Untrusting (Troubled)

by A. J. Wells

  “It’s six thirty, get up. We have the boarding house and appointments this morning. We gotta get goin’. I have to leave now to get Shay to day care, but I can’t leave ‘til I know you’re up.” Maria’s anxious to leave.

  I sit up on the edge of the bed and smile at her. “Steve asked me to marry him last night and I said yes. Maria, I was half asleep and I knew I loved him.” Then I think about the time, “I hope he didn’t say it in his sleep.”

  Maria smiles, “It’s about time you two came to terms with your relationship. Now get moving. I gotta go. See ya at the office.” She turns and walks out. As I’m pulling my jeans on, I hear her car start.

  I stop for a moment to look in the mirror over Steve’s dresser. I look different. I’m smiling, my face glows and my eyes have a sparkle in them. What if I dreamed it? What if he was talking in his sleep? What if…. My face drops and my smile disappears. I turn to finish dressing and leave with my suitcase. It’s the weekend and Steve will be staying at my place, or should I stay in town because of the dogs and the boarding house. I’ll have to see. I stop for coffee on the way to work.

  I beat Maria to the office by fifteen minutes. “What happened? I thought you’d be here sooner.”

  She’s not smiling. “I forgot day care’s closed today. I had to take Shay to Mom’s. She gonna drop him off at lunch. She and Dad are going to Gatesville, Christmas shopping. Big sales today.”

  “It’s okay. The appointments will be finished by then. By the way, thanks for letting the dogs out. I put them in as I was leaving, except Chaucee. She’s here with me. Now we’d better get busy with the guests.”

  Chaucee insists on my attention so I keep her with me when I let the guests out. Maria and I clean the litter boxes and fasten the rain shields up. I feed the guests then we go in to open the office. Chaucee’s still right at my feet.

  The phone rings at eight thirty. It’s Miss Lili. Glen’s kids didn’t take kindly to their getting married and Glen moving here. They think she’s a gold digger. She laughs when she says it, but I can hear the disappointment in her voice. They’re hoping the prenuptial agreement will bring them around.

  I try to cheer her up by saying they just don’t know her yet. But they’ll see when they come for Christmas. Miss Lili says they won’t come out for any reason. Glen’s very upset with his kids, but he’s determined to get married, or to “live in sin” with her. She’s laughing when she says it. Then she asks how things are going with the “guests”, the clinic and the rest of us. I tell her fine on all fronts. I tell her about Thanksgiving dinner and she’s happy we went out of way to accommodate the boys. Glen had gotten so upset with his kids, the two of them’d had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. I tell her how sorry I am things had gone badly. She says they might be home early, Glen’s that upset. He’s over at his daughter’s house now, trying to smooth things over. She’s okay with things, even if Glen backs outta the marriage. They can still go on the way they were before. I have to go, my appointment is here so I hand the phone to Maria and tend to business.

  When I finish with the appointment I find Maria sitting on Bob’s lap and Bob’s talking to Miss Lili. Maria’s off Bob’s lap before our patient’s owner is out of the exam room. I get the medication I’d prescribed and Maria takes care of the file information and taking the payment.

  That’s when we hear Chaucee barking and having fits in the kennel room. I open the door to the kennels and there’s a strange dog in the room. When I open the door wider the dog starts growling, snarling and lunging at me. Maria hollers for Bob to come help some, but he’s not much help with his leg. I have to call the Sheriff’s Department to handle the dog. They have the equipment for this sorta thing. They get the dog into a kennel in the shelter and I get some food and water in with it. The dog isn’t skinny, but it gobbles the food down and half of the water. I’ll have to hose the dog down in the kennel since it snarls and lunges at anybody that gets close to it. Maybe, it’ll settle down and I can wash it properly. But that’s later this afternoon. If nothing else, I can slip it a sedative.

  When I go back to the clinic, Bob’s watching the office while Maria goes after Shay. Her mother had called and there’s a sale she needs to get to before noon. And my next appointment’s waiting. I take care of the bird and Maria’s back in time to take care of the file and the payment.

