I nodded. “Sounds like it. What do you think of it?”
He smiled. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”
I laughed. “True. But I meant when you first got here. What’d you think?”
He looked thoughtful for a few moments before saying, “I thought it was exactly as you described. Idyllic. Friendly people. Great wine. I was glad I’d found something here.”
I nodded. I knew what he meant.
We lapsed into silence, though, it wasn’t uncomfortable. I sipped my Coke and looked around the restaurant, noting that we were getting our fair share of looks again. I sighed. At this point, I just needed to accept it.
“Sooo…” August said, drawing the word out and pulling my attention to him. “The military.”
I blew out a breath. I should have known that brief conversation earlier wouldn’t be the end of the talk we’d have about that topic.
“What about it?”
August said nothing for a few beats and he continued to stare at his drink. He finally looked up at me and said, “I really just struggle to see you in the military.”
I nodded. I could see that. My parents did, too, and it was hard for both of them the first time they saw me in uniform. It was a change getting used to someone you loved in a new role.
He sighed. “I just…” He trailed off, and I waited to see what he was going to say. “I just don’t get it. Why you joined.”
It was my turn to sigh. This was a conversation we’d had multiple times when we were dating and I told him about my dream to serve my country.
I ran a hand over my hair and tried to think of what to say so that this conversation wouldn’t devolve into an argument.
“I’ve always had a desire to do something for my country, to give back in some way. And not just in a volunteer capacity. I wanted to do something that I knew for a fact would have an impact.” I paused and licked my lips. “You know how much I love animals. You saw me at the shelter when we started dating. You know that working with them as a vet is my calling. Joining the military was, too.”
August opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head and continued talking. “I know you don’t get it, though, I don’t know why. But I know you don’t understand because you’ve never felt that same call to do it. I found so much fulfillment in the military doing my job. Yeah, I deployed, and that sucked, but I learned so much stuff while I was gone. The same for when I was in Korea and then again when I was in North Carolina. The military helped shape me into the vet I am today because I was forced to push past my own insecurities and man up to things I struggled with.”
I sipped my Coke and stared at August, waiting to see what he’d say.
He eventually said, “You’re right. I’ve never felt called to join the military or anything like that.” He paused and seemed to weigh his words. “That’s not something I’m sure I’ll ever understand. I know you know my dad was in the military.”
He paused and looked at me. I nodded. He continued, “He did a career. Because of his job, we moved a lot when I was a kid. It wasn’t until he retired when I was in high school that I had any continuity with anything. Without fail, every two years, we were on the move.”
“That had to suck,” I said. I couldn’t imagine. I was fortunate that besides a year in Korea when I was thirty and deploying, I’d stayed in one spot. I left for Korea from North Carolina, and I’d gone right back when my year finished.
“It did. I sucked at making friends and once I finally had them, we were packing up and moving on. I resented my dad for a while there.”
“But you don’t anymore?”
He shook his head. “No, not really. I can see that while he moved because he had to, there were times when I’m sure he didn’t want to move either. Looking back, I can see the strain it put on my parents to be constantly on the move.”
We lapsed into silence and I thought about what August had just revealed to me. I could see where that would set some deep issues with the military for him. If I’d gone through the same things, I might even feel the same.
“Here’s your lunch.” The waitress dropped our plates off, asked if we needed anything, and then left us to our food.
She came at a good time because the conversation was definitely getting heavy between August and I and I wasn’t sure what to say or do to lighten it back up. And I wasn’t sure I was ready for the conversation that would probably come after the military one; the one about us.
“So, tell me about teaching,” I said after we’d been eating for a few minutes.
He smiled at me, the first genuine one I’d seen from him since we’d sat down, and I relaxed.
“Well, it’s a trip.”
We spent the rest of lunch talking about his duties as a teacher, some funnier stories from his time in Sunnyville, and I shared some of my stories from the animals I’d worked on in my time in the military.
It surprised him to find out I didn’t see just military working dogs, but also family pets. So long as I didn’t mention the military specifically, I could pretend I was just telling him about my time in various vet practices for the last decade and not time working on military working dogs.
By the time we finished eating, it was like no time had passed since we stopped dating to now. We squabbled over the bill and I let August pay, though I slipped a cash tip onto the table when he wasn’t looking.
When we started walking back to the clinic, I spied the coffee shop and veered that way. “I need to grab a coffee before I go back,” I said.
“Okay,” August agreed, following me inside.
Once in there, more people stared at us, but I wasn’t as bothered by it then as I had been before.
As I looked the menu over, I decided I’d get coffee for the entire clinic, something I was sure they’d enjoy.
When I reached the front of the line, I ordered what I thought I remembered everyone getting. The barista realized who I was while I was ordering and asked, “You ordering for the staff at the clinic?”
I nodded. “I got you,” she said, pressing some buttons on her screen. “I remember what everyone gets.”
