by Cora Jay
Everything about the clinic had made her feel warm the moment she’d walked in. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to at all. It was almost like the clinic was a home. It wasn’t necessarily the décor, so what was it?
It had to be the person who was inside it. Harika was probably just the kind of person who made places feel like that. If so, she was really a special kind of person. Ellie didn’t find people like that very often, though that was probably because she rarely left the house of her own volition.
Harika’s generosity gave her the energy to get started on the project. She simply wasn’t going to be able to sleep if she didn’t get these ideas out of her head. She sat up, reached into the bedside drawer for the notebook and pencils she always kept there, and flipped to a new page.
She needed to make a logo that would reflect how comforting and friendly the clinic and Harika were. That atmosphere was clearly part of Harika’s brand, whether she knew it or not.
The pencil glided across the page as Ellie’s designs came out of her head and into real life. Hearts were overdone in vet office logos, as were homes, but what if she combined them? With the outline of a dog and cat, it would look adorable.
Of course, Ellie needed to make several iterations of the logo so that Harika could pick the one she liked best, but that was the easy part. Ellie rarely found it difficult to create a whole bunch of totally crazy designs. That was partially because the next step—getting the client’s feedback—was the fun part.
Sometimes the client would totally hate Ellie’s favorite design, or they’d love one Ellie wasn’t so crazy about. She never took it personally; in fact, she found it amusing. As she sketched a few more designs, she wondered which ones Harika would take to.
She checked her phone and saw that it was pretty late—late for her, at least. Midnight. If she wanted to get up early tomorrow to make sure Bella got her pain meds on time, she had to go to sleep now.
And thankfully, she finally felt like she could. Making some progress on Harika’s project somehow made her feel at peace, for the moment. When she switched off the light, leaving only the glow of the moon filtering in through the blinds, and closed her eyes, she went right to sleep.
6
Harika
Even though she knew she was going to be okay, Harika couldn’t help but think about Bella in the several days that followed her initial visit. And she couldn’t stop thinking about Ellie, too, and her mysterious tattoos. It hadn’t been cold enough that evening to really warrant wearing a sweatshirt. Was she hiding her ink? If so, why?
God, the mystery just made Ellie even more intriguing.
And now Harika was going to see her again. Bella had to get stitches removed and her appointment was imminent. Now, though, Harika had Bowen back in the office. Bowen would probably handle the actual stitch removal, but Harika would come in to check on the patient.
Harika was in the lobby with Betsy when Ellie and Bella came in. Her attention first went to the dog, who seemed like she was in good spirits. She was able to walk fine, albeit with a limp because of the splint, and was wagging her tail. That was a good sign. Dogs generally wore how they were feeling on their face, so if she looked like she felt good, she probably did.
“Great to see you guys again,” said Harika.
“Hey,” said Ellie. “Thanks for seeing us.”
Bowen, as usual, stood to welcome the patients. “I’m Bowen, the vet tech for this morning. Come on back.”
Harika and Betsy watched as they followed him out of the lobby. Betsy was still aggressive in her demeanor for some bizarre reason. Maybe she could sense that Ellie was drawing Harika’s attention away from her. She was partially right.
Harika had briefed Bowen on Bella’s situation, and of course, her case file had all the relevant notes. So there was no reason for Harika to be in that room too. It was a simple matter of her going in to inspect Bowen’s work and check on Bella’s progress.
She sat at the desk, thinking, not for the first time, how ridiculous it was that the vet herself had to play receptionist and administrative assistant. She logged on to a job-hunting site to browse resumes again, while she waited for Bowen to finish with Bella.
Nope, nothing new. There simply weren’t a lot of people in Redwood County who needed this particular job. The area just wasn’t populous enough, and the county was big enough that the commute from the other side would be a pain in the ass. Maybe Harika could lower her standards and try for even a high school student, or current college student. They’d only be able to work part time, but it’d be better than nothing.
The paperwork was piling up, especially the pet insurance claims. More and more people were getting it nowadays, even though Harika privately hoped they wouldn’t. She saw what a mess human doctors had to deal with, and she wanted no part of it.
“Harika?”
Bowen’s freckled face peeked from around the corridor.
“I’ll be right there,” said Harika, sighing and standing up. When she walked in, she saw Bella wagging her tail and gnawing on a treat Bowen had given her, while Ellie stroked her head, totally focused on her beloved pet.
Working at a vet’s office made Harika love people even more than she already did. She had the opportunity to see how much they loved their pets, and how caring they could be. She sometimes—like in the case of Ellie—got to see them at their most vulnerable, when one of their loved ones was in danger.
“Looks like she’s doing great,” said Bowen.
“Yeah. Thanks again,” said Ellie. “I really am thankful that you were open that night. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”
“I’m glad I was there to help you, too,” said Harika sincerely. She knew she was the only vet’s office open in this particular neighborhood, and it would have taken Ellie at least an hour to get to the only emergency vet, which would be open afterhours.
