Chapter 8 #2
“Okay, but it would still have to be practical or something Dani believes in too.”
“Right,” Zander agreed. “Otherwise she’ll feel as if it’s a waste of money.”
“Exactly,” Aaron grinned. “At least you understand her.”
“I know that her heart and soul’s in this place,” Zander shared. “So it’s hard not to see that. As a beneficiary of all that she’s learned and has put into Hathaway House, I can hardly complain.”
At that, Aaron nodded. “I’m glad to see this place hasn’t changed, and it still comes from heart.”
“How long since you’ve been here?” Zander asked.
“I was one of the original patients. Then I went back to school and became a vet,” he explained, “so it’s been several years ago since I was here.
I’m now full-time in school, but that will all end very soon.
” He smiled. “I’ve got another month, not even, and then I’ll be back in time to get ready for the wedding—and to leave on our honeymoon. ”
“Good enough. Let me know if you have any thoughts on a personal gift for Dani.”
With that, he slowly moved to the buffet line and realized he was first in line. He shook his head as he looked over at Dennis. “I just met Aaron.”
“Ah, nice guy.”
“And apparently he was here, as a resident? Way back when?”
“He absolutely was here way back when,” Dennis confirmed. “One of the first patients at Hathaway House.”
“I asked him if he had any ideas of how we could do something special for Dani. I’m not sure how to make that happen.”
“Sometimes there’s some things we can do, and sometimes there are those things we can’t do,” he noted, with a shrug. “I think the fact that everybody wants to do something makes her feel good, but I don’t think she particularly wants to see anybody go out of their way.”
“Of course not.” Zander rolled his eyes. “ Of course we don’t want to go out of our way ,” he muttered sarcastically, “but surely there’s something we can do.”
At that, Robin stepped up behind him and interjected, “Hey, I have an idea for Dani.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” he asked.
She motioned to Dennis and added, “You might want to be part of this too.”
At that, Dennis came around the counter and asked, “What’s up?”
“You know Midnight.”
“Yep, sure do, her horse.”
“Well, she used to have another one, called Sunshine, a mare. Dani sold it years ago for funding to get Hathaway going. Anyway, the mare’s just gone up on an auction block.”
“I have heard her mention it a couple times over the years,” Dennis noted, “but not recently.”
“Her owners are retiring her. I really don’t want to see her go to the wrong buyer, like some owner of a sausage plant.”
“Oh good God.” Dennis gasped, his eyes rounding in horror.
“She’s a special mare to Dani. So I was thinking—”
“Yes, absolutely,” Zander jumped in. “Tell me what you need for money, and I’ll see what I can do to roust up some funds.”
“It could be a couple thousand dollars,” Robin guessed. “I don’t really know.”
“If that poor horse is being sold for meat, then hopefully Sunshine won’t be that much at auction,” Zander replied. “However,… as soon as anybody knows that we’re interested in saving the animal’s life, you know exactly what’ll happen.”
Robin nodded. “The price will jump, and I won’t really care because it’s for Dani. Still, it would be nice to get Sunshine at an affordable price.”
“You’re correct there,” Dennis agreed. “Get as much information as you can find. I’m sure all kinds of us will want to help out.”
At that, Zander nodded. “But we also have to consider that, by giving her a gift, we’re also giving her an expense.”
Dennis nodded. “I hear you there, but I don’t think that expense will particularly come into play in this instance.”
“Maybe not. I just thought I should bring it up.”
“It’s a good point,” Robin noted, with a smile. “Thankfully Dani operates as a charity, and there’s a lot of money to help rescue animals, and this would definitely count. It would be the extra effort we expend to make it happen that would be more or less our gift.”
“And I’m all for it,” Zander declared. Dennis nodded.
And, with that, Robin disappeared.
Zander looked back at Dennis. “I never really saw a place that dedicated so much of its time and effort to humanitarian causes, even just to broken-down people like me.”
“And you’re not anywhere near as broken-down as you think you are,” Dennis reminded him.
“I’ll tell you one small bonus thing that I didn’t realize was even a bonus until this morning when I woke up.”
“Tell me,” Dennis said. “We all need good news.”
“I was in the pool last night,” he began. “And I did catch a bit of a chill, but honestly, I feel fine today. So maybe, just maybe, my immunity is getting a little bit stronger.”
“And that is definitely good news,” Dennis declared. “I do like to hear that because the one thing we can’t afford is to have you get sick again.”
“I know. It sets everything back, doesn’t it?”
“It really does, but, more than sets it back, it makes people think that you can’t do anything, and that’s not fair.”
“No, and it doesn’t feel fair in that sense either,” Zander noted. “But I do appreciate the fact that people will at least let me go in the pool and try that out for a bit. I think that’s important too.”
“Very important in fact. You have to try. And each such achievement does feel as if it’s a huge step forward. It’s more than a huge step forward,” he clarified. “It’s massive.” And, on that note, he pointed at Zander. “You’ll get another green drink right now.”
Zander groaned. “No, no, no, save me from the green drinks.”
“Nope, you need it, especially after you went swimming yesterday,” Dennis said. “We don’t want that to creep up and hit you sideways tomorrow.”
“Can it still?” he asked, staring at Dennis.
“Absolutely, so we’ll nip that in the bud to confirm it doesn’t.” And he added, “You’re first up for food, so I’ll get you the green drink while you wait.”
“I guess the food’s not quite ready yet?”
“You get earlier and earlier every day,” he pointed out, with a laugh. “Glad to see that appetite of yours is working hard.”
“It so is,” he agreed, as he rubbed his stomach. “It’s amazing just how hungry I have been lately.”
“But it’s all good.” And, with that, Dennis disappeared into the kitchen.
Aimless, Zander just turned to sit beside the buffet, as he stared around at the dining room, remembering just how many days he’d spent here not in great shape, versus even now, where he felt a lot more comfortable.
It was good. It was all good. And, with a bright smile, he turned as Dennis rejoined him.
Zander’s smile faltered at the size of the green drink. Then he shook his head. “Wow, I’m really glad you’re trying to keep me alive,” he teased, “because otherwise I might be thinking you’re trying to kill me.”
Dennis burst out laughing and said, “Drink up. This is great stuff.”
And, with that prompting, Zander took a sip of his green drink. “I’ll go sit on the deck and try to get this down.”
“You do that,” Dennis said. “By the time you’re done, I’ll have the first plate ready for you.”
And, with that, Dennis disappeared into the kitchen yet again.