6. Sebastian
Sebastian
“She’s always chewing on the socks, but I didn’t think she would actually eat one!” Pixie, the gray-haired owner of Alice the cat, wrings her hands.
“If an animal is chewing on something, there’s a good chance they’ll eat it, whether intentionally or not.” Realizing how harsh I sound, I adjust my tone. “You did the right thing bringing Alice in. She’ll be just fine.”
Removing a sock from the cat’s intestines was the third emergency surgery I had to do today, jammed into the middle of all the scheduled appointments and drop-ins.
It’s been the busiest day since I opened the clinic five years ago, and I haven’t even stopped for lunch.
At one point, I remember Rach handing me a Gatorade and a packet of nuts, and maybe I gulped them down.
Or maybe I left them in exam room three? Come to think of it, I really can’t remember.
“Thank you, Dr. Blum.” Pixie takes the cat carrier with Alice, lethargic from the anesthesia, in it.
“You’re a real godsend. By the way, I wanted to tell you my granddaughter is coming to town next month.
She’s twenty-seven and a real beauty. She works at an advertising agency in New York, but she would love to move to a small town like this.
She enjoys her job, but she’s not obsessed with her career, like some of those young women. She’s ready to settle down.”
The suggestion between her words is heavy, and she raises her eyebrows, waiting for my response. I haven’t dated much since the divorce and opening my practice, though many times I’ve thought about how nice it would be to find someone.
And now, maybe I have. At least, I hope I have. Flick is something special, a woman who dances to her own tune, and even though we’ve only spent one evening together, things feel good enough that I’m willing to put all my eggs in that basket.
“I’m actually seeing someone.” Saying it makes my chest swell with pride. “Thank you, though, Pixie. Your granddaughter sounds wonderful.”
“Oh, you are?” She shuffles closer, curiosity piqued. “I didn’t hear that. Who are you seeing?”
I hesitate. Word flies fast on Pine Island, and rumors sprout even faster. Tonight is Flick’s and my first official date, and for all I know, she doesn’t like her business being spread around town.
“Someone really nice,” I settle for saying.
She frowns in disappointment, the potential for gossip fodder disappearing into thin air. “Oh. That’s good. I’m glad to hear that. Let me know if it doesn’t work out and you’d like to meet Lisa.”
“Thank you. I will. Let me carry Alice to the car for you.”
We step outside, and I’m struck by how long the shadows are. Is it really that late in the day?
My remaining to-do list rushes through my mind. Several more animals still have routine checkups, but as long as we don’t have any more walk-ins, I should be able to make my seven-thirty date with Flick.
As Pixie drives off, I speed walk back through the front doors, eager to get a start on some paperwork. But the moment I enter the building and hear the sound of vomiting, I know another wrench had been thrown into the day.
The bathroom door opens, and Frank, one of the techs, walks out, looking like death.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I’m, uh…” He rushes back into the bathroom.
“Flu is still going around,” Rach says from behind the front desk.
“Right.” I try not to sigh, but it’s hard. Frank will need to go home, and since Danielle is out of town for a family reunion, there are no other techs to fill the night shift.
I’m off tonight, with Amy-Jae, one of the junior vets, taking my place. She can’t do it all on her own, though, so I’ll need to fill in for Frank as the extra set of hands.
So, no night off. No Flick. Damn it.
My stomach drops like a rock. I feel like a kid who’s just had their Disney World trip canceled on them. But it is what it is. I started this practice, and I’m the one in charge of it. Which means that I’m the one who has to go the extra mile.
Frank emerges from the bathroom, and I give him a sympathetic smile. “Go home and rest, buddy. Let us know if you need anything.”
Frank mumbles something incoherent that contains the tone of gratitude, and he stumbles out the door.
“What about your date?” Rach asks as I walk past the front desk.
“What about it?” I slip into my office and close the door, annoyed at myself for sounding like a petulant toddler.
It’s not three minutes after I’ve started on backlogged paperwork that there’s a knock on the door. “Jenny Greer is here with a loon she found in a net,” Rach calls through the closed door.
