Ch. 38 – Prem
P rem couldn’t help himself. A large, goofy smile broke across his face as he pulled his 4 Runner into the small parking lot at the back of the practice on Monday morning.
Today was the day. As soon as he could, he wanted to pull Layla into his arms and tell her exactly how he felt.
I love you, Layla. The words brimmed on his lips. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Hold a national press conference. Learn to fly a plane and write it in the sky above the whole town.
Her SUV was missing from the lot, and Prem chuckled. She must have stayed out late with her friends trashing her wedding dress. His hands moved automatically, unlocking his phone and bringing up the picture she’d sent him last night.
There she was. His Layla. Her lips dark with cold, hair matted down her back. Utterly waterlogged and still gorgeous. He’d already imprinted the picture on his brain, but it still made his heart pound.
Something about Layla in a wedding dress did strange, intoxicating things to him. His slacks grew tight in the crotch, and Prem groaned before locking his phone and shoving it in his pocket. He’d already spent plenty of time with that picture and his imagination last night. No need to repeat that sweet chain of events in the parking lot of his veterinary practice.
After entering the clinic, Prem pulled a piece of toast from the pocket of his sports jacket and moved down the long back hallway.
“Meow!” came a happy cry as Prem reached the kennels at the far end of the building.
“Good morning, Sir,” Prem greeted Sunny. “I have a good feeling about today.” He winked at the orange tabby. After setting Sunny on the back exam table, Prem quickly cleaned the cat’s enclosure, then focused on his patient.
Using the support harness, he encouraged the cat to walk up and down the table. Over the past two months, Sunny had filled out well. Taut muscles shivered under a bright and healthy coat. The cat had also gained confidence and now strode purposely down the table.
“Look how good you’re doing,” Prem complimented the cat. “I’m barely holding you up at all.”
After Sunny completed another lap, Prem scratched the cat’s cheek and elicited a happy purr.
“Is today the day?” he asked the feline. “Wanna try walking without the harness? I think you can do it.”
Prem set down the harness and placed a treat halfway across the table.
Sunny’s nose trembled as he picked up the scent. He leaned forward on his front two paws.
“You gotta walk, my man,” Prem told him.
Sunny seemed to understand. Using his front legs, he dragged himself forward.
“No cheating,” Prem warned him sternly. He put a hand under the cat’s belly and raised Sunny’s hips. He kept his hand in place, so the cat wouldn’t sink down again.
Sunny froze and mewled, leaning forward again toward the treat.
“Go get it. You know how,” Prem told him.
Sunny awkwardly dragged one back leg forward. Then the other.
“There you go,” Prem whispered in excitement. “You got it.”
He took his hand away. The orange tabby trembled. His stubby tail twitched. His back legs moved again, his steps clumsy and out of sync. Sunny’s left back leg buckled, but he carefully stood again.
Little by little. Step by step, he moved closer to the treat.
And then he was there, dropping gratefully onto his belly and gulping down the chunk of freeze-dried chicken.
“My man!” Prem whooped, “You did it!”
He took Sunny’s paw and executed a fist bump with the cat. His throat felt tight. Tears stung the corners of his eyes. Sunny had taken six shaky, sloppy steps on his back legs, and Prem couldn’t have felt prouder than if his own flesh and blood had just won the Nobel Peace Prize.
If only Layla had been here to share the moment with him. Prem laughed, imagining the snotty mess she’d turn into. He loved that she cried just as fiercely as she loved, with her whole body and soul.
“Layla always believed in you,” Prem said to the cat as he pulled Sunny’s cart from the supply closet. And she was right. Of course she was.
Layla’s love was magic. It could cure any hurt.
Prem strapped Sunny into the mobility cart. It’d be a while yet until the cat was strong enough to walk consistently on his own. In the interim, the cart would continue to help him get around.
After depositing the cat on the floor to explore the back area of the clinic, Prem made a pot of black coffee and settled into his office to prep for today’s appointments. On the schedule were three wellness exams, two teeth cleanings, and a litter of six kittens to spay and neuter for YHAR. Those procedures would take the bulk of his afternoon.
Prem dropped into his desk chair, smiling at the squeak, and woke up his tablet. He was just about to tap open the portal to all his patient files when he spotted the new pink sticky note hanging on his bookshelf.
You are deserving of all good things life has to offer
He read the swooping, delicate words crowded onto the small note and smiled. He only needed one good thing in his life.
