Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
On the first day of the trial, Matilda was overwhelmed by the number of tasks on her to-do list. She’d spent long hours at the clinic yesterday getting ahead, so she could be in court today.
Up early this morning, she’d taken a run to clear her mind but she still felt like she could hardly breathe — her heart was in her throat. Anxiety had a firm grip on her.
At first, the proceedings were fairly dull.
Matilda wasn’t sure what was happening, but her lawyer, Samuel Boone, smiled at her frequently and seemed confident.
Every now and then he’d bend his head towards her and whisper an explanation.
So, she sat ramrod straight in her chair beside him and moved her gaze from the opposition’s lawyer, to the judge and back again.
The other lawyer was making a case against her, negligence was the charge.
And even though she knew the lawyer was wrong, she couldn’t help the panic that fought its way up from her gut and into her throat.
The lawyer was a woman in her forties. Her black eyes were piercing and she stared at Matilda as though looking through her.
Matilda and Mr Boone had already tried to reach a settlement with the complainants.
It would’ve been so much easier, Mr Boone said.
With jury trials, there was no way of knowing how it might go.
She was reluctant, since it could wipe her out financially and she was adamant she’d done everything she could to save the animal.
But in the end, the dog’s owners had refused to settle anyway.
The two men glared at her from across the room, before returning their attention to the action in front of them, arms crossed.
Both wore sweaters with blue and white patterns on them.
Each wore a pair of glasses, one black framed, one clear.
And they were very obviously emotional over the whole thing — she felt bad for them, but there wasn’t anything else she could’ve done.
Before long it was her turn to testify and she was sworn in, hands shaking.
The room was mostly empty. She could imagine it packed to the rafters for an exciting case — murder, theft, assault.
But for a veterinarian negligence case, there were only a few people present.
Ryan sat on the back row alone — she hadn’t seen him come in.
He’d had a crisis at work and said he’d get here when he could.
She swallowed around a lump in her throat at the sight of him. He smiled at her encouragingly.
She studied the opposing lawyer nervously. What if she said the wrong thing? How much trouble could she be in? At first, the lawyer asked her simple questions about herself, her clinic, her work as a veterinarian. Then, she changed tact.
“And why did you decide that dialysis would be the best course of action?”
She inhaled a quick breath and glanced at her accusers. “They begged me to do it.”
“Begged?”
“Yes, that’s right. I told them that the kidney failure was advanced, and it was unlikely to work, but it was really the only option other than palliative care.”
“But isn’t it right you promised them the treatment would give the dog the best prospect of a positive outcome?”
“I told them it was the only option left, but that it wouldn’t be likely to reverse the illness at this late stage.” She linked her fingers together.
“When did you realise things had gone badly?” The lawyer asked.
The question took her back to the day it’d happened. She’d been confident, careful.
“I knew from the beginning that there was very little chance we’d manage to save the animal,” she said. “But it wasn’t long after we began dialysis that I could see the dog’s stats were dropping and it would only be a matter of time.”
One of the owners frowned and leaned towards his partner to whisper furiously.
“So, why did you take the patient on at all?”
“I try to save every animal that comes into my clinic. I do my best. I want to help, if I can.”
“And yet you couldn’t.”
Matilda tugged at a jagged fingernail silently, as her heart hammered against her ribcage. “In the end, I wasn’t able to save the animal. Although we did everything we could.”
“Would you walk me through what you did? And how things progressed?”
Matilda let her mind travel back in time — they were in the largest room at the clinic, the dog lay on the sterile steel bench in front of her. Her assistant stood to her right. Matilda had freshly washed hands, she pulled on a pair of gloves. Her heart rate slowed. She knew what she had to do.
Her testimony was measured, thoughtful. She laid out the procedures they’d completed. How the dog had reacted. How none of it was enough in the end. She even spoke about the statistical chances of a good outcome — which were heartbreakingly low.
When she walked back to her seat, her legs felt weak but her anxiety was gone. There was nothing more she could do now. It was in the judge’s hands.
Matilda hadn’t been to a bachelorette parties in years.
In Australia, they were called hen’s nights, and were generally more lowkey.
For Stella’s hen’s night, they’d gone out dancing at the clubs in Brisbane’s CBD.
It’d been a fun night that had ended by three a.m. with Matilda bopping her way through the living room, still high on the music.
But Julie didn’t want a typical bachelorette party.
She wanted to have some wholesome fun, so they’d hired horses to come to the farm, and Matilda and Sophie had planned a BBQ for afterwards.
Before they were engaged, Julie’s fiancé, James, had bought them a farm to live on after they were married.
It was a beautiful place with an old restored farmhouse on it, not far from Covington.
Julie was excited to get some horses one day so they could go riding together, but for now, they were renting a few to enjoy during her bachelorette party.
Matilda pulled her car into the driveway at the farm.
The vehicle bumped over the uneven tracks that led up to an old overgrown barn.
She set the car in park and climbed out.
She was wearing jeans, boots and a short-sleeved shirt with a knot tied above the waist. She pulled a cowgirl hat from the backseat and shoved it on her head, grabbed two large shopping bags full of goodies for the party, and headed into the house.