“So she’ll need the splint for a while, since the fracture will take much longer to heal,” said Harika, picking up Bella’s leg and gently feeling it. “How has she been doing with it?”
“She doesn’t seem to care at all,” said Ellie, shrugging.
“That’s good. She’s so well-behaved.”
Bella opened her mouth, and her tongue hung out. She knew she was being praised, clearly.
“Bring her back in a couple weeks, and we’ll see if we can get the splint off,” said Harika. “The fracture was bad, but she might have healed by then.”
“Awesome,” said Ellie, nodding.
“But actually, we should meet sooner about the design project.”
Ellie grinned. “You know, I actually came up with some ideas when I had a chance. For the logo, I mean. I remember you mentioned wanting a new one, though you’ll have to let me know what other materials you’d like as well.”
Harika’s eyes lit up. The woman was really dedicated to the project. And she was good, too—Harika knew that already from perusing her portfolio. Not only had fate delivered a graphic designer—it had made sure she was a damn good one. Though, if Ellie was so talented, it was strange that she was broke.
“I’d love to see what you’ve come up with.”
Ellie reached around, into a messenger bag, and pulled out a small sketchbook. Harika sidled up near to her to look, painfully aware of how close she was to the designer. Ellie was still wearing a sweatshirt, so the ink was covered, but Harika couldn’t help but glance toward her wrists to see if she could catch another glimpse.
“So I made several loose sketches, just to see which ones interest you most, then we can go in that direction…”
Harika took the sketchbook from her. The designs were excellent. Much better than the simple paw print she had currently (which, admittedly, was clip art). In fact, any of them would be ideal, but she’d trust the designer’s marketing sense to know which one was best.
“They’re… they’re all perfect,” said Harika.
Ellie laughed. A warm bubble rose in Harika’s chest w
hen she heard the joyful sound. It was the happiest she’d seen Ellie yet, which wasn’t surprising. But then, Ellie didn’t seem like the type who laughed much regardless of what else was going on.
“Any you seem drawn to in particular?”
“Um…” Harika flipped through the pages, uncertain. She could easily see any of them conveying the welcoming nature of herself and her clinic. “I like this one and this one,” she said, pointing to two that looked similar.
“Interesting,” said Ellie.
“What do you mean, interesting?”
“I’m never able to guess accurately which designs a client will like best,” said Ellie. “It’s always fun to bring out the original ideas.”
“Well, why don’t you develop these two a bit more? The logo is the most important thing I need right now, and everything else, like the website, brochures, and business cards can go from there,” said Harika. “I think it’ll be a pretty big project, anyway, so…”
“Yeah.” Ellie smiled. “Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few weeks.”
Harika nervously laughed. What was happening to her? She couldn’t become so overexcited over the prospect of working closely with someone new… But that was just it. Every infusion of novelty into her life was notable, and when it came to someone like Ellie, who was just… different, she couldn’t help but become excited by the possibilities.
It was more likely than not that Ellie was straight—something about the demeanor she held made it seem that way, but Harika was the kind of person who got excited even by the idea of making new friends.
New friends. She always kept her heart open. Several times her naivety had failed her, but this time? She didn’t think it would.
7
Ellie
Now that Bella just had to keep the splint on for a couple weeks before Harika took another look at her, Ellie put more of her focus on the project. She was due to meet with the vet during her lunch break, which would take her to the Lane Estates neighborhood again.
She didn’t want to put too much pressure on Bella’s healing leg, and she was in a couch potato mood anyway, so Ellie left her at home, snoozing in her dog bed. Her eyes half-opened when Ellie turned the doorknob, but she made a snuffling noise and promptly went back to bed.
It was a sunny day; though there was still a little chill, it seemed like this week would be the week where the seasons actually changed. You could never really tell in Redwood County. When Ellie had first moved here, someone had told her that if she didn’t like the weather, she just had to wait five minutes. But then, Ellie had heard that joke told everywhere she’d lived.
She’d packed her laptop, on which there were some beautiful, colorful elaborations on the sketches Harika had favored. Ellie had even taken the time to make some print material mock-ups, because why the hell not? The more she could do to impress a client, the better, and given Harika’s generosity, she wanted to go above and beyond.
But it wasn’t just that. Harika was just the kind of person who Ellie wanted to impress. It wasn’t because she was intimidating, because Harika was the opposite of that. There was just something so endearingly sincere about it. You could tell she was the kind of person who really cared about everything she did, so it made you want to care just as much as her. That was how Ellie felt, anyway.
She enjoyed the quiet walk into Lane Estates; it was still just a little too early for most people to take lunch, though thanks to the beautiful weather, there were some people out and about.
When she made her way to Harika’s clinic, she peeked inside, only to be greeted by Betsy. She couldn’t help but feel a little antagonistic to the Shih Tzu mix, because she had been rude toward Bella. But then, dogs were dogs. Their motivations were on occasion quite unpredictable.
She bent down to say hello to Betsy, running her fingers through her long, silky fur, the total opposite of Bella’s. It looked shiny and in tip-top shape; Harika obviously put in the time and effort to keep her well-groomed. It showed in her attitude, too: she swirled and pranced around almost like she was showing off her lovely locks.
