The Question
After work, Tom went back to his apartment to change and freshen up before dinner. He and Meghan left the office together. As she climbed into her car, he kissed her cheek and said, “See you this evening.”
Seconds later, they pulled out of the parking lot, one behind the other. She turned left; he turned right.
On the drive to his apartment, Tom thought through how he would broach the subject. He couldn’t just come at it out of the blue. There had to be some kind of groundwork, something to spark the conversation.
An opportunity for a better future?
He didn’t waste a lot of time thinking that one over, because positioning it in such a way could imply he held the Snip ’N’ Save in low regard. Definitely not a good idea.
An opportunity to do something she loves?
Not a good enough argument. She’d loved working at the Snip ’N’ Save. It’s possible she still did.
After a certain amount of consideration, he settled on starting with the story of how she’d plucked a rusty nail from Chelsea’s paw and how without anyone telling her to do so, she’d come up with the idea of bandaging the paw in a baby sock. He’d tell the story as they were gathered at the dinner table and then move on to saying such a talent was a God-given gift. Later on when they were alone, pushing back and forth on the porch swing or maybe sitting on the grassy bank of the lake, he would return to the subject and ask the question.
Confident he’d hit upon the perfect plan, he pulled a soft blue shirt from the closet and finished dressing. On the drive over, he stopped and bought a potted chrysanthemum. He’d give it to Tracy and say it was a token of his appreciation for her covering work at the Snip ’N’ Save this week so Meghan could sub for Emily.
It was a fifteen-minute drive, and by the time he turned down Baker Street, he was certain he’d covered all the bases, but when he pulled into the driveway, there was an unfamiliar car parked there.
Could it be Dominic? Tom had never met him. Still, he’d heard enough about the angry phone calls to know that his showing up would not be a good thing. Tom climbed out of the car, drew a deep breath, then grabbed the chrysanthemum and started for the door. Meghan answered his knock and didn’t look the least bit upset. Tom brushed a kiss across her lips, wrapped his free arm around her, and leaned toward her ear.
“Whose car is in the driveway?” he whispered.
“Aunt Phoebe came with a gentleman friend tonight,” she said in a hushed voice. “But don’t let on that it’s anything out of the ordinary, or you’ll embarrass her.”
“Why? Doesn’t she—”
Meghan hushed him as they rounded the corner and stepped into the living room. A silver-haired man in a navy blazer and gray slacks stood and looked across with a broad smile.
“Ah, so this is the young veterinarian Phoebe has been telling me about.” Without waiting for anyone to do the introductions, he stretched his arm out and started toward them. Pumping Tom’s hand up and down, he said, “Charles Franklin, Esquire. Retired.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Tom replied.
Seconds later, Lila came in carrying a tray of glasses and bottles of both white and red wine. Setting the tray on the coffee table, she turned to Meghan.
“Dear, will you pour the drinks while I fetch the hors d’oeuvres from the oven?”
“Certainly,” she said, then asked Charles what he’d prefer.
“Is that a French or Italian pinot noir?” he asked.
Meghan checked the label. “French.”
“Ah, well then, my decision is made.” When Meghan handed him the glass of wine, he held it up and eyed the color.
“Beautiful,” he said. Then, bringing the glass to his nose, he sniffed the aroma. “Ah, the earthy fragrance of mushrooms and fresh-picked cherries. Delightfully familiar.” Before she’d filled the remaining glasses, Charles launched into a story of traveling through the south of France on a wine-tasting excursion.
He’d barely finished the story when Phoebe jumped in and told how Charles was organizing a wine-tasting group at the apartment complex.
“We’ll meet once a month, and everyone will bring a bottle of their favorite. Charles says the secret to a successful wine tasting is to serve a small savory between each sampling. A French cheese, like a Boursin or a Camembert.”
After everyone had a glass of wine in hand, Charles proposed a toast and felt compelled to say it in French.
“À votre bonheur et à votre santé.”
Charles continued on, telling of first one exploit and then another until at long last Lila announced dinner was on the table.