“Bring them to room one.” Pushing my chair back, I head to the exam room and wash my hands, still trying to put all thoughts of Flick out of my mind. I don’t know when we’ll be able to reschedule, and I’m putting off texting the cancellation because just thinking about it makes me feel sick.
She’s so understanding about my work. Even though she looked disappointed when I had to leave her place for an emergency call, I could tell it didn’t faze her. She seems to really get my job, which is a rarity.
It makes me like her even more. Makes me want to find some ways to show my gratitude, to give back to her anything and everything she might need.
The door opens, and Jenny Greer enters with a loon in her arms. For a wild animal, it’s acting pretty passive. Hopefully, it’s just in shock and not physically harmed.
“Hey, Jenny. Where’d you find this guy?”
“At the edge of the water.” She hands him over to me. “I don’t see any injuries, but after I got the net off him, he didn’t fly or swim away.”
“Let’s take a look at him.” Keeping one hand on the bird’s back, I set it on the exam table and gently inspect its wings.
It resists and tries to get away when I move the right one.
“Hm. Looks like he does have a wing injury. Which means we’ll need to call the aquatic bird rehab people.
This guy won’t be safe to go back out on the water for a while. ”
“Poor guy,” she murmurs.
“He’ll pull through. I can’t know for sure, but he might even be able to fly again.” I look up at her. “Thanks for bringing him in.”
She nods, inspecting me curiously. “So, you’re dating Flick Patel.”
“Uh…”
If Pine Island is the epitome of the rumor mill, Jenny is the crank operator that keeps it spinning.
“I…” Don’t know how to finish that sentence.
Luckily, my phone rings in my pocket, saving me from having to answer. “I should get that,” I say. “Thank you for bringing in the loon. I’ll have Rach call the rehabilitators now.”
“No problem.” Her smile, while slight, is knowing. “Hope you and Flick have a nice night tonight.”
She slips out the door, and I take the opportunity to shake my head before putting the loon in a crate with water and asking Rach to place a call to the rehabilitators to have them pick the bird up as soon as possible.
Stepping back into my office, I check my phone and find a missed call from my brother.
Calling him back, I put the phone on speaker so I can organize the office while we talk.
“Hey,” Ben answers. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to catch you.”
“It’s a busy day, for sure.” I collect the papers sitting on my desk and get to work filing them away. “It seems like everyone is just as interested in my dating life as they are in my vet skills.”
His boisterous laughter bursts through the tiny speaker. “You getting hit on again? You know, I heard the women on that island call you Doctor Dreamy.”
“No, they don’t.” I close the filing cabinet with a snap.
“They don’t call you that to your face, Sebastian. That’s the point.”
“I actually did have a date tonight. I was looking forward to it too, but I’m going to have to cancel.”
“You did? With whom? You finally found someone you’re interested in there?” Genuine surprise and curiosity are clear in his voice.
“I met someone here earlier this week. She brought in a kitten she found and asked for advice. She’s a yarn dyer and works from home, and she’s really sweet.”
“Sounds like you’re smitten, brother. What’s her name?”
“She goes by Flick, but her name is Felicity. And yes, I suppose I am. She’s different and refreshing.” A smile lights my face as I think of our evening at her place. That kiss…
“Definitely sounds like she’s got you hooked. You should find a way to go out with her. You could definitely use a break.”
This time, I can’t keep back my sigh. “I know. There’s too much happening here tonight, so it’s just not possible.”
“You work too hard, Sebastian,” my brother replies, a slight reprimand in his tone.
“Ben,” I say, annoyed at how disappointed in me he sounds. Does he seriously not see that my hands are tied? “There’s no one to take over. One of my techs is out of town, another is sick. My junior vets?—”
“I know, man. I’m not trying to give you a hard time.”
I rub my brow. Did I just imagine his harsh tone? Maybe I’m more burned out than I’ve suspected.
“I’m sure she’ll understand needing a rain check,” Ben goes on. “What were you planning on doing tonight?”
