Admiring the Light

Ep 10

Hands over her mouth, Natalie watched, frozen from all this. "What the... oh my gosh... CALLIE..." She finally managed to run up to her pitbull, trying to see Callie's injuries. And other than the old dog having a lot of scrapes, she noticed, it seemed that any horrible injury had been narrowly avoided.

"Why the fuck did that mutt run out behind my car??" Katherine offered no comfort or support, but Natalie hadn't expected any as her mother stepped out of her black SUV. The "police" stickers had long fallen off. "She's selfless... and she put herself in danger to save a cat."

"Cat? I didn't see any damn cats. Your excuses for it won't-"

"*Mom.* Please... if you're not going to help me and bring us to the vet, I...*really* don't feel like doing this right now with you." She gingerly laid a hand on her brown fur, but had to stop the tears from pouring when that yelp cut right through her. "We're gonna get you all fixed up, right? All better... who's the best doggy?" Scratching behind her floppy ears seemed to get Callie to perk up, a good sign.

"Yeahhh, is Callie the best? I think so!" She held her breath, her dog could shakily get to her feet, three legs wobbling a bit but still upright. Callie's side all scraped up from skidding on the asphalt, that seemed to be the only damage that Natalie could see. "I'm gonna get you to the doctor... best girlie deserves the world, not me." She scrolled through her contacts.

And she didn't even need to wait, the other end picked up after the first ring. "'Ello? Helping Hands Vet Services?"

"Hey, Becky, do y'all take walk-ins? My pitbull Callie... she got hit." Natalie couldn't just iron out the quiver in her voice. "Of course, Natalie. Bring her right in."

"Aight, thank you. Have a good day!" It didn't matter how she was feeling, kindness came before that for her. And especially for people she knew closely, pretty much everyone. "Alright, girlie... come on! Yeah!" She tried to encourage the old dog as she trudged along. Any other day she would've felt mildly inconvenienced, but this had been an accident, a horrible accident.

"Just gonna..." Her hand quickly cocked open the back door of her truck, as Callie lumbered up and made herself comfortable on a rugged blanket. "Yeah... might be a bit scratchy, I'm sorry, girlie. But that's better than asphalt..." She hoped the gravel hadn't gotten into the pitbull's wounds.

"Are you just gonna stand there, Mom?" Natalie's eyes flicked back as she clutched a rosary in her other hand. But she sighed when her mom just stalked inside. "As we forgive those who trespass against us... and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil-" Uttering her prayers as she started her truck, the whole 30 minute ride there, anything that might help her poor dog.

"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners- now and at the hour of our death." Parking seemed tighter today as she squeezed her Tacoma between two SUVs.

"How we doing back there, girlie?" She threw the truck into park. But as she clicked open the back door, the little pitbull seemed frozen as she laid there, curled up like she was sleeping. "CALLIE- SHIT-"

Her hands responded faster than her thoughts, rubbing around in her fur until she perked up. "Oh my gosh..." She clung to her in a hug. "Oh my gosh..."

Natalie didn't even need to clip the leash on, Callie willingly followed as she hobbled up beside her teen, up the ramp to the front door. "After you, girlie-"

...

"Ayyy!" Natalie exchanged hands with the vet she'd been going to for years now. "Ayyy, girl, what's up? Callie took a beating?"

"Yeah... she got bonked onto the pavement. My mom backed into her..." She sighed. "Damn, just didn't look?"

"Nah, she ran out so this cat didn't get run over. She saved its life." Natalie watched her dog try and lay down, only greeted with flinching and whimpers. "Girl, I remember the day we vaccinated her for the first time. Spunkiest little puppy I'd seen. I expect nothing less than heroics from her." He took a moment to look the pitbull over.