“Hello? I’m here!” she called as she wiped her feet on the welcome mat.
“There you are. Great! Come into the kitchen. I made mojitos,” Julie called out to her.
Matilda followed Julie’s voice and found her standing at the kitchen counter beside a food processor. It was full of icy cold mojitos. She hurried forward to embrace Matilda, who set her bags down on the table.
“Phew! I made it.”
“Busy day?” Julie asked as she returned to her task of pouring the mixed cocktails into a large jug filled with ice.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all week. And yes, it’s been a heck of a day. I’ll be glad when this whole year comes to an end.”
“Well, grab a mojito and let’s party!”
Matilda accepted the large glass Julie handed her and then got to work setting up the decorations and some snack foods.
The drinks were already in place on a small card table in the dining room, so Matilda set up another table and added a tablecloth, some balloons and streamers, a plate of crackers, cheeses, and deli meats as well as bowls of chips and spring rolls.
Before long, the women began to arrive—students from the University of Georgia, who studied and worked alongside Julie, as well as women from her high school years, cousins, aunts, church members, and more. There were around thirty women by the time they’d all piled into the small farmhouse.
Matilda had compiled a playlist and had it booming throughout the speakers she’d placed around the downstairs area.
Before long, everyone was dancing. It soon came time for horse riding, and Matilda had to shout over the music to get people’s attention.
One by one, they took turns until only Julie and Matilda were left.
There were two horses, so they went together.
The sun was setting beyond the woods to the west of the farmhouse, shooting rays of orange and pink across the sky.
It was quiet, apart from the distant music and laugher of the party, and Matilda finally felt like she could draw breath.
“This is stunning,” she said with a sigh.
Julie smiled as she held the reins loosely. Their horses plodded slowly alongside one another down an old cow trail. “It’s perfect. Thanks for putting it all together.”
“I didn’t do much. But you’re welcome.”
“Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
Matilda frowned. “What do you mean? Are you getting cold feet?”
Julie groaned. “No, not exactly. But I still haven’t finished my PhD. And when we’re married, I’ll be moving out here. It’s a long drive to college. I really should be focused on my thesis. I’m so stressed!”
“But it’s James…”
“I know—it’s James.” Julie smiled. “He’s wonderful. I love him so much. Every time I think about him, I’m happy and ready to move forward. And then I think about my workload and the commute, and trying to do it all at once, and my heart rate skyrockets. Did you have cold feet before your wedding?”
“Definitely, but we got married for a green card.” Matilda laughed and shook her head. “It wasn’t exactly the most sensible thing I’ve ever done.”
“I forgot about that. But you’re happy now, right?”
“We’re very happy. We fell in love. And maybe we were already in love when we got married, but neither of us would admit it at the time.”
“So… you think I’m doing the right thing?” Julie chewed on her lower lip.
Matilda felt for her. Getting married was a big decision. “Only you can choose that for yourself. If you’re doubting, there’s no rush. You don’t have to go through with it.”
“I’m not doubting… not exactly.”
“It sounds like you’re anxious about the changes it’ll bring, and your workload. But James is a doctor, so won’t he be gone a lot for work as well? I’m sure he’ll understand the commitment you have to your studies.”
“I know he does,” Julie agreed. “He’s very supportive.
But can I do it all? I’m right in the final stages of pulling my thesis together.
I’ve barely slept in weeks. I’m constantly focused on getting it right.
And yet I’ve also got to think about flower arrangements, bridesmaid dresses, bridal showers, and all kinds of other things. ”
“You’re overwhelmed,” Matilda added quietly.
Julie nodded. “Yes, I’m definitely experiencing a bit of that.”
“One of the things about marriage is that you’re a team. You don’t have to do things by yourself anymore once you’re hitched. You can share the load. Have you talked to James about this?”
“I don’t want to worry him,” Julie replied. “He might get the wrong idea—think I’m backing out or don’t love him.”
“Well, you’ve got to be able to discuss everything if you want to have a solid relationship. I’m sure he’ll understand. And he might even be able to help.”
“I’m sure you’re right. Thanks, Tilly.”
“Tilly? You’ve been talking to my sister...”
Julie laughed. “Stella calls you that all the time. I kind of like it.”
“Well, it’s fine with me. I miss her, so this way, I can feel like she’s here with us.”
“I know you miss her. I wish she could come over for the wedding, but she’s got the kids to take care of, and she was over here recently for your wedding.”
“Too many weddings, too little money,” Matilda replied. “It’s an age-old problem.”
They pushed the horses into a canter. Matilda came close to falling at one point when the horse whizzed around a gate post and headed for home. The canter turned into a gallop, and she found herself holding on for dear life with Julie squealing not far behind her.
When they reached the place where the trainer was standing, the horses pulled to an abrupt stop, and Matilda slipped from the saddle up onto her horse’s neck. The horse put its head down and Matilda slid to the ground, feet either side of the neck.
“Well, that’s one way to dismount,” Julie said as she climbed down from her own horse.
The trainer didn’t look particularly happy with Matilda, so she thanked her and quickly handed back the reins to hurry inside.
“Whoops,” she whispered to Julie, and the two of them held on to each other, laughing quietly as they rejoined the party.