In the full light of the waiting room, however, Lily saw that Dr. Jack wasn’t a man at all.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m Dr. Jack Jennings. How you doing?” She extended her hand to shake. Her close-cropped brown hair and square jaw made it easy to mistake her for a man at a distance. But close up, the smoothness of her cheeks made it clear she was a woman. Lily shook her hand, which, while big, was too soft to be a man’s.
“You okay?” Dr. Jack asked.
“Um... yeah. Fine.” If Lily had seen a woman who looked like Jack at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, she barely would have noticed her. But here in Versailles, where most premenopausal women were hyperfeminine slaves to Mary Kay cosmetics and the tanning bed, seeing a butch was shocking — like seeing a bull-mastiff in a litter of poodles.
“You thought I was gonna be a man, didn’t you?” Dr. Jack sized up Lily with clear blue eyes.
“Um... yeah, I guess so. Just from the name and all.”
Dr. Jack looked stern suddenly. “Now I hope you don’t think that being a woman makes me less of a vet.”
“Oh, gosh, no,” Lily said quickly. “I mean, I minored in women’s studies in college.” What an idiotic thing to say, she thought. But it was too late; she’d already said it.
“So... Mordecai’s out in your car?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, it looks like you’ve got your hands full with your little girl there.” She looked down at Mimi. “Hi, doll face.” She smiled at Mimi for a second, then looked back up at Lily. “So, if you’d give me your keys, I can just run out and get ole Mordecai for you.”
Lily handed over the keys.
Jack flashed her a gap-toothed grin. “I’m not a car thief, I promise.” She propped open the screen door and disappeared outside. In a couple of minutes, she was back, carrying the one-hundred-eighty-pound dog as if he weighed no more than Mimi. She nodded at Lily. “Why don’t y’all just follow me back to the exam room?”
In the examination room, Dr. Jack set Mordecai down on a long metal table. “I’m not exactly Mordecai’s favorite person, but he knows he’s hurt and needs help, so he’ll listen to reason.” Mordecai emitted a low growl as Dr. Jack cleaned his injuries.
“How bad is it?” Lily asked.
“Could be worse. He’s gonna need a few stitches, though. We’ll numb him, sew him up, give him a tetanus shot. He’ll be all right.” She looked at Mimi, then at Lily. “The sewing part’s not pretty, though.
You can wait outside if you’re squeamish.”
Lily reached out to pat Mordecai’s big head. “I’ll stay, if it’s okay. Just in case he wants me here.”
“Sure.” Dr. Jack opened the refrigerator in the corner, which was full of medicine bottles. She selected a bottle and closed the door. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, how come you’re the one bringing Mordecai in? Big Ben or Jeanie usually brings him.”