They stood and started toward the dining room. Tom, hoping to divert the topic of conversation from Charles’s travels, said, “Well, it’s been nice hearing about those adventures. I know you probably have hundreds more, and maybe sometime in the future—”
“He most certainly does,” Phoebe said. “Although Charles is modest to a fault, I can tell you he’s extremely well read and very involved at the library. That’s how we met. He’s going to chair next year’s lecture series.”
Charles reached over and patted her hand. “My dear, you flatter me.”
He then seized the opportunity to segue into a lengthy description of the plans he had for the series.
Throughout the salad, leg of lamb, garlic smashed potatoes, and string beans, there was not a single opening for Tom to bring up the subject of Meghan’s skill with animals. When Charles launched into a story of cattle grazing on the hillside, Tom thought there might be a slim chance, but that story led to the description of a centuries-old farmhouse. By the time Lila brought out dessert, Lucas, who’d been sitting in his high chair for way too long, started banging on the tray. Anxious to finish dinner and get him off to bed, Tracy jumped up and started for the kitchen.
“I’ll get the coffee, Mama,” she said.
Lucas screeched, then held out his arms and cried, “Ma-ma!”
Tracy whirled around on her heel. “Did you hear that? He said mama.”
“He surely did,” Lila agreed. “Clear as a bell!”
For the first time that evening, Charles leaned back in his chair and stopped talking.
“Say it again, baby,” Tracy urged. “Mama. Come on, one more time.”
Lucas impatiently bucked back and forth with his arms held out for her to pick him up, then cried, “Ma-ma.”
Tracy lifted him from the high chair and turned to the group.
“It’s his first word,” she said proudly.
At that point, the conversation turned to Lucas and all that had happened. Tracy told of how Sox barking had caused Meghan to suspect Lucas wasn’t hearing.
Thinking this could be an opportunity, Tom said, “Yes, Meghan is wonderful with animals. Why, just today—”
Before he could even get started, Tracy moved on to telling how Meghan had introduced them to Gabriel Hawke.
Tom resigned himself to the thought that later, when he and Meghan were alone, he would talk to her about it. Even if he hadn’t been able to bring it up at dinner and get some support from Lila and Tracy, the incident was still fresh in Meghan’s mind. She’d have to see the value of such an idea.
After the table was cleared and the dishwasher loaded, everyone except Tracy moved toward the living room. She headed upstairs with Lucas.
Not wanting to give Charles the chance to start another long-winded story, Tom said, “I hope you’ll excuse us. Meghan and I were planning to take a walk down to the lake. You know, stretch our legs after sitting for so long.”
“By George, that sounds like a splendid idea.” Charles patted his stomach as if it were a drum. “Work off a few calories after that meal.”
“Do you mind if Charles and I join you?” Phoebe asked.
Noticing the look of disappointment on Tom’s face, Meghan gave a polite smile. It was obvious that he wanted some alone time with her as much as she wanted it with him, but the situation had no easy exit.
“Why, of course not,” she said. “We’d love to have you.”
“Count me out,” Lila volunteered. “I’m bushed. Lucas is an early riser, and I like to be there when he wakes up.”
They slipped on sweaters and started down the block. Before they were halfway to the corner, Charles began telling of a trip to Germany where, before the wall came down, he’d seen barbed-wire fences. In the middle of his describing how the soldiers stood ready to shoot, Meghan suggested it might be a bit nippy for the lake.
“Let’s just go to the far end of Baker Street and back,” she said.
Tom gave a weary nod of agreement.
For the remainder of that week, Meghan worked at the clinic. While there were a few instances where she calmed a nervous animal or weighed a dog that refused to step onto the scale, there was nothing quite as notable as what she’d done with Chelsea. Had there been another such incident, Tom would have brought up the issue right then and there.
Thinking perhaps he might have missed something while he was with a patient, on Thursday afternoon he asked, “Anything unusual happen yesterday or today?”
She shook her head. “Nothing worth telling about.”
“No more rusty nails?”
Meghan gave him a playful nudge.
“Come on,” she said, laughing. “I know you’re just teasing me.”