  My next appointment is one of the puppies from the accident. It’s here for a check up and an appointment to be spay. I go over the procedure with the owner and set up the appointment for the operation. The owner asks if I have any more puppies to adopt. I don’t, but I put her name on a list of adoptees.

  I send Bob and Maria for lunch. Now I have to stay in town to take care of the stray and the guests. The owners of the guests will be coming for them Monday.

  After lunch, it’s time to deal with the stray. I leave Bob and Maria in the office while I go to the hardware store to get something I can put soap into and attach to the hose to wash the stray. When I get back, I get the dog shampoo and Maria goes with me to help. The dog objects to being sprayed, but there’s no other way. Thank goodness we thought to get slide in trays for food and water when we set up the shelter. The dog is filthy. We wash and rinse him three times before the rinse water is clean. I use a flea and tick shampoo to be sure the shelter doesn’t get infested. The dog looks like a Doberman, and is possibly a guard dog. I’ll get a dog trainer in to confirm my assessment. I start a file on him.

  When I come back, there’s a box of six Sheltie puppies and Steve in the office. “Where’d the puppies come from?”

  “I brought them in. They were next to the door, dropped off, I guess.”

  “Well, we are an adoption center, too. I have to check them out and give them shots.” I look at Steve.

  He has a concerned look on his face so I take him out with me to let the guests out. “Are you concerned about Miss Lili and Glen?”

  “What about Grams and Glen?” Guess that wasn’t it. I tell him what Miss Lili told me and he shrugs. “Grams has a way of winning people over. They’ll be okay.” I work while we talk.

  “Yeah. So what’s the frown for?” The guests are running around us.

  “Sher, do you remember our talk last night?” He turns me to him so I’m looking at him.

  “Which one?” I’m afraid to answer directly because I don’t know if I’d dreamed the conversation or if he was talking in his sleep.

  “The one we had in bed.” I don’t know how much to say.

  “I remember talking about having kids. Is that the one you’re talking about?”

  She remembers that much so she must remember the rest. “Yes. Do you remember saying you’d marry me?”

  “Yes. Ya mean it wasn’t a dream and you weren’t talking in your sleep? You meant it?” I’m a little surprised.

  “I meant it. Did you?” He says softly, pulling me to him and kissing me. He picks me up then puts me down quickly after a little grunt. “I love you, Sher. I wasn’t sure, you sounded half asleep?”

  “I meant it. I love you, too.” I tighten my hold on him and he’s kissing me again. Maria comes to the door and calls out to me. I’m wanted on the phone. “You didn’t hurt your ankle when you picked me up did ya?” He shakes his head. I leave the dogs out to answer the phone.

  The phone call is a man looking for his guard dog that’s gotten away. He said he’d heard from the Sheriff’s office that it was at the shelter. I tell him we have a dog that appears to be a guard dog. He’ll have to come identify it and let me examine it before he can take it home. He’ll be right over.

  I go out to put the guests away since the stray is going to be out soon. While I wait for the man to arrive I move the puppies into the kennel room.

  He recognizes the dog and calms “Brutus” so I can examine him. The dog is under fed and has skin abrasions from being so dirty and flea infested. I put medicine on the ulcers and tell Mr. Gustaf I could and should charge him with animal cruelty, but if he�
��ll bring the dog in every week until the ulcers are healed I won’t ticket him. I get all his information and give him salve for the ulcers and a bottle of dog shampoo. He looks at me like I’m nuts. I tell him the dog needs to be kept clean for the ulcers to heal. I, also, put a flea and tick collar on the dog, explaining the ulcers were caused by the dirt and parasites. He’s not happy, but I make an appointment for one week from today. As he leaves with “Brutus” I tell him that if he doesn’t keep the appointment I’ll press charges.

  That’s when he says he doesn’t have money for all the stuff I’m enforcing. “Mr. Gustaf, have I asked you for money?” When he shakes his head, I continue, “There’ll be no charge for taking care of Brutus as long as ya keep your end of the bargain. This time Brutus’ treatment for this problem will be free. Next time it’ll be double. Remember, he should be kept clean and parasite free, forever, but, at least, ‘til the ulcers are healed.” He, sorta, smiles and nods ‘bye as he walks out the door.

  “You were a bit soft on him, weren’t ya?” Maria doesn’t think I should let him off.