The back door of the clinic creaked open.
And there she was!
Prem practically leaped out of his chair, llama mug in hand, and stepped into the hallway just as Layla walked through the back door.
He chuckled. “Must have been some night.”
Layla looked wrecked, her face pale. Purple petals of exhaustion hung under her eyes. Even her braid seemed tired, fine hairs sticking out from the loose weave.
Prem moved to her, his heart drumming hard in his chest. “I’ve been waiting all morning to talk to you.”
Layla looked at him then quickly down. “I need to speak to you, too. I just… need a minute.” Her voice was soft and creaky.
“Are you okay? You didn’t get sick, did you?” Prem’s brow furrowed. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to take a stroll through the frigid Pacific Ocean at night.
Layla shook her head as she walked into the reception area and dropped her ginormous purse behind the desk. “It’s not that.”
The back door opened again, and Deja skipped into reception. She held out her phone triumphantly. “Eleven minutes before opening. Ta-dah!” She dipped into a generous bow. “Sure, I had to threaten to sell Deon’s clarinet on Facebook Marketplace if he didn’t get out of bed on time, but it did the trick.”
“Well, you might have lost his vote for Mother of the Year,” Prem said with a chuckle. “But I’m glad you’re here. Can you double-check the anesthesia requirements for the teeth cleaning I have at 9?”
“Sure thing, boss.” Deja ducked into the back.
“Where were we?” Prem turned to Layla. The sound of Deja’s humming flowed from Exam Room 1. “Actually, let’s go back to my office.”
He took her small, chilled hand in his and led her through Exam Room 2. She was silent, head down, as she followed. She must be really tired from last night’s shenanigans, Prem mused, but nothing was going to stop him from speaking his truth.
Prem pulled Layla into his office and closed the door behind them.
“God, it feels like it’s been a lifetime since we saw each other yesterday,” he said, setting his mug on the desk.
“You have no idea.” Her voice was a whisper.
“So much has happened.” Prem put his arms on her shoulders. “I had dinner with my parents. I told them everything. About my new plans for the practice and about you.”
“Prem, please, let me—”
“They were furious, of course,” Prem continued. “Just like I knew they would be. And you know what?”
“Prem, I—”
“I didn’t care.” Prem laughed. “Can you believe that? I spent my life doing everything they wanted, and it was never good enough. And last night I finally stood up to them. It felt so fucking good. And it was all because of you.”
Layla shook her head. “No, it wasn’t.”
“It was.” Prem pulled her into his body.
She sniffled against his chest. “Don’t say that.”
“Layla.” Prem kissed her forehead. “You’ve changed my life.”
“No—”
“You’ve given me strength I never knew I had.”
“Please—”
“I’m finally happy for the first time in my life.”
Prem’s heart swelled with joy. “Layla, I lo–”
“NO!” She pressed a hand to his chest and stepped back roughly out of his arms.
“What’s wrong?” Prem looked at her face, then down at the hand levering them apart.
He saw it.
The huge, glittering ring on her finger.
“Layla.” The word was a whisper of horror. “No.”
“Cal visited me last night.”
“No.” It was the only word Prem could manage, the only thought his mind could produce. No, no, no, no!
“He’s made mistakes. He admitted that.” Layla’s voice trembled. She wrapped her arms around herself.
“He cheated on you,” Prem bit out.
“He apologized.”
“Don’t do this.” Prem grabbed Layla’s hands. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“He needs me.” Her voice was a whimper.
I need you! The cry howled through his soul but didn’t make it to his lips.
Something cracked inside of him, a wound that went soul deep. Black mold seeped from the fissure. It climbed over his bones. Festered in his heart. Poisoned his blood.
He’d been such a fool.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” he told her, bitterness filling his voice.
Layla raised her head and met his eyes. “I’m sorry. You can’t know how sorry I am.”
“Not sorry enough.” Prem turned away. Claws gripped at his throat. Layla had never loved him. He’d just been a rebound. A side piece until her despicable fiancé came crawling back.
“Prem…I—”
“Go.” The word was a growl. A plea. Heartbreak given voice.
“I’m sorry.” The whispered words were followed by the sound of her steps retreating from his office.
Prem’s burning gaze swept helplessly across his office and landed again on the bright pink sticky note clinging to his bookshelf.
You are deserving of all good things life has to offer.
Prem took two tortured steps, ripped the note from the shelf, and crushed it in his fist.