Spot and Smudge - Book One
Page 28
Dalaja then became a blur of single-minded, focused activity that the pups watched with stunned awe. As she buzzed around the table opening drawers and collecting supplies she flicked on the x-ray unit, operating table lights, monitoring devices, and the anesthetic unit. She laid out towels and gauze pads, opened several pouches of metal tools and suture kits and arranged their contents carefully, donned a gown, and then went to the sink to briskly scrub up.
Chapter 61
When Mimi knocked on the front door of the clinic and peered through the window Mari waved and came around from the reception desk to unlock the door. Mari worked part time at the clinic and she was also a serial charity event organizer and managed the clinic’s rabies drives and pet parade. It was a windy day and the CLOSED sign banged against the glass before Mari locked the door behind Mimi.
“Hey there Jean, good to see you,” Mari said as she placed a warm hand on Mimi’s shoulder, “I hope you’re well. I do so miss seeing your husband around here. Such a wonderful, generous man that one.”
“You’re a dear Mari, thank you,” Mimi said, “How’s the family?”
“I doubt you have an hour to hear about all of them,” Mari said with a smile. She had seven grown children, two dozen grandchildren, and an exhausted sweetheart of a husband. “Ronnie’s out back,” she said as she walked with Mimi down the hall and through the door to the rear of the clinic.
Ronnie was sitting in the chair at the prescription desk and she was still wearing her mask. She held up a weak hand to Mimi and said, “Don’t come any closer, Jean. I feel like poop on a shingle and I don’t wish this cold on anyone.”
Mimi and Mari animatedly skirted the medicine cabinets and walked to the treatment area. The pups were lying on a cushy folded blanket on the exam table and their tails started to wag in synchronized circles as Mimi approached. Both of their front legs were shaved almost up to the shoulder and were bandaged up to the elbow.
“You poor dear, can I bring you a pot of soup?” Mimi said to Ronnie as the pups tails thumped harder on the metal table. To the pups she said, “I wasn’t talking to you two.” She pulled Smudge’s plush chicken toy from her bag and handed it to her. Smudge grabbed it with her mouth and buried her nose in it.
Ronnie smiled and said, “Thanks, but I’m heading home. We’re just wrapping up a few of the more urgent cases,” she nodded at the wall of cages that was half empty, “I’m in no state to take appointments and Dr. D is away for a week on short notice so we discharged what we could this morning and we’re not going to open today.” Ronnie pointed her pen at the pups and said, “Your little ones are doing fine but it looks like Dr. D had to do a bunch more work on their little paws last night. She completed their chart, one sec.”
Ronnie picked up a clipboard from the corner of the desk and scanned her finger across the page as she said, “Let’s see here…yes, Walker dogs burns. Evid of nonviable dermis more present than initial diag…Suture ligature of dam flexor and interosseous…Surg excision of burn eschar on plantar and carpal ball and dig pads…Treatd with hydro and debride of damg tish…Applied antimicro silv, allograph, and sulfadiazine with silv wrap…blah blah blah…here we go…Discharge okay…” Ronnie was surprised to see she actually authorized a discharge, and she really raised her eyebrows as she read the rest of Dr. D’s notes, “Post-op instruct for client…home care okay, change bandages forty eight hours, remove at five days. Post surg kit in bottom desk draw with notes, checkup in fourteen days if healing and no pain. Admit FOC, Treat FOC, Surg FOC, Mds FOC, Recheck FOC…heroes.”
Mimi and Mari followed along, and they both shared Ronnie’s raised eyebrows.
Mimi asked, “Does F O C mean what I think it does?”
Mari nodded and said, “Free of charge, well bless her heart.” She gave Ronnie a look.
Ronnie laughed, which caused her to have a coughing fit. “Mari,” she said, “Can you do me a favor and finish calling the rest of those cancellations, I say we both get out of here soon.”
“Certainly,” Mari said as she headed back to the reception desk and closed the door behind her.
