up the
appointment for the operation.  The owner asks if I have any more puppies
to adopt.  I don’t, but I put her name on a list of adoptees.

I send Bob and Maria for
lunch.  Now I have to stay in town to take care of the stray and the
guests.  The owners of the guests will be coming for them Monday.

After lunch, it’s time to deal with
the stray.  I leave Bob and Maria in the office while I go to the hardware
store to get something I can put soap into and attach to the hose to wash the
stray.  When I get back, I get the dog shampoo and Maria goes with me to
help.  The dog objects to being sprayed, but there’s no other way. 
Thank goodness we thought to get slide in trays for food and water when we set
up the shelter.  The dog is filthy.  We wash and rinse him three
times before the rinse water is clean.  I use a flea and tick shampoo to
be sure the shelter doesn’t get infested.  The dog looks like a Doberman,
and is possibly a guard dog.  I’ll get a dog trainer in to confirm my
assessment.  I start a file on him.

When I come back, there’s a box of
six Sheltie puppies and Steve in the office.  “Where’d the puppies come
from?”

“I brought them in.  They were
next to the door, dropped off, I guess.”

“Well, we are an adoption center,
too.  I have to check them out and give them shots.”  I look at
Steve.

He has a concerned look on his face
so I take him out with me to let the guests out.  “Are you concerned about
Miss Lili and Glen?”

“What about Grams and Glen?” 
Guess that wasn’t it.  I tell him what Miss Lili told me and he
shrugs.  “Grams has a way of winning people over.  They’ll be
okay.”  I work while we talk.

“Yeah.  So what’s the frown
for?”  The guests are running around us.

“Sher, do you remember our talk
last night?”  He turns me to him so I’m looking at him.

“Which one?”  I’m afraid to
answer directly because I don’t know if I’d dreamed the conversation or if he
was talking in his sleep.

“The one we had in bed.”  I
don’t know how much to say.

“I remember talking about having
kids.  Is that the one you’re talking about?”

She remembers that much so she must
remember the rest.  “Yes.  Do you remember saying you’d marry me?”

“Yes.  Ya mean it wasn’t a dream
and you weren’t talking in your sleep?  You meant it?”  I’m a little
surprised.

“I meant it.  Did you?” 
He says softly, pulling me to him and kissing me.  He picks me up then
puts me down quickly after a little grunt.  “I love you, Sher.  I
wasn’t sure, you sounded half asleep?”

“I meant it.  I love you,
too.”  I tighten my hold on him and he’s kissing me again.  Maria
comes to the door and calls out to me.  I’m wanted on the phone. 
“You didn’t hurt your ankle when you picked me up did ya?”  He shakes his
head.  I leave the dogs out to answer the phone.

The phone call is a man looking for
his guard dog that’s gotten away.  He said he’d heard from the Sheriff’s
office that it was at the shelter.  I tell him we have a dog that appears
to be a guard dog.  He’ll have to come identify it and let me examine it
before he can take it home.  He’ll be right over.

I go out to put the guests away
since the stray is going to be out soon.  While I wait for the man to
arrive I move the puppies into the kennel room.

He recognizes the dog and calms
“Brutus” so I can examine him.  The dog is under fed and has skin
abrasions from being so dirty and flea infested.  I put medicine on the
ulcers and tell Mr. Gustaf I could and should charge him with animal cruelty,
but if he’ll bring the dog in every week until the ulcers are healed I won’t
ticket him.  I get all his information and give him salve for the ulcers
and a bottle of dog shampoo.  He looks at me like I’m nuts.  I tell
him the dog needs to be kept clean for the ulcers to heal.  I, also, put a
flea and tick collar on the dog, explaining the ulcers were caused by the dirt
and parasites.  He’s not happy, but I make an appointment for one week
from today.  As he leaves with “Brutus” I tell him that if he doesn’t keep
the appointment I’ll press charges.

