“Women aren’t supposed to say that out loud. But I don’t know why. We eat, too, don’t we? We have mortgages and car payments. And very expensive handbags.” She smiled at me. “Better?”
I squashed the paper towels into a soggy ball in my fist and nodded.
“Ava. Do you think they’re going to fire people?”
Her smile fled.
“Yes.”
“Me?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “The truth is, you’re expensive to keep around, Grace. And you missed a lot of work at first, took a lot of personal days—”
“But that wasn’t my fault,” I protested. “Jamie’s accident was . . . an accident. My husband nearly died! He was in a coma for weeks. What was I supposed to do? Yes, I know his care has been expensive. But the insurance—”
“Goes up every single year,” Ava said. “Like clockwork. When a company has an employee with extraordinarily expensive and ongoing medical bills, then the clockwork moves even faster and the rates climb even higher for the whole company.”
The nausea returned. I pressed the ball of soggy paper towels to my neck.
“But Mr. Hanson never said—”
Ava tilted her head to the side. She wouldn’t divulge private conversations within management, but she didn’t have to. Her face said it all. I’d been a topic of conversation in the past and it was likely that I would be again in the future. The reason I so desperately needed this job, the good insurance coverage that provided for Jamie’s care, was the thing that jeopardized my chances of keeping it.
“You really think they’d fire me?”
“I think they’d fire anybody who doesn’t add to the bottom line. Including me.”
“What should I do?”
She gave me that same look, the deciding-how-much-to-say look.
“The only thing you can do, Grace. Become indispensable.”
Chapter 10
Nan
I didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning, worrying about Dani. How was she? Where was she?
In the morning, the skies were, if not exactly blue, a lighter shade of gray than usual, so I quickly did my chores, grabbed two leashes from the hook by the back door, and jingled my keys. Blixen, who knew the signal, jumped from her bed and came running, excited to go for a ride. Nelson followed, his legs moving like pistons as he tried to keep pace, excited because his new friend was excited.
Though the famous rose gardens were dormant at that time of year, the bushes cut back and the branches bare, Washington Park was still a nice place for a walk. The grass was green and spongy beneath my feet, the air perfumed by the rich loam of the flowerbeds and a whiff of pine from nearby stands of evergreens. We walked for over an hour, until I was sure both pups got a good workout, then drove over to Hillside Animal Hospital for Nelson’s checkup.
Hillside is on the other side of the river from my place, but I’d gone there for years. Dr. Kelly is a great vet. He’s originally from Scotland but doesn’t have much of an accent anymore, not unless he decides to put it on, as he often does when he’s joking. It’s a plus when your vet is smart and has a sense of humor. And nice. He gives me discounts on medication and services for all of my foster dogs.
Dr. Kelly clicked the light on his otoscope and peered into Nelson’s ears. “Good boy. Thanks for holding still. Uh-oh. That left ear is a little infected.” He looked up at me. “I’ll give you a prescription for that and we’ll give him a rabies booster today. The teeth need cleaning too. Other than that, he looks good. You find a home for him yet?”
“Not yet. You’re not in the market for a new best friend, are you, Malcolm?”
“Tempting. As always.” He patted Nelson’s back. “If I adopted every wee doggie you brought to my office, I’d need to buy stock in a kibble company. But let’s take a snapshot of Mr. Nelson and pin it to the bulletin board. Somebody is sure to fall in love with him before long. You’re such a handsome lad, aren’t you, Nelson?”
Nelson panted in agreement.
“Thanks, Malcolm. Now, about his teeth—how much will it cost for the cleaning? The rescue is running a little low on funds just now—”
“Don’t worry about the bill right now, Nan. We’ll work something out.”
I repeated my thanks and scooped Nelson off of the examining table. Blixen walked over to Malcolm and nosed his hand.
“I’m sorry, Blix,” he said, reaching down to give her a pat. “I didn’t mean to neglect you. Have you been taking good care of your visitor?”
“Very,” I said. “She’s always so protective of the new ones.”
Malcolm got down on his haunches and rubbed Blixen’s head with both hands. Nelson put a paw on Malcolm’s leg, demanding his share of the attention.
“All right. A hand for each.” Malcolm grinned and started petting both dogs. “So how’re you, Nan? How’s the family?”
“Fine, everybody’s fine. I wish they lived closer, of course. But what can you do? They’ve got to go where the work is.”
“How’s Dani doing? Have you heard from her recently?”
“Oh . . . yes. She called the other day. Still backpacking around the country, trying to find herself. You know how kids are.”
“Well, if you’re going to travel, do it while you’re young. You’ve got your whole life to work, right? Did she ever apply to vet school?”
“She’s thinking about it.” I shrugged. “But, you know. Hard to get in.”
“If she ever wants a recommendation, I’d be happy to help. She was one of the best assistants I ever had. She’d make a great vet.”
“Malcolm,” I said, smiling in spite of myself, “she cleaned kennels and wrangled cats for you for one summer when she was sixteen.”
He disentangled himself from the dogs and got to his feet.
“But she had a feel for it, very gentle she was. And a hard worker. I’d write her a recommendation in a heartbeat.” He frowned a little,
