“Sit tight, Mordecai. Let me go inside and get the baby and the car keys. We’re gonna get you some help.”
The one thing she could say in favor of the monstrous Chrysler New Yorker Big Ben had bought was that it was a vehicle of sufficient size to comfortably transport a toddler and a rottweiler. Lily’s old Honda, which was sitting unused in the condo parking lot in Atlanta, barely had enough room for her and Mimi, let alone a one-hundred-eighty-pound dog. She had wrapped Mordecai’s paw in a clean towel.
Even so, she was sure he was bleeding all over the car’s plush upholstery. She knew this kind of thing would cause Ben to have a hissy fit, but she didn’t care. The day she cared more about personal property than living things was the day she’d have her woman’s symbol tattoo removed and become a cheeseburger-chomping Republican.
After Lily was already on the road, it occurred to her that she could have called Jeanie and asked who Mordecai’s regular vet was. But it was too late for that. Since he was losing blood, expediency seemed the best path. Down the road from the sock mill, she had noticed a green double-wide trailer with a sign,
FAULKNER COUNTY ANIMAL CLINIC. Lily hoped they would see animals on an emergency basis.
Once they arrived, Lily had no doubt that the Faulkner County Animal Clinic was where Mordecai went for his shots and checkups. He had been exceptionally cooperative about getting into the car at the house, but now, at the sight of the foreboding trailer, he froze in terror. Being careful to avoid his hurt foot, Mimi tried to pull him out of the car, but it was impossible. His huge muscles were locked, such that moving him was as impossible as moving a heavy marble statue.
“Okay, fine. You wait here.” She left the window cracked for the obstinate canine and freed Mimi from her car seat. Mimi grabbed her hand and toddled alongside her to the trailer’s entrance.
A round old lady with a pink slash of lipstick on her puckered mouth sat at the desk in the paneled waiting room. “May I help you, dear?” she asked, through puckered lips.
“Um, yes, I hope so,” Lily said. “I don’t have an appointment, but I have an injured dog in the car.
He’s Big Ben McGilly’s —”
“Mordecai?” the old lady asked.
Lily was amazed. She had already discovered that every person knew every other person in this town, but until now, she hadn’t realized that this knowledge extended to lower members of the animal kingdom. “Yes, that’s him.”
“Well, you can bring him on in.”
“Well, actually, I can’t. He won’t budge from the car.”
The old lady smiled. “Well, I guess if Mordecai doesn’t want to move, it’s kinda hard to make him. Have a seat. I’ll get Dr. Jack to help you.”
Lily sat down on a green vinyl chair. Mimi stood at the waiting room’s coffee table, clearly fascinated by the lamp that sat on it. A ginger jar lamp, its clear glass base was filled with dog biscuits.
The old lady, who had disappeared into the back of the trailer, returned to her post at the desk.
“The doctor’ll be with you in a minute.”
Moments later, Lily looked up as she heard the sound of boots clomping down the linoleum-floored hall. Looking down the dimly lighted corridor, Lily saw that Dr. Jack was a muscular but short man, wearing blue coveralls and a pair of dirt-caked brown cowboy boots.
