What if I ain't no violinist?

74. Twoset Veterinarian II

At the breakfast table, Eddy was sipping his coffee while flicking through his phone.  He then remembered something he had to ask his boyfriend to do for him.  He looked up to glance at his boyfriend who sat across him at the table then he returned his gaze to his phone as he continued to flick for something.

"Brett, would you mind taking Nini to the dentist, please?"

Nini was their cat. They had two cats, Pag and Nini, both named after Paganini.

Brett stopped chewing on his toast and looked towards Eddy.

"...Nini needs to go to the dentist ?"

"..Yah?"

Eddy replied absentmindedly with his eyes still on his phone.  It was as if Brett just asked the most obvious question.

"...Um... excuse my ignorance Eddy, but.. can't you treat her? You're her vet?"

"...No, she needs to go and see a feline dental specialist."

Brett looked confused.

"...You're f*cking with me, right ?"

"....What?"

Eddy finally looked up.

"What? Oh my god, stop talking saucy to me, I'm serious."

".. Geez, okay, so you weren't kidding me when you said Nini had to go and see a feline dental specialist???"

Eddy sighed.

"No, I was not kidding, why would I ? So, here, I finally found the details. I'll send it to you - can you call them and book her in and take her, please ? I've already emailed them a referral."

"O..kay..."

"Good morning. Dr Wang's surgery."

"Um.. is this the cat dentist ?"

"Yes, Dr Wang is a feline dental specialist."

"Great, um, I'd like to book in my cat for an appointment please."

"Name?"

"Brett. Brett Yang."

"Ok, do you have a referral?"

"Yes... my vet, Dr E Chen would've emailed your office."

"Let's see... oh yes here it is, Dr Chen, Morrisville Veterinary Clinic? No worries, how does 11am today sound?"

"Perfect, see you then."

"Hi, I'm here for an 11 o'clock appointment..."

Brett was greeted by a very bubbly receptionist who got out of her chair and came around the counter to greet him.

"Oh hi! Nini isn't it !? Lovely to meet you!!!"

She then proceeded to talk into the carrier that Brett held.

"Oh and this must be Brett!!! Hello gorgeous..!!"

Oh my f*cking god

Brett wasn't sure where to start.

"Um... no, sorry you must have gotten our names mixed up at the booking, I'm Brett and this is Nini...."

"Oh my god!!!! Oh, I'm so sorry... look, I was a bit confused at first cos it said in the referral that your cat was female but on the appointment card it said Brett. But you see, sometimes people like to give their female cat's boy's names, it's a free country after all, right ? And because your surname was Yang, Nini sounded like a perfectly legitimate name for you..."

Brett had no idea how to respond.

Brett started venting as soon as Eddy got home from work. They were sitting on the sofa.

"...Eddy, look, like, I'd get it if your name was Kitty and our cat's name was Eddy, or if my name was Rover and our dog's name was Brett, right ? In such instances, I'd accept it if the receptionist got our names mixed up. But c'mon, Brett and Nini? Who takes Brett as a cat's name when you could take Nini!?!?!??! And does Nini even sound like a Chinese name !?!?!?"

Eddy, as Brett anticipated, was in stitches. He was saying things that were inaudible as he was gasping to breathe at the same time. Eventually, he was able to string a few words together.

"Brett... it never ceases to amaze me... as to how you can repetitively get into.. weird sh*t like this."

Brett was pissed for many reasons. Eddy's comment didn't help.

"Y'know what, Eddy? That clinic had a Chinese doctor and the receptionist was also Chinese background. Her name tag said Tiffany Wang. She could be the feline dentist's daughter or somethin'. But even if I took in our cat that was named Maomao, I betcha she would've still called our cat Brett and called me frickin' Maomao!!!"

"Stop it.. Brett.. please.. you're killing me..."

"WHO THE F*CK NAMES THEIR FEMALE CAT BRETT!?!?!?"

"Oh my god, oh my god Brett, stop... Oh my god our neighbours are gonna wonder what we're up to."

"Oh my god Eddy, get a grip of yourself. Besides, this is all your fault !!"

"Huh !?!?!? Why me??"

"Cos there's no other way they could've gotten our names confused! You must have written in your referral letter that you wanted an appointment for Brett Yang, thinking you were doing a favour for your boyfriend, didn't you? Instead, you got me a booking with a frickin' feline dental specialist !!!!"

"Oh my god so it's my fault??!? ...But hang on, I don't remember writing your name in the referral email. I've never written the name of the person who brings in the animal.... What, why ? Y'know, cos we could end up asking our neighbour to bring in our cats to the vet.  So from a vet's perspective, the human merely acts as the transportation for the animal.   Oh, Brett don't look at me like that !!  Oh, c'mon, you're dating a vet, you know I'm more pro-animal than pro-human... okay, you're an exception, Brett, I swear, okay??? Geez.  So, what name exactly did you give to them when you made the appointment?"

"....Sh*t."

"What?"

"I said ....Brett Yang."

Eddy kept howling for another good 5 minutes while Brett pouted.