“Uh, I hadn’t quite figured that out.” I move my pen holder to the corner of the desk, step back and study it, then move it back to where I had it. It needs to be closer to reach.
“When Stephanie and I first met, I had this whole plan. Fancy dinner. Sunset at a rooftop bar. Then I got called to go back to the zoo for an ewe in labor.” He chuckles, and even though I’ve heard the story before, he obviously loves telling it, so I don’t interrupt.
“We ended up sitting in the barn all night,” he says, “sharing hot chocolate and telling stories while we waited for the twins to come. It was an unconventional date, but hey. It worked. Been married for seven years now.”
“In that case, do you have any pregnant sheep you can loan me?”
“We have an alpaca.”
“Is it pregnant?”
“It’s ornery.”
I snort. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.”
While Ben and I both worked at our parents’ petting zoo through high school, he never left. He currently runs the whole operation, with our dad having taken a back seat a few years ago.
“When are you coming back to the mainland?” Ben asks. “I’ve tried playing Catan by myself, and it’s just not the same.”
His request is another blow to my heart—or is it my fragile ego? Wherever guilt has a seat, that’s what’s harmed.
Ben and I used to have a habit of getting together at a brewery in Portsmouth every weekend and playing our favorite board games.
Even after I opened my practice on Pine Island, I still made time for it.
But then came the emergency clinic on the mainland, and now I’m also scrambling to get my animal sanctuary off the ground.
With everything on my plate and only twenty-four hours in the day, it seems there just isn’t enough time to go around. Especially with cats eating socks and birds getting caught in nets.
“Soon,” I say.
There’s a knock on my office door, signaling the arrival of probably another cat that had laundry for dinner. Or another dog with an infected toenail. Or another ferret with worms. Sigh . I really do need a break.
“I need to go,” I tell Ben. “Tell Mom and Dad I say hi.”
Hanging up, I pocket my phone and head for the door.
Usually, I thrive during busy days like this.
It feels good to be helping animals, to be making a real difference in the world.
And typically, I don’t have anything else on my schedule anyway, so it’s not like there’s any reason for me to rush out the door.
But now there’s Flick, there’s something else I want to do, and I can’t help but feel like a failure of a person for leaving her hanging.
“Yes?” I ask, opening the door.
Rach stands there, hand on her hip and my windbreaker in her hand. “Time for you to go.”
“Uh…go where?”
She purses her lips, exasperated. “To your date with Flick.”
My laugh is dry. “Very funny, Rach. I have to?—”
“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll stay tonight to help out. If we need you—which we probably won’t—we’ll call.”
My mouth drops open, and I shake my head. “No. I appreciate it, but you’re not working a double for me. I’ll reschedule with her for another time.”
She tries to shove the windbreaker into my arms, but I don’t accept it, leaving it to fall to the floor. “Come on, Sebastian. All you do is work. You deserve to have a social life, to find someone. Don’t tell me you don’t get lonely in that house at the end of the day.”
Damn. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. Rach knows me better than anyone on this island, though, and she’s not afraid to weaponize that position—always in the most loving way, of course.
“I don’t get lonely in my house,” I say, “because I’m hardly ever there.”
Only once the words are out do I realize how pathetic I sound.
“We have it covered.” She picks up the windbreaker, and this time, I accept it.
“Thank you,” I whisper, not trusting myself to say anything more. “I owe you one.”
“You owe me nothing. This is what friends are for.” She pats my shoulder. “Go home and get changed.”
“I brought clothes.”
“Of course you did.” She smirks.
I’m already taking my garment bag out of the office closet. “Thank you, Rach. Really.”
“You taking care of yourself is all the thanks I need.” She closes the door, and I hurry to get dressed.
Even though I never would have asked Rach to cover for me, I’ll be eternally glad she did.
Though Flick and I only just met, tonight feels special in that once-in-a-lifetime way.
Tonight is my chance to make a real impression, and if I do, hopefully there will be many more nights—and days—in our shared future.