Chapter Two

Hale

"Good morning," I greeted no one. Somewhere along the line, I'd gotten used to saying that to our vet clinic when I opened the door each day.

My partners, Idris and Lachlan, would be in later. They weren't early risers like I was. We sometimes had to come in for emergencies in the night and neither of them fared well afterward.

I started the coffeepot, knowing we would all need the pickup throughout the day. We'd been up late last night treating a basset hound who had a run-in with a porcupine, which had been trying for all of us, especially Vinny and his owner Brent. They were both getting older. Brent cried for his buddy, and Vinny had been very vocal about his displeasure with the quills.

Walking around the building, following my everyday pattern, I flipped on the lights and straightened random magazines on the tables. We didn't pay for a cleaning service and so I had some work to do before my friends arrived and the place was open. I had to sweep and mop along with restocking the sterilized tools. Every patient room needed to be wiped down. Cranking up the music, I grabbed the broom and got to work and got through everything with a fast pace.

We had six patient rooms and one surgical room. Our new X-ray machine took up one of the rooms we had previously used for storage.

Next up was my favorite part. Checking on the animals that stayed overnight. We had a second vet tech who stayed overnight. He went home as soon as I came in.

The night before, we had one pig, Bosely, and Vinny. Sometimes we had all the cages filled and other times, like this morning, we only had two guests.

Vinny needed some fluids and antibiotics just in case, and Bosely had been brought in because of his incessant whining. Turned out, Bosely had eaten something that upset his stomach.

Good thing he was a miniature pig and could fit in the inside enclosure.

Big pigs were seen at the owner's farm. We didn't have the means to keep one here, but we were working on expanding.

I had finished taking their vitals when I heard the back door open. It beeped a few times as the alarm warned us to plug in the code.

"Morning, Edie," I called out, knowing our receptionist's reaction before she gave it. In Edie fashion, there was only a grunt and a click as she placed her homemade lunch into the refrigerator. I'd never seen her eat out. Ever.

I walked into the break room and poured myself a cup of coffee and one for Edie. She took it and grumbled something incoherent as she added obscene amount of creamer to the black, hot liquid.

Once she'd taken a few sips, I knew the coast was clear for conversation.

"Long night?" I asked, picking on her. Edie was a woman of schedule and regimes that made her life easy. That was what she claimed.

Personally, I yearned for a bit of adventure, even though I enjoyed my routine.

"Shush, Hale. You know better. Where are the other two stooges?" She reached for the coffeepot. I'd never seen her go without one refill before opening.

"They'll be in." I shrugged.

"Right on the minute," she laughed.

"How's the schedule today?"

Her grin turned to a frown. "I'm not saying. You know what happens when I do."

She was right. Even muttering about the slowness or the lack of scheduled appointments ensured that the universe would step in and make the day frantic with emergencies and house calls.

"Okay, okay."

We were leaning against the counter, nursing our coffees, when Idris and Lach came in, white coats and lunch bags in hand. "Morning," they called out at the same time.

Our practice was in what was once a log cabin. It wasn't even time to open yet and there was a knock at the front door. Idris checked his smartwatch. "We have ten minutes."

Edie poured out her coffee into the sink, cursing under her breath. "If we don't open, they're only going to get louder. A headache is not on my schedule. Come on, boys. Look alive."

We laughed at her bossiness. She was our receptionist but because of her age and demeanor, mostly because she was always right, we listened to her as we would our own mothers.

"How's Vinny?" Lach asked, hanging his coat up. Idris wore his all the time, but with Lachlan, it was touch and go.

"He was okay. Resting still."

My friend nodded while Idris walked to the front, probably to take the first patient. "Let's go see if he can go home. I have a feeling this is going to be a hectic day."