Ronnie reached into the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out a large clear plastic bag with paws printed on it. Inside were several different sized bottles of medicine, new bandages, a few silver pouches, and a large bottle of clear solution. Each item had a hand written sticky note with instructions in Dr. D’s scroll.
“So,” Ronnie said, “I think that confirms my suspicions. I had a feeling Dr. D was up to something and now this. When have you ever known that woman to give away involved treatment or expensive medicines, or to stay away from the clinic for more than a day at a time?”
“She’s away for a shag-a-thon,” Mimi said with a smile, “bless her heart.”
“Yep,” Ronnie said, “and that woman sorely needs a good headboard bashing.”
They both laughed, which sent Ronnie into another coughing fit.
Chapter 62
An early fall Nor’easter had blown down from Canada and was beating up New England with several straight days of stinging rain and near freezing temperatures.
The icy spray pelted Liko’s fogged-up windshield sideways, all but obscuring the front of the abandoned factory where they waited for Larry Calvin Davis. Liko had the engine running and the heat blasting, and as he passed the joint to Doug he said, “Fuuuuuck Dougy. This sucks. My fingers still smell like dog food and shit. If I had to spray out one more cage I was gonna pass out.” He rubbed his hands in front of the vent and squinted through his thick glasses at the parking lot.
Doug rested his head against the cool, cracked open window, letting the rain drip down his unshaven face and neck as he sucked the last few wisps from the joint. Of course Liko had passed the tiny, spit soaked remnant to him when there was more paper than bud left. The shoulder of his jacket was getting soaked but he didn’t care. He had to keep the window cracked to let Liko’s crappy cigarette smoke out. The fat bastard fired one up between each joint and would only respond with a whine about the rain when asked to crack his own fucking window. The smoky stench mixed with the cologne he drowned himself in, and the sickening fake lavender from the little hanging air freshener tree flipping around in the blowing heat. The disgusting mix of sweetness and funk was making Doug fucking sick. He was burning up but he knew telling Liko to turn down the heat would probably just earn him more bitching. Besides, he would probably be freezing with chills in five minutes anyway. The gloves he had on made no difference either, he only wore them to cover his black fingers. While he tuned out Liko’s droning he imagined reaching over to snatch that garish dragon pistol and slipping it into his fat fucking mouth. He wondered what Liko’s tiny brains would smell like splattered all over the spinning purple air freshener.
He just wanted to get home and crash. They had been doing all the kennel work since that flaky fucking Dr. D disappeared and he was exhausted. His cold had also gone from bad to worse and nothing he took seemed to help. Xanax, Norophen, pot, none of his normal go-to’s were doing a damn thing. He had started seeing things and no amount of chemistry was bringing him back from the day-mares.
Liko fired up another cigarette. Doug swore a string of expletives and kicked Liko’s dash board.
“Fucking chill out dude,” Liko said as a pair of headlights crested the driveway and cut through the rain in the factory parking lot. “I’m sure it’s all fucking good. Larry’s probably just making sure we can keep up with the orders,” Liko said, trying to convince himself, “We can explain what happened.”
A large black Suburban pulled into the lot and drove up next to them. It paused, and then continued to pull forward, bouncing over the small curb. It cut ruts into the grass and continued right up to the front of the abandoned factory. The vehicle had angled towards the concrete sidewalk so the occupants would have a short walk to the front entrance. Through the fogged windshield Doug saw someone exit the vehicle and move quickly through the front door of the building.
In the thirty steps it took to cover the distance from the SUV to the factory Doug and Liko had gotten thoroughly soaked. They stomped and shook their coats as they entered the old factory lobby. One of the enormous bouncers from the club in Providence was standing by the lobby reception desk. He switched on a portable lantern, and as he walked past Liko and Doug they handed him their cell phones. Liko nodded and the bouncer nodded back as he cracked the front door open and waved. A minute later he held the door open for Larry and a short Chinese woman.
The lobby was chilly and still dark even with the lantern. Doug and Liko stood dripping on the marble lobby floor as Larry took out a cigar. He took time to unwrap it carefully, trim the end and poke a hole in it, and then roll it so the end burned evenly. His face glowed in the whooshing butane flame of the lighter.
