Chapter 23
‘Don’t worry, old chap, you won’t know a thing about it.
It’ll be like you’re going to sleep.’ Bella gave Monty’s head a comforting stroke as she waited for Ellie Stephens, the vet from the nearby village of Everscombe, to arrive.
Monty looked up at her and yawned. His mellow mood had continued all morning, and Bella was grateful that he wasn’t going to be kicking and screaming. It made things easier, somehow.
But it was still awful.
She might have reassured Noah that she’d be with Monty at the end, but inside she still railed at the injustice of it.
In desperation, she’d even offered to pay Monty’s boarding fees for the next few months, when she’d spoken to Mollie that morning, but Mollie had gently reminded her that they couldn’t interfere with an owner’s wishes, they could only advise.
Bella knew, in her heart of hearts, that she’d never be able to afford it, but her heart was in pieces.
‘Are you sure you want to be there?’ Mollie had asked.
‘Yes,’ Bella had replied, quietly but firmly.
Mollie had nodded and left it at that. There was nothing more to say. Bella continued to fuss Monty, who rubbed up against the palm of her hand in a gesture that seemed to say he understood.
‘Hi,’ Ellie said as she opened the door to Monty’s enclosure just after twelve thirty. ‘How’s he doing?’
‘He’s good,’ Bella replied. She drew in a slightly shaky breath. ‘I’m glad it’s you, Ellie. At least he knows you well.’
‘And I’ve got the scars to prove it!’ Ellie’s tone was light, but gentle. ‘I’ll miss him, though,’ she continued as she looked Monty over. ‘He has as much character as his old owner. Perhaps it’s a good thing, though, that Monty’s off to join him. Jack was the only one Monty ever really tolerated.’
‘Perhaps.’
As Ellie started to get Monty ready for the simple procedure that would send him into a permanent sleep, Bella watched.
It was a process she’d seen many times before, when they’d needed to call Ellie in to euthanise sick or dying animals that had been brought to Purrfect Paws, but it didn’t make it any easier.
‘He’ll get a sedative first, and then the dose,’ Ellie explained.
Bella had heard this before, but she didn’t mind – Ellie was doing it partly to reassure her, she knew.
She watched as the vet prepared the first syringe and then popped the needle into the canula she’d inserted into Monty’s left foreleg.
Monty’s eyes began to glaze as the sedative took effect, and Bella blinked away the tears.
‘That’s it… good boy,’ she murmured, tracking a gentle hand down his back, along his spine. Monty raised his head, and for a long moment, he seemed to be holding her gaze. The calm look in his green eyes suggested that, perhaps, he understood that it was time.
Bella thought of the months he’d been a resident here.
How the crotchety, scratchy animal had shown, in little increments, the beginnings of more affection towards her.
He would never have been a lap cat, although Mollie had told her that Jack often sat with Monty curled up on his knees of an evening, but there had been a kind of fealty there, at points.
She’d have loved to have been the one to see if that had grown greater with time.
But, because Noah had signed off the paperwork, it was not to be.
After a minute or so, Ellie loaded the second syringe. ‘Goodbye, fella,’ Bella whispered, and this time she couldn’t help a tear escaping down her cheek. This was it.
‘Ready?’ Ellie said softly.
Bella nodded.
But as Ellie was about to insert the second needle into Monty’s cannula, the door to his enclosure opened and Mollie burst through, looking as flustered as Bella had ever seen her.
Ellie’s syringe hovered above Monty’s leg, and even Monty in his sleepy state raised his eyes towards the interruption.
‘Is it too late?’ Mollie panted. Her eyes switched from the syringe, to Monty, to Ellie, and then to Bella.
‘Not quite,’ Ellie said. ‘Did you want to be with him, too?’
Mollie’s grey bob shook furiously. ‘No. It’s not that. I’ve just had a call from his owner. Noah’s changed his mind.’
‘What?’ Bella exclaimed, and then looked apologetically down at Monty. ‘Sorry, old chap. I didn’t mean to shout.’
Ellie put the syringe down, out of harm’s way. ‘Talk about cutting it fine, Mollie. Five more seconds and Monty here would have been a goner.’
‘Sorry, love.’ Mollie looked at the vet apologetically. ‘I’ve literally just got off the phone to Noah. When it came to the crunch, he couldn’t go through with it. Said he didn’t want to be responsible for putting Monty down when he clearly had some life left in him.’
‘So where does that leave Monty?’ Bella’s hands were shaking, and her voice was, too. ‘Boarding with us? Being re-homed? What’s Mr Noah Hathaway’s grand plan now he’s given Monty a stay of execution?’
Mollie sighed. ‘We didn’t get that far, love. All he said was, “Stop the vet from putting Monty down, and let me know when you’ve done it.”’
‘Well, I’ve had some close calls in my time,’ Ellie said wryly, ‘but this one really takes the biscuit.’
Bella looked down at Monty, who was still rather dozy from the effect of the sedative. ‘Will he be all right?’
Ellie nodded. ‘He’ll probably sleep it off this afternoon, but I’d have some water ready for him when he wakes up. He’s bound to be thirsty.’
‘I’ll make sure his fountain’s switched on.’ Bella smiled, first at Ellie, then Mollie, then down at Monty. ‘Looks like you’ll be with us a bit longer, old boy. And I can’t say I’m not pleased. But I wonder what Noah’s scheme for you is now?’
Monty merely stretched, blinked, and then put his head between his paws.