I smiled gratefully and handed her my card. Once I had it back, I shuffled to the side to wait for the drinks and only a few minutes later, I was walking back to the clinic with August, a tray of coffees in each of our hands.
When we got back, instead of going in the front, I walked around to the back where we had a ramp to make getting supplies in and out quicker and easier and led August up to it.
“It’s usually locked, so press the bell here and someone will let you in,” I told him while we waited for someone to do just that.
Amy pushed the door open and smiled. “You’re back!”
I squeezed past her and checked the cups in my hand for hers. “Here ya go,” I said, handing her an iced coffee.
She squealed. “You got us coffee?”
I nodded and followed her down the hall. I glanced over my shoulder to see if August was following. He was.
“Look what Britain and August brought us!” Amy trilled as she stepped into the break room.
Everyone was in there and staring at us as we stepped inside behind her.
I quickly passed everything out and then followed behind August when he tipped his head toward the door. I followed him down the hall to the door we’d just come in.
“I’m gonna head out. Since I have an unexpected day off, I’ve got a few errands to run.”
I nodded. “Thanks for lunch.”
“No prob. Thanks for joining. I’ll see you soon?”
I nodded again. August stared at me for a few moments before turning and pushing out the door. I watched him go, my mind thinking back to lunch and how easy it was being with him.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were about to start something up with your beau,” Amy said as she walked by, sipping her coffee.
I mock glared at her. “But you do know better.”
She just la
ughed. “I’ll see you in exam room two in five minutes,” she called over her shoulder.
Looked like my break was over and I had some work to get to. With one last look at where August had been only moments before, I turned toward my office, pushing him and our history from my mind.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
AUGUST
I WAS GETTING my own coffee after lunch with Britain and sitting at one of the cafe tables outside the shop when the first person came up to me.
It was Mrs. Wipple, a teacher who retired from the elementary school several years before. She’d been my mentor, so I always enjoyed meeting with her and seeing her around town.
I didn’t enjoy it as much today considering I had a good idea why she was coming to talk to me. She was one of the biggest gossipers in town and her gaze was set on me as she slowly made her way to my table.
She might look like she was old and frail with deep set wrinkles and a shock of curly white hair on her head, but she was tenacious.
“What’s this I hear about you going to lunch with our dear Britain?” She asked as she settled into the seat across from me, leaning her cane against the table.
I paused mid-sip of my coffee, trying to figure out how to play this. “Sorry?”
She shook her head. “You heard me. Heard you went to lunch with Britain.”
I blinked at her and finished sipping my coffee while I got my thoughts together. Britain wasn’t wrong about it starting. It was. Maybe she was right to be worried. I should probably be worried, too. But I still thought she was blowing it out of proportion.
“I did.”
She said nothing else, and after a few moments, I started squirming. I’d forgotten this tactic of hers. She used it well with her students, getting them to admit when they had done something they shouldn’t have. And she’d used it on me a few times when I was starting out here to get me to admit to things I didn’t want to about my teaching.
She’d make a great police interrogator.
“Mrs. Wipple—“ I started.
“Eleanor. We’ve had this talk how many times?” She interrupted.
I cleared my throat. “Eleanor. I took her to lunch because I took an injured dog into the clinic this morning. A car had hit it.”
“Oh dear, I hope it’s okay,” Eleanor said, a hand fluttering up to the collar of her shirt.
I nodded. “It looks like it will be. Because of that and my having the day off as a result of it, I took her to lunch as a thank you.”
That was a slight fudging of facts, but she didn’t need to know that.
Yeah, I’d asked Britain to lunch as a thank you. But I’d also asked her to lunch because I wanted to spend more time with her.
“You take everyone you want to thank out to lunch?” Eleanor asked.
“No.”
She made a noise and settled into her chair further, shooting me a smug look.
“What?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what she was smug about.
“Boy,” she said, spearing me with her intense gaze. “I met you when you were still wet behind the ears. Yeah, you had some experience with teaching, but not a lot and none of it good. I got to know you because of how much I talked to you before I retired. I know you had some things on your mind and it looks like they’re back. So, don’t play coy with me, especially not when I’ve seen that article that everyone is in a tizzy over and I can see you with my own two eyes.”
I grimaced at her words. That article. It was going to take ages for people to forget about it, and even then, they wouldn’t totally forget about it. They would bring it up for years to come, especially if Britain and I both stayed in Sunnyville.
I knew I planned to stick around, but I had no idea about her. I assumed yes if she was here, but history showed I didn’t totally know what she was going to do.
“The lunch was mainly a thank you. I had my own reasons for the rest.”
Eleanor nodded, like I’d said what she expected.
“Hold on to her,” she said, surprising me. “She’s a good girl, which I think you know. I’d make sure you didn’t lose it a second time.”
Before I could respond, she was up and walking down the sidewalk with a thump of her cane to a cluster of women that were eyeing me with a question in their eyes.