“Boys, boys, boys,” Larry said, shaking his head as the lighter clicked off, “Which one of you morons wants to try to bullshit their way through WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING UP HERE?” His booming voice echoed loudly in the dead quiet of the cavernous lobby.
Liko flinched and a roll of fat travelled up his chin. He opened his mouth but a sharp look from the woman standing behind Larry shut him up.
Doug’s chill came back with a vengeance and his teeth started to chatter. His vision blurred for a second and then Larry’s head became a large black balloon with a ring of chomping silver fangs. Doug shook his head and the balloon popped and another gnashing Larry balloon grew back from the hole that was left. He closed his eyes for a moment and then rapidly blinked the image away.
Larry stared at him for a moment and then began to pace as he said, “I fucking hate the South Shore. I know you know this, Liko, and yet you make me come all the way to this shit hole again and again.” He puffed his cigar a few times. He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, and blew on the embers. He said, “Where is my plump little Horton-hears-a-ho doctor?”
“I don’t know,” Liko said, “Like I said, I dropped her off at the clinic a few days ago. She said that skinny bitch receptionist was sick and needed help with some shit there. I called D the next morning, nothing.”
Larry mulled that for a minute and said, “Why has production at the kennels dropped off?” Larry looked at Liko but gestured to the woman with his cigar.
Liko looked at her but she was stone-faced and not about to jump in to save him. To Larry he said, “It’s like I told you Larry, we’re doing all the shit with the dogs ourselves.”
Larry stood in front of Doug and blew cigar smoke at him. He said, “What happened to your wife and that jock she was fucking?”
Doug saw Larry’s teeth as a row of a thousand silver pins with smoke dancing around them.
“She’s sick, and I had to let him go,” Doug said, looking away from him.
Larry took a long slow look at both of them as he puffed. “Doug,” he said, “Why is my fucking lawyer working on drafting partnership and quit claim deeds on the old Irish broad’s land? I thought I had made myself clear on my land deal.”
Liko said, “We need the—”
“I WASN’T FUCKING SPEAKING TO YOU!” Larry screamed in his face. He looked at Doug and said, “Please Doug, continue.”
“Mr. Davis,” Doug said to Larry’s balloon head, “We can’t develop the land without the entire thing. It’s the only way I can get the town to lift the easements.” Doug’s mouth was suddenly dry and his tongue stuck in his mouth. He had to force himself to finish, “Your guy says he’ll have the paperwork ready in six days. I’ll get Mrs. Walker to sign, and then she’ll have an unfortunate accident.”
Larry thought about that for a moment and said, “Boys, can you give us a minute? Step outside.”
The bouncer opened the door and a blast of cold, wet air blew into the lobby. Liko and Doug hiked their collars up and went out to the covered front landing as the bouncer closed the door behind them.
“Fuck Dougy,” Liko said as he stomped his feet and hugged himself to stay warm, “At least they don’t have any plastic tarps spread on the floor.”
“Marble is easy to clean up,” Doug said, and closed his eyes as a fresh wave of shivers crawled up his back.
The covered landing wasn’t giving much protection with the cold rain coming at them sideways. After a few minutes of getting soaked again the bouncer opened the door and motioned them in.
Doug and Liko stood in the dim light watching Larry and the woman conversing in the corner of the room, with Doug’s teeth chattering. They echoed loudly in the dead quiet of the abandoned lobby. There was no way they could hear what was being said, and it wasn’t lost on Doug there had been no reason for them to wait outside in the freezing rain. He coughed, and watched the moving red tip of Larry’s cigar become a trail of light that spun around the Chinese woman’s head.
Finally Larry nodded and bent down to kiss her cheek. Larry produced another cigar from a silver case in his jacket pocket and handed it to the woman who unwrapped it, trimmed it, and lit it with the same care Larry had displayed earlier. They walked towards Doug and Liko, smoking, as Larry pulled on a pair of leather gloves.
Larry walked right past them without a word or so much as a look.