“No, I’m not,” Tom replied, suppressing a sigh.
On Friday, Emily called to say she was feeling quite a bit better and would be returning to work on Monday.
“Glad to hear it,” Tom replied in a flat, rather unenthusiastic voice.
Spurred on by the knowledge that this would be their last afternoon of working together, Tom waited until Meghan was settled in her spot at the reception desk, then suggested they commemorate the week with dinner at the Starlight Lounge.
“Not many people could have stepped in and taken over as you did,” he said. “Pulling that nail out of Chelsea’s paw showed real skill.”
Meghan laughed. “Are you gonna keep teasing me about that forever? I’ve already said I was sorry.”
“No, no. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Caring for an animal that way is a God-given gift. It’s something to celebrate, not be sorry about.”
He’d planned to wait until they were at the Starlight Lounge, maybe start with a glass of wine, relax with a plate of canapés, and then creep up on the subject. But now here he was, smack in the middle of what he’d planned to say. He had to continue.
“You have a way with animals. They trust you. Not everybody has that. Look at the way Sox follows you place to place.”
“Well, of course he does; he’s my dog.”
“It’s not just Sox. What about Bruiser? If anybody else tried to walk him on a leash, he’d be snapping and snarling, but he let you do it because he trusted you. And that day with Agatha’s cat. You knew right off she had a hairball.”
Meghan scrunched her nose and eyed him with a look of bewilderment. “I don’t see what—”
“I’m planning to grow the business,” he continued on, “and before long I’m going to need a full-time assistant.”
“You’ve got Emily. She’s coming back on Monday.”
“Emily’s a receptionist. She’s great with the customers but has no interest whatsoever in working with animals. I need someone to assist me, somebody who can step in for surgeries.”
“So you’re planning to hire another vet?”
“Dammit, no, Meghan, I’m asking you to do it.”
She gasped. “Me? I don’t know one end of a scalpel from the other. Pulling a nail out of a dog’s paw is one thing, but—”
He took her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Stop talking and let me explain. I’d like to sponsor you to become certified as a veterinary technician. You can do most of the course work online and get the necessary hands-on experience here working with me.”
She looked at him with her eyes wide.
“What about the Snip ’N’ Save?” she said.
Tom cringed. It was the one answer he feared.
“I know how much the Snip ’N’ Save has meant to you, but Tracy seems happy doing it, and she’s got Sheldon.”
“What if Tracy leaves? What if after Lucas finishes his therapy, she decides to go back to Philadelphia? Daddy built the Snip ’N’ Save. I can’t just walk off and let it die.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her close.
“I know you can’t,” he said solemnly. “I would never ask you to, but maybe you could talk to Tracy, ask if she’s planning to stay, and see if she’d be interested in taking over.”
“What if she says yes now and then two or three years from now—”
“If that happens and you want to go back, I won’t stop you.”
“You won’t be angry or disappointed?”
He gave a small, almost regretful-sounding laugh.
“I can’t swear I won’t be disappointed,” he said. “But I can promise you I won’t be angry. Even though I believe you have a unique gift for working with animals, your happiness is far more important than my keeping or losing an assistant.”
Meghan hesitated. “This is so sudden; I need time to think it over. I’ve got the Snip ’N’ Save to consider. I can’t just walk away. I have to make certain Tracy is ready to handle the magazine alone and is really going to stay.” Even as Meghan spoke of these concerns, the idea of working at the clinic, day after day, week after week, was filling her heart with a warm glow.
That evening they didn’t go to the Starlight Lounge. Meghan suggested they save such an extravagance for when they were in more of a celebratory mood. Even though there was a chill in the air, they went back to the Garden. As they sat beneath the stars and drank hot cider spiced with cinnamon sticks, she thought back on that first night and how over the months they had come to mean so much to each other.
Meghan didn’t doubt her fondness for Tom, and it was true she had a soft spot in her heart for animals. But how could she leave the Snip ’N’ Save? Over the years, the magazine had come to be a part of her. Walking away would be like tearing loose an arm or a leg.
Besides, it was the only piece of her daddy she had left.