That’s when he says he doesn’t have
money for all the stuff I’m enforcing.  “Mr. Gustaf, have I asked you for
money?”  When he shakes his head, I continue, “There’ll be no charge for
taking care of Brutus as long as ya keep your end of the bargain.  This
time Brutus’ treatment for this problem will be free.  Next time it’ll be
double.  Remember, he should be kept clean and parasite free, forever,
but, at least, ‘til the ulcers are healed.”  He, sorta, smiles and nods
‘bye as he walks out the door.

“You were a bit soft on him,
weren’t ya?”  Maria doesn’t think I should let him off.

“It’s a first offense and if he
takes care of Brutus from now on it will’ve served its purpose.”

“Okay, you’re the City Vet.” 
She smiles and goes to find Shay and Bob.

Steve’s not so sure I did Brutus a
favor.  “You’ll have to keep up with Brutus after he’s healed, ya
know.  Guard dogs are usually left alone and not dealt with, for any
reason.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep track of
him.  As City Vet, I plan to visit every home the strays go to, at least
once.  I have to know the animals are safe when they leave here.”

He’s sitting in the office chair
and pulls me down on his lap to kiss me.  I hear the waiting room door
open and look up to see the Sheriff.  “Don’t mean to interrupt, but has
the stray dog been claimed?”

I get up to answer, “Yes.  I
didn’t ticket the owner, but I threatened to, if he doesn’t bring the dog back
every week for a check up.”

“Was there something wrong with the
dog?”  He’s looking around the office.

“Only skin ulcers from the fleas
and dirt that covered him.  I put a flea collar on the dog and gave Mr.
Gustaf flea shampoo to keep them off and instructions to bathe the dog every
week before he brings him in for me to check the ulcers.  I gave him some
salve for the ulcers, too.”

“You know Benny Gustaf runs the
salvage yard thirty five miles away, don’t ya?  And he has three other
dogs out there, probably in the same shape as the one ya had here.  I’m
gonna go over to take a look at them and I’ll probably write him a ticket that
will bring the other dogs in for treatment.  You behind me?”

I nod.  “It’ll probably make
him mad at me.  He’ll think I turned him in anyway.  I’d prefer you
tell him you’re just checking on the dog since y’all were called in to get him
in a kennel.  I’m blackmailing him into bringing the dog back for
treatment by not giving him a ticket, and I had to offer free treatment. 
I don’t know if I can afford to treat four dogs for free.  But if it’ll
get him to bring them in I will, this time, ‘til they’re well.  Any shots
or licensing will cost him.”

Sheriff Carl nods.  “I’ll keep
ya posted.”  He says “hi” to Steve and chats for a while about the rain
last night and the affect on the fire hazard then leaves.

“I didn’t know it rained last
night.  I must’ve been sleeping hard.”  I was really tired after
fixing and cleaning up after dinner for forty five people.

“You were dead to the world when I
got up to go to work.  I forgot to call to wake ya up for work because I
was asleep.  I didn’t sleep very well without ya and there wasn’t much
time to sleep after ya came to bed.  I hope I don’t have to sleep alone
anymore.  I need my beauty sleep.”  I poke him, hard.  He yelps
and grabs me in a hug.

Bob, Maria and Shay come in. 
Shay’s carrying a puppy with an arm around the puppy’s chest.  “Aunt Sher,
can I have this puppy?  Mom and Bob say its okay with them if it’s okay
with you.”

Steve lets me go so I can tend to
Shay’s question.  “Do ya know how much work a puppy is?”  Shay
nods.  “The puppy has to be put out to go to potty and play.  He has
to be fed and watered and bathed.  If he goes to the bathroom in the
house, you’ll have to clean it up and scold him for not going outside. 
You’ll have to watch him to let him out so he doesn’t do it again.  But
the hardest of all is playing with him, teaching him manners and loving
him.  Can ya do all those things?” I ask.