  “It’s a first offense and if he takes care of Brutus from now on it will’ve served its purpose.”

  “Okay, you’re the City Vet.” She smiles and goes to find Shay and Bob.

  Steve’s not so sure I did Brutus a favor. “You’ll have to keep up with Brutus after he’s healed, ya know. Guard dogs are usually left alone and not dealt with, for any reason.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep track of him. As City Vet, I plan to visit every home the strays go to, at least once. I have to know the animals are safe when they leave here.”

  He’s sitting in the office chair and pulls me down on his lap to kiss me. I hear the waiting room door open and look up to see the Sheriff. “Don’t mean to interrupt, but has the stray dog been claimed?”

  I get up to answer, “Yes. I didn’t ticket the owner, but I threatened to, if he doesn’t bring the dog back every week for a check up.”

  “Was there something wrong with the dog?” He’s looking around the office.

  “Only skin ulcers from the fleas and dirt that covered him. I put a flea collar on the dog and gave Mr. Gustaf flea shampoo to keep them off and instructions to bathe the dog every week before he brings him in for me to check the ulcers. I gave him some salve for the ulcers, too.”

  “You know Benny Gustaf runs the salvage yard thirty five miles away, don’t ya? And he has three other dogs out there, probably in the same shape as the one ya had here. I’m gonna go over to take a look at them and I’ll probably write him a ticket that will bring the other dogs in for treatment. You behind me?”

  I nod. “It’ll probably make him mad at me. He’ll think I turned him in anyway. I’d prefer you tell him you’re just checking on the dog since y’all were called in to get him in a kennel. I’m blackmailing him into bringing the dog back for treatment by not giving him a ticket, and I had to offer free treatment. I don’t know if I can afford to treat four dogs for free. But if it’ll get him to bring them in I will, this time, ‘til they’re well. Any shots or licensing will cost him.”

  Sheriff Carl nods. “I’ll keep ya posted.” He says “hi” to Steve and chats for a while about the rain last night and the affect on the fire hazard then leaves.

  “I didn’t know it rained last night. I must’ve been sleeping hard.” I was really tired after fixing and cleaning up after dinner for forty five people.

  “You were dead to the world when I got up to go to work. I forgot to call to wake ya up for work because I was asleep. I didn’t sleep very well without ya and there wasn’t much time to sleep after ya came to bed. I hope I don’t have to sleep alone anymore. I need my beauty sleep.” I poke him, hard. He yelps and grabs me in a hug.

  Bob, Maria and Shay come in. Shay’s carrying a puppy with an arm around the puppy’s chest. “Aunt Sher, can I have this puppy? Mom and Bob say its okay with them if it’s okay with you.”

  Steve lets me go so I can tend to Shay’s question. “Do ya know how much work a puppy is?” Shay nods. “The puppy has to be put out to go to potty and play. He has to be fed and watered and bathed. If he goes to the bathroom in the house, you’ll have to clean it up and scold him for not going outside. You’ll have to watch him to let him out so he doesn’t do it again. But the hardest of all is playing with him, teaching him manners and loving him. Can ya do all those things?” I ask.

  Shay nods and looks at Maria and Bob, “Can I get Mom and Bob to help me, a little?”

  Tears come to my eyes, “I think they can help when ya don’t know what to do. What are ya gonna call him?”

  “Bullet, like on Roy Rogers.” He looks at Maria and Bob and they smile.

  “Bullet Gomez. That’s some name.” I say.

  “No. Bullet Stuben. Mom’s marrying Bob and we’ll have his last name.” Bob and Maria are surprised at his statement. Maria looks at Bob and Bob’s surprise turns to a smile.

  “Yes, you’ll all have my last name.”He says with the biggest grin on his face and in his eyes. He reaches out and hugs Maria. Shay and Bullet step to him to hug his leg and receives a big hand on Shay’s shoulder to pull him closer.

  Steve hands me a tissue, “You’re leaking,” he whispers. I dab my eyes and start getting the paper work together for the adoption. I have to send Maria to the hardware store to get the things for the adoption bags while I check out the dog. Shay brings a paper to me that was in the box.