I watched my mentor join them and throw her head back in laughter before the group walked down the sidewalk and into a store a block down.
“Jesus,” I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face.
I quickly finished my coffee and tossed my trash before heading to my truck so I could head home. I still had a good bit of the day left and I could get some stuff done at home.
Once I was parked in the driveway and my truck was off, I glanced across the street to Britain’s parent’s house.
It had been a while since I’d been to see them, but I felt weird going over now knowing that they now knew who I was and that Britain was home. Would she have an issue with me visiting her folks?
I turned that question over in my head as I went inside, dumped my things, and tidied around the house. I kept looking out the front window at the house across the street, though.
When I finished my small list of things to do, I made my decision. If Britain had an issue with me seeing her parents, she could tell me. Otherwise, I was going to go over and see them. I’d been doing it since I moved in, and I didn’t want to stop now.
I quickly changed into fresh clothes after a quick shower to get the chemical smell off me. And then I was walking across the street and up the front walk to my neighbor’s house.
I knew they were home because I could see the old Buick Britain’s mom Rita drove. Her dad Steve had driven nowhere in a while, not since his diagnosis at least.
I knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer.
A few moments later, Rita opened it, surprise on her face.
“August! Honey, good to see you. Come in!”
She stepped back, and I opened the storm door, stepping into the cool interior of the house.
She wrapped her arms around me in a quick hug, which I returned, before releasing me so she could shut the door.
“Why aren’t you at work?” Rita asked, leading me through the house and to the kitchen.
“I found a dog that had been hit this morning. Took him to the vet clinic and called off work because of it.”
Rita sucked in a breath and looked at me, the fridge door open behind her. “Will he be okay?”
I nodded. “I think so. Britain can probably tell you more than I can. I know he had a broken leg, which they set, and some cuts. I don’t think there were any other problems.”
Rita blew out a breath and nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask her when she gets home. Why don’t you head out back to where Steve is with Sam and I’ll bring you some lemonade?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I pushed through their back door and found Steve sitting on the wicker couch, Sam laying at his feet. The dog raised his head and looked at me, his tail thumping the floorboards, but he didn’t get up.
Steve glanced at me and smiled tiredly. “August!”
It had been several weeks since I’d been by to see either of them, so it shocked me to see how pale Steve was.
“Hey, Steve,” I said as I sat in the armchair next to him. “How ya doing?”
“Not too bad,” he said. His voice wavered slightly, but I didn’t comment and I tried not to dwell on what it could mean.
“Here ya go. I’ll be inside. Holler if you need me,” Rita said, coming out with two glasses of lemonade and a small pitcher for refills.
“Thanks,” I said as I took a glass and sipped it.
Once she was back inside, I turned my attention back to Steve, looking him over more fully. He was paler, like I’d originally noticed, and he looked thinner. “How’s your treatment?” I asked him.
I knew he didn’t like to talk about it and he stayed true to form, wincing at my question and shifting in his seat.
“Same as always.”
“Steve,” I said, setting my glass down on the glass-topped coffee table and leaning forward, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I can look at you and tell that you’re struggling with something. Britain came home, which tells me a lot.”
Steve refused to meet my eyes, and I suppressed a sigh. I leaned back in my seat. I shouldn’t be surprised. He was a proud man that had worked hard his entire adult life to get what he had. He owned a business in town and was getting ready to retire when he got his diagnosis. The money that was supposed to see them through retirement was now being used to help pay for his medical treatments.
His business was gone, dissolved. He sold what he could, but most of it just went up in smoke when all was said and done. When he recovered, he wouldn’t even have that to go back to.
Luckily his insurance was still active and they hadn’t given him grief, but they were slow to catch up to the payments.
So, I knew he was stressed out and trying to shield Rita and Britain both from what was going on.
“Steve,” I said, softer this time. “I know you’re worried. But you can’t keep this bottled up. If you want to get better, you have to share and lean on others.”
We’d been having this conversation since he got diagnosed. And he always said he’d think about it, but never did.
However, today seemed to be different. Steve sighed and looked at me. I was taken aback by the redness around his eyes.
“My treatments are going okay. The docs are optimistic that I’ll be in remission soon.”
“That’s great,” I said with a smile.
Steve nodded. “It is. But they said that it could come back. In fact, there’s a high chance it will in a few years.”
A lead weight settled in my stomach.
“That’s different from what you were told initially.”
He nodded again. “Yeah.”
We were optimistic when they’d caught the cancer early. They said it should be an easy treatment, all things considered, and that he should be back on his feet in no time.
But that hadn’t held true.
They had caught it early, but it was aggressive, wiping Steve out quickly. In a matter of days, he’d gone from a healthy man to one that struggled to even get around the house. Rita had called me over a lot when he was first diagnosed to help until they could get things in place to help Steve get around the house.
Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World) Page 9