The Unexpected (Book 3) ~MxM~

Rainy days

Oliver

On a Friday like this one? I close the clinic at seven instead of eight or seven thirty.
No,I'm not a doctor for humans but animals. Cute and fluffy pets to be precise. It's a good way to spend your life,just treating the harmless things.
A smile spreads on my lips as I think about it. Even as rain pours outside in the parking lot I hum while I mop the floor for the last time today.
I'm happy I get to choose when I close and open the Clinic. Being the boss feels good. A little hard but good.
Once things calm down a little,life will be even better.
I grab my phone from the counter and play some old pop music,it's best on a rainy day anyway. When the sound of the music fills the waiting room I dance around a little pretending that the mop stick is my microphone and the rubber yellow dish gloves are my stage costume. I sway my hips around and do a myriad of clumsily dances because there's no one but the animals to see me dance like I've lost my mind.
My regular audience.
I pull of the hair tie keeping my locs up in a bun and start throwing my hair back and forth doing a butchered choreography. I know I don't look as hot as I feel,because frog green crocs,blue scrubs,messy hair (not in a good way),and yellow gloves is definitely not a good look.
In the midst of me shaking around the door to the Clinic opens with a jingle of the doors bell. I turn off the music and tie my hair up at frightening speed,"Welcome to the clinic -"my rehearsed words die on my tongue when I don't see anyone in the door way. Left to right there's no one there. I might be seeing it wrong but I have my glasses on so -
"Hello,"a tiny voice says and I look down and find a child staring at me with big brown round eyes. She blinks a couple of times as I wallow in my shock. I take her in, colourful pink pins in water logged curls that have been tied up into two neat pig tails. Strands of hair cling to her face,her lashes heavy with a couple droplets of rain water.
Even though she tries to hide it,she's shivering. She holds herself because of how cold she is but I know that it won't help. Her clothes aren't of much help in the state their in,soaked. My heart forgets to think about where she came from and aches for her instead.
Taking my white lab coat,I drape it over her shoulders,she flinches at my action of making sure it's neat. It looks stupid.
It's so big over her small frame,falling all over the place like I just covered her in a bed sheet. I laugh at it,and so does she. We laugh together for a second,when her giggles subside I get serious,"How did you get here?"
"I - that's not important!"she says sternly placing her hands on her hips like an adult would. Interesting. "I came because,I saw your Clinic on a commercial."
"A commercial?"my clinic didn't pay for any commercials or advertising. We just relied on the location of the building and a little word of mouth.
"Well,it was on TV. They said clinics like yours provide service dogs."she says with a look I think is supposed to be serious but looks adorable instead. I can't resist the urget to undo the braids in her hair to try to dry the curls,
"We do."I say working on her hair,"Why do you need a service dog?"I ask,
"I - I have a problem. Daddy says I don't have a problem that I'm okay but I'm not. He says I don't need a service dog. So I need you to do me a favour."she concludes with a determined look in her eyes,
"This daddy sounds a little mean. What favour do you need?"I ask playing along with her determination,I keep at de-tangling her hair dividing my attention between that and the conversation. It's not hard because her curls seem to be well taken care of.
"He's not mean! He- he's a nice dad. The best dad ever,actually. But he's having a hard time accepting my problem. He won't admit it though,because he wants to look all big and strong."she exclaims defensively sitting on the floor where I sit with her. She seems so comfortable with a stranger so quickly,no wonder this daddy of hers is so protective. I smile to myself,
"Is he big and strong? Or does he just pretend?"
"Nope! He is. But he gets scared sometimes, like other people."
"Hmm,so the favour is me giving you a service dog."
"Yeah... but could it be without money? I - promise I can do other things. Like draw,I draw really really well,I can clean anything as long as you teach me how. And I can read stories too. As long as you give me a dog. That's it."she says her hands flailing all over as she explains,
"Hmm,and can daddy not pay for it? I'm sure you can convince him."
"I already used up all my sprinkle points to get us to go to the restaurant across the street so I could come here. Now,he's gonna be mad and not give me any more -"
"Wait just a second sweetheart did you just say sprinkle points? What is that?"she shows me a toothy grin that kids have when they realise someone is listening to them and actually paying attention. Her eyes sparkling,