  It said the dogs are pure bred, but it’s an accidental pregnancy. They gave two of the puppies away, but can’t find anyone to take the others. Would I please find them a good home? They have no shots as yet.

  It’s good to know people are taking the adoption center seriously.

  Maria’s back with the bags and she gets them prepared to hand out. For Shay I include a page of instructions in the adoption bag, so he’ll feel like he’s the owner. I have him put on the collar and get him to lead Bullet on the leash. I teach him how to hold Bullet, properly, instead of by the chest with his back feet dangling. When we walk outside and Bullet squats to pee, I tell Shay to tell him what a good boy he is. Shay is beside himself with pride because he can do these things with HIS puppy. Now Maria needs a tissue and Bob’s beaming with pride at Shay’s taking responsibility.

  Steve’s beaming, too. I figure he’s proud of Shay, too, but he comes over to me, hugs me and whispers in my ear, “You’ll be a good mother.”

  We leave the boys and Bullet to take care of each other and go to work so we can close the clinic, take care of the guests, clean the three kennels and feed the animals. The puppies are kenneled ‘til I can get back to them. They’re clean so I put them in the clinic kennels.

  Two hours later we’re finished and ready to go home. As we’re about to lock the door Mr. Gustaf comes in with three dogs and a box with five puppies. He shows me the ticket Sheriff Carl gave him so I have to get the dogs taken care of now or he loses the dogs. I ask him if he can leave them tonight and pick them up tomorrow. He can’t he needs the guard dogs at night. We take them out to the shelter and proceed to wash them. I insist he help this time. Maria bathes the puppies in the sink, several times. He and I bathe the dogs ‘til they’re clean. Then I check them and they have the same ulcers as Brutus. The female dog is showing signs of being sick. I don’t let him take her back with him. Same instructions as Brutus are given to him, including the weekly visits.

  The puppies stay with the female dog. I check them closer at the clinic. The female has worms and so do the puppies. I give them a de-wormer and put them in the shelter. I’ll need to check on them later when I come back to check on the others. I call Mr. Gustaf to tell him what’s wrong with the dogs and tell him I want to check the other three for worms. And I want any vaccination documents for all the animals, if he has any. He says he doesn’t, so I tell him I’ll vaccinate them all and he can pay for the shots as he can. The licenses have to be paid for immediately, because that’s city funds. I tell him how much he’ll need
and tell him I’ll take care of all the dogs at the appointment time next week. That settled, he can pick up the puppies and mama Monday.

  Its eight o’clock and Maria and I are beat. Shay needs to eat, be bathed and put to bed. The rest of us could use the same treatment. The Burger Barn is busy tonight, but we wait to eat. Shay’s falling asleep when our food arrives. We eat quickly so Bob and Maria can get Shay home and into bed. Steve and I go back to the office so I can let the guests and puppies out and I can check on the shelter dogs.

  I have to move the shelter dogs to another kennel. The worming medicine worked very well and quickly, but I can’t leave them in the mess it’s created. I bathe them and dry them, clean the kennel and put them away.

  Chapter 16

  Steve’s been working on the newsletter in the office and has it almost finished. He stops when I come in, “Ready to go home, or is there something else ya need to do?” I shake my head. “I just need a minute to finish this schedule and we’ll go home.” I sit down to document the shelter log and the hotel log, finishing at the same time as Steve.

  Steve starts to turn to go out to my place when I tell him not to turn, his place is closer and I’m too tired and have too much to do tomorrow at the office to go all the way out to the ranch. He drives home, we shower and go to bed to snuggle and sleep.

  I can’t sleep in today. I have to let the dogs out and clean the kennels. The shelter puppies are livelier and mama is feeling better. I give them vitamins and the puppies get their shots. I start a file on each of them and give them a soft collar with a number. I also start an account for Mr. Gustaf.

  Steve’s fixing breakfast when I get home. “Why didn’t ya wake me up? I’d’ve gone with ya. I could have finished the newsletter for the next two weeks.”

  “I thought I’d let ya sleep a while longer. Breakfast, yum, I’m starving. You can go with me at noon and work if ya want.”

  “How’s the dogs?” He’s flipping eggs and turning bacon and hash browns.