“Hey, Ellie?”
Ellie looked up and smiled. “Dr. Knowles. Er, Harika. Good to see you.”
“Same to you. Would you like to join me at the sandwich shop next door? I have a good hour free of appointments.”
“Sounds great,” said Ellie. She stood up and looked right back down; Betsy gave her a dirty look, like she’d been foiled from whatever scheme she was planning. She pranced off behind the front desk.
Ellie followed Harika—who had swapped her lab coat for a nice black jacket—into the sandwich shop. It was still a little early, so there were plenty of tables available. They got into line to place their orders, though Ellie knew what she wanted as soon as she saw the sign.
When they got to the cash register, Harika waved Ellie’s card away. “I’ve got this.”
“Really? I can expense it…” said Ellie.
“So can I.” Harika smiled.
Ellie couldn’t remember the last time someone had offered to pay for her. It was a good feeling, and even though this was a business meeting, she couldn’t help but feel like there was something personal in it. Or maybe she was just making it all up. The vet was obviously a particularly friendly person; maybe she was like this to everyone.
They sat down while they waited for their orders to be delivered to the table, and Ellie pulled out her laptop, excited to show Harika the designs.
“So, I did like you said and worked further on the sketches you liked,” she said, clicking around to pull up the files. “Here you go.”
She shifted the laptop screen so that Harika could better see it, glancing at the woman’s face to see her reaction. This part of the job could be pretty fun, too.
“I love it,” said Harika.
Ellie was glowing with pride. She was never going to get tired of receiving reactions like this. It was just wonderful to know that she was making people happy with her art. It wasn’t fine art, but still… It was what she wanted to do since she was a kid. She lived for the praise and the look on clients’ faces.
It helped her have a little bit more of a human connection with others.
“Awesome,” said Ellie. “Thanks. I’m really happy with how they turned out as well. Anything you can think of that you might want to change?”
Harika tilted her head and really regarded the images. Ellie wondered what a doctor’s eye would look like. Everyone had filters they perceived things through, and since Ellie had never been the scientific type, she couldn’t imagine how Harika would evaluate the design.
“I can’t see anything now, honestly. I guess I’ll let you know if I think of something.”
“Perfect,” said Ellie. “Now, about those print materials.”
It turned out that Harika had a clear idea of what she wanted, simply because there was so much that needed to be replaced. She explained how she’d managed to cobble together some stuff before, but it wasn’t enough. Now that her business had reached a certain point, it was about time she hired a graphic designer to improve her look.
“Now, the website will be a little trickier, so let’s work on that last,” said Ellie, running over the notes she’d taken. “But I don’t have any other jobs right now, so I should be able to mock up the print materials very quickly.”
“The mock ups you made already were… They were very elegant,” said Harika.
“Thanks.” An inexplicable flush crept up Ellie’s face.
Harika checked her watch. “Looks like we still have a half hour here,” she said. “Unless you need to go.”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m fine to sit here a bit longer.” Ellie shifted in her seat. She hadn’t expected this.
“How’s Bella doing at home?”
“Well,” said Ellie, glad to get back on an easy subject. “She’s her usual happy self, and she’s so lazy normally that she isn’t too rambunctious. The splint isn’t bothering her a
t all, and she doesn’t seem to be in as much pain as she was earlier, though I’m still giving her the pain meds.”
Harika nodded thoughtfully and sipped her soda. “I’d suggest tapering off the meds, actually, if you think she’s doing so well. I don’t like to keep them on them for longer than necessary, though.”
“Got it,” said Ellie. “And how’s uh, what’s her name, your dog?”
She squirmed. It was awkward enough to have to make small talk with a client, but when you forgot basic details like the name of their dog…
“Betsy,” said Harika, grinning, her teeth perfect and white. “She’s doing well. I’ve had her as a fixture at the clinic from the very beginning and she hasn’t had, or given me, any problems. She’s a good girl, even if she’s snappy sometimes.”
“She’s sweet. I wonder why she growled at Bella, though,” said Ellie thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. That puzzles me, too,” admitted Harika. The chime of a phone sounded, and Harika pulled it out. “Sorry, I need to check on this.”
There was a silence as Harika looked into whatever it was. Ellie couldn’t help but glance at the veterinarian’s face, which was a warm shade of brown-gold, topped with curly black hair. She had the healthiest hair Ellie had seen on anyone, shiny, thick, and glossy.
And when you started working your way downwards… The incredible bone structure—those cheekbones—and almond-shaped eyes were one thing, but the lean body under the jacket, almost like she worked out on a daily basis. Well, you probably had to be strong if you wanted to work with animals, since they might need to be carried and restrained…
“I should probably head back,” said Harika, looking up again. Ellie glanced away quickly.
“Sure, yeah,” said Ellie. “I imagine you need to get back to work. Animals are waiting and all that.”
What was she saying? Nonsense. She was just babbling. Better to cut her losses while she was ahead.