"It's what we use when we want things from each other,like I can give him some of mine if I want candy and he can give me some of his if he wants me to go to bed early."she explains,
"And where do they come from?"
"When we do nice things for each other. See,if daddy cooks me breakfast or reads me bed time story he gets like,at least ten of them. And if I give him a hug or some of my snacks I also get ten."
This mean daddy seems to be extremely creative with methods of getting her to do things. My smile grows,
"Okay so - you used all you had to get with to take you to a restaurant?"I finish up tying her hair into cute little puffs. She nods her head,"So you can't use them anymore cause theirs none? Tough stuff!"
"See? You get it. Daddy would've just told me that I should learn to calculate things better."she laments,pouting her lips,"So you'll help me right? I promise I'll return the favour!"she gives me another smile but just as I'm about to tell her what I think we should do the door to the Clinic opens again.
The jingle accompanied by the sound of combat boot stomping on the floor and water dripping everywhere. My eyes follow upwards over long legs covered in black denim. A black shirt glues to the man's skin showing the outline of a muscular torso. "Parvati."a deep voice says,almost like a warning.
Parvati. The girl's name is Parvati.
And this man must be the infamous dad.
Tall,with a lean muscular build from where we sit on the floor he looks like a tower. His chest heaving like he ran here,his dark hair sticks to his forehead because he must've had an argument with the weather on the way. His face might be extremely different from Parvati's,her round eyes and heart shaped face with oval like eye brow sockets.
While he has a much more sharp array of features. His cheek bones hollow just slightly,his jaw is sharp enough that you know even from the front. Hunter eyes with black irises. That's all I need to know,the length of their lashes so impressive that they both catch water over them. And deep copper skin. Not the time but he's attractive. And strangely familiar. Like I've seen him before...
Although hers is lighter,it's obvious that the pair is father and daughter.
I struggle to find something to say to him,his expression seems like theirs a film of a storm cloud around everything. Anger radiates from him like fire,his fists ball and release continuously at his sides. "Do you have any idea of what you've done Pari?"even though he's angry he doesn't raise his voice too much. When he takes one step closer Parvati jumps into my arms and hides her face away from him. He looks exasperated for a moment before calling out again,"Parvati."like another warning that she doesn't heed. But with the way she's shaking,she seems like she wants to.
"I'm not going back!"
"And where do you want to stay?"he asks running a hand through damp hair. Even though it's inappropriate,I insert myself in their conversation,
"She came to me about a service dog. That's all. Nothing bad happened."instinctively,I wrap my hands around her and rub her back when the crying trembling starts. My words don't ease him but instead make it worse. His brows knit further as he starts to pace,back and forth holding his head like its aching.
"So this was all a plan? To trick me? Why couldn't you just ask me,bean?"there's desperation in his voice. Like this isn't the first time. This feels like a peak into something sacred,a relationship and its flaws so me being here is like an intrusion. But what are we to do? She won't let go of me.
Her little arms only squeeze harder.
"Because you never listen anymore! You just want to keep me locked up all the time."
"When have I ever done that?"
"All the time! Ever since the doctors you've been the worst! The worst! You're not a bad daddy,you're the worst daddy!"her words make the tension stretch thin. The expression on his face turns from mad to... sorrowful. His gaze softens but he can't move,his shoulders slumps downwards.
My heart starts to ache as I watch him struggle to say something.
I almost want to tell him that just a moment ago you were the best to her and she's just saying it,she doesn't mean it. But I doubt it would help. To hear your own daughter say that you're the worst parent to her must hurt like hell.
What is even going on with these two? Why can't they just talk it out?
"Let's go home Pari. Let's talk about this at home,okay? Just don't run away anymore,it makes me worried about you."his gets down on one knee so he can be closer to her. He places one hand over her back,"Pari?"he calls once with a little shake,the sadness in his eyes growing deeper.
I really am intruding on a sensitive moment.
Parvati starts to let go of me as she sniffles. Hope glimmers in both of our eyes as she does,"I'm not going back."she says again and we're not granted the time to react as she runs out the door of the clinic into the rain. My lab coat tightly draped over her shoulders. I open my mouth to say something yet again but he also bolts out the door his boot stomping yet again,leaving me alone on the floor wondering what just happened.