The bouncer opened the door for him and he left the factory. He walked out into the cold as the bouncer closed the door and folded his arms over his chest.
The boys watched Larry leave and then stared at each other.
The Chinese woman let the smoke from her cigar roll up and into her nose for a few moments, enjoying Larry’s expensive taste in cigars.
Finally she turned and said to them, “I need four hundred pounds of dog meat per week. If you can’t keep up with that I’ll stuff your cocks in the chopper and find someone who can. If you don’t follow the regimen for fattening up the dogs exactly and fuck up our recipe I’ll have you giving blowjobs for five bucks at a glory hole in Hartford. There is some funky shit happening in this town and I don’t like the way it looks or smells. If I find out you two idiots fucked up my shit I’ll pull your fingers off, understand?” She took a pull from her cigar as they nodded. She said, “And you are going to find that vet. Not tomorrow, not next week.”
She paused to take a few more puffs before she turned to Doug and said, “You look worse than Liko’s asshole must feel. Quit dumping shit into your body and get your fucking game right. If your useless wife doesn’t hold up her end take care of the problem or I will. I heard you lost a dog, and that she had pups. There’s a chance they have traces of my recipe in them so clean that shit up when you take care of that old broad.” She took two steps forward and waved the cigar right in his face as she said, “The lawyer will have your paperwork ready tomorrow afternoon so finish this shit tomorrow night, quietly. If you fuck it up I’ll take it over and you’ll be back muddin’ drywall and your slut wife’ll be wiping cum off her stilettos again.”
She stepped to the side and stopped in front of Liko. She stared up at him as she took another drag and the tip of her cigar flared. She exhaled, and then said, “If I find out you lied to me about getting rid of that toxic shit you and that idiot cousin of yours stole I’ll stick your tiny dicks in it and light it on fire. That stuff was way too hot, and way fucking out of your league.”
Before she turned to leave she said to Liko, “And you are going to stop by your mother’s this week. Bring her some flowers you fat, stupid fuck.”
“Yes Aunty Mina,” Liko said as he looked at the floor.
As she pulled the hood of her fur coat over her head and shot them a parting scowl Doug noticed she and Liko had the same triangle shaped tattoo below their left ear.
Chapter 63
Dan tossed another bundle of wood shingles onto the new shed roof and paused at the top of the ladder. He inspected the last few rows th
at Ben had nailed into place and nodded before climbing down to pull another full bundle from the open tailgate of the Wagoneer. Ben finished nailing the row and stood up, putting Papa’s roofing hammer into the loop on his belt as he pulled a box cutter from his back pocket. He waved to Mimi and Aila before he slid out the blade and cut into the new pack of shingles.
There was always something that needed fixing on the farm. Papa had made sure that everyone in the family could drive a straight nail and make a straight cut, and they had made good progress on the new shed before the storm had moved in. A cold Nor’easter rain had fallen for days during the week and washed away all that remained of the shed fire, aside from a few puddles tinged with sooty black water.
The weekend finally came and brought with it a beautiful and sunny Saturday. It had warmed up enough for the family to have lunch outside. Kelcy backed through the screen door with a tray of sandwiches and slid it next to the bowl of fruit and pitcher of iced tea already on the picnic table. She had a mouthful of roofing nails and cradled her work gloves under one arm. She mumbled something that Mimi was able to translate.
“Aye, dear girl,” Mimi said, “We have the mustard out here already.”
“Ben, Dan, chow,” Aila called up to the boys.
She grabbed a sandwich and walked over to the pair of Adirondack chairs that had been moved to a patch of sunshine in the middle of the otherwise shady back lawn. Each pup was in a chair, lounging on folded blankets with their bandaged paws hanging over the edges of the seats.
“Would my heroes like a ham sammy?” Aila asked, receiving wags of approval. She knelt down in front of them and alternated feeding them torn chunks. “Easy, some of that is my fingers,” she said to Smudge, and then scratched both of them behind the ears. As she kissed them on the head she said, “The bandages come off soon, and you guys are doing great.” She gave Smudge’s almost fully healed ear a playful tug.