8. Joshua

Joshua

I watched Mabel stomp away, my eyes drawn to her round backside before I caught myself and forced myself to turn away. I wasn’t sure what had just happened between us, but one thing was clear – Mabel was a stubborn woman. And kind of odd.

Also, I’d somehow insulted her.

She was dressed in a cute little dress that seemed kind of witchy – maybe because it was purple and covered with silver stars – and she’d paired it with navy blue Chucks. She wore dangly earrings with more stars, and an overabundance of rings. None, I couldn’t help but notice, appeared to be a wedding ring.

Everything about her was lush – that was the only word I could think of to describe her. I pegged her at being in her late thirties, maybe forty if the fine lines around her eyes were to be believed, so at least ten years younger than me.

She’s too young, I told myself. And a client. And also, she’s not your type.

Well, at least not the type I usually went for. Most of the women I’d dated were outdoorsy. Sporty. Super serious. Not a single one of them would wear a ring on every finger or put a princess dress on a dog.

And not a single one of them ever made me forget my words when I looked into their eyes. What was that about?

I headed back to one of the treatment bays where Erica was just finishing cleaning Esmerelda’s wounds. She’d hooked the dog up to an IV and must have already administered both the pain med and the anxiety med because Esmerelda looked high as a kite, her tongue lolling out of one side of her mouth, her eyes wide and spacy. I suppressed a smile.

“She’s a sweetie,” Erica told me, stroking the dog’s head. “Even if she looks like two dogs put together.”

After examining the wounds more carefully and confirming there was nothing too serious about the skin abrasions, I did a more thorough examination of the dog’s leg. When I was finished, we slid Esmerelda through the x-ray. I was pleased to see that the dog had not torn any ligaments, which meant her leg pain was likely just a bad sprain. That was much easier to manage.

Thirty minutes later I carried Esmerelda back into the treatment room where Mabel was waiting. Most people who were alone in the room played with their phones, but not Mabel. When I looked in the window she was sitting cross-legged on her chair, hands on her knees, staring straight ahead.

When I opened the door, she jumped.

“Sorry to startle you.”

“Oh that’s okay, I was just deep into a meditation.”

I was beginning to realize that Mabel was a bit woo-woo.

“Did you get your snack?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I did.”

“I’ve got good news,” I told her, setting the still loopy Esmerelda onto the exam table. “Esmerelda’s wounds are not serious, and it doesn’t look like she tore any ligaments in her leg. That means it’s probably just a sprain. I’ll send Erica in with some written instructions for aftercare, and I’d like to see you again in a week.”

I paused and amended my words.

“I mean, I’d like to see Esmerelda again in a week. You’ll want to let her rest as much as possible until she’s able to walk normally on that leg. No running or jumping for at least a week.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll give you some pain meds in case she needs them, be sure to give them to her with food otherwise it can upset the stomach. If you have a hard time getting her to take the pill, trying hiding it in cheese or peanut butter.”

“So you think she’s going to be okay?” Mabel asked, looking up at me hopefully.

I nodded. “Yes, she should be just fine.”

“Oh thank God.”

She rushed over to the table, hugging her dog and looking like she might start crying again. Erica told me that Mabel had been sobbing when she came in.

“Mommy was so worried about you Esmerelda,” she said softly. “Don’t do anything like that again. I can’t lose you.”

As a vet, I saw a lot of emotional scenes between people and their pets. I was more aware than most that for some people, pets were treasured family members. After so many years as a vet, I was good at remaining detached. But for some reason, Mabel’s emotional reaction really got to me.

“Erica will be right in to get you check out,” I said, hearing the gruffness in my voice. “Be sure to call us if Esmerelda gets worse or you have any questions. Otherwise I’ll see you in a week.”

Without waiting for a response, I left the room and hurried back to my office, closing the door behind me so I could have some privacy. Staring at my desk I had to admit something to myself. Something so incredible I couldn’t even believe it, but I knew it was true.

Love at first sight was real.

I’d never wanted love. Never particularly wanted a relationship. I’d always been too focused on my career to worry about anything more complicated than a casual fling. But I could tell that Mabel and I were about as opposite as could be. Our relationship would be doomed from the start.

Trying to convince myself it was just a crush or something, I resolved to put Mabel out of my mind. I’d do the follow-up appointment with Esmerelda next week, then assign her to one of the other doctors and never see her again. But fate had other ideas.

The next day I was taking a walk at lunch when I passed by Scoops, the fun little ice cream parlor that was super popular with the tourists. Mabel was sitting outside on a bench enjoying both the sun and what looked like a triple scoop cone. Esmerelda lapped something up from a paper bowl underneath the table.

“Dr. Martin!”

Mabel’s greeting was sunny despite the awkwardness between us yesterday. I squatted down to give my patient a head scratch.

“Just Joshua is fine,” I said. “How’s Esmerelda today?”

The dog thumped her tail at me, but kept her attention on whatever she was eating from the bowl.

“Oh she’s feeling much better already Josh, thanks to your good care,” Mabel said. “She’s walking on all four legs again.”

“Joshua,” I corrected.

“Huh?”

“You called me Josh, I prefer Joshua,” I explained.

Mabel looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

I glanced back down at the dog, who was now looking up at me with a ring of white around her little snout.

“Wait, she’s not eating ice cream is she?” I asked.

Mabel gave me that same frown she gave me yesterday when I suggested not having so much sugar for a snack.

“Of course not, it’s a pup cup.”

I raised my eyebrows, unsure what that even meant.

“A small cup of whipped cream.”

“Dairy isn’t the best for a dog’s digestion,” I said. “A little cheese is okay, but whipped cream also has a lot of sugar and that’s not good for them either.”

The instant I said that I felt like an asshole. The frown on Mabel’s face deepened and I could swear that Esmerelda gave me a dirty look before she stuck her snout back into the paper cup as if she was afraid I’d steal the rest of her whipped cream.

“Well, it was nice seeing you,” Mabel said, her tone clearly conveying the opposite. She looked out into the street, clearly dismissing me.

I walked away kicking myself for putting my foot in my mouth with her again, even though I really did prefer that people didn’t feed their dogs whipped cream. As a vet, I always advised people to feed their dogs food that was designed for their nutritional needs, not people food. Resisting the temptation to explain myself further, I headed back toward the clinic.

Even though I was quite sure I’d never seen her before the day she came into my vet clinic, over the next few days I seemed to run into Mabel and Esmerelda everywhere I went… getting coffee at Bayfront Beans, looking in the window at the Bay Boutique, even picking up groceries at the market.

It made it hard to get her out of my mind, especially when I knew I was going to see her for Esmerelda’s follow-up appointment on Friday morning.

I wasn’t one who believed in coincidences, but there had to be a reason that I was suddenly seeing Mabel everywhere I went. Maybe I needed to take the hint the universe was giving me and get to know this woman better. But how? It wasn’t like I could ask her out on a date while I was examining her dog.