Animal Magnetism [Chris Evans]

Chapter 1

"Spring must be in the air, Amelia. We have a waiting room full of crates and I'm pretty sure they're jam packed with kittens and puppies." Haley says while she washes her hands. "I'm bringing the first one into Consult One now."

"Kitten or puppy?" I ask, looking at my list of messages. How can there be so many at 8:30 in the morning?

"Kittens. Two females, 14 weeks."

"Ok. Set them up for shots and I'll be there shortly."

I walk out to the front desk, standing next to Piper's chair. "How are you this morning, Piper?"

"Good, hon. How was your night?"

"Blissfully quiet. Could you get me the files for these two please, along with their results that should have come yesterday? If they haven't, chase them and let the lab know I need them this morning. I'll call their owners when I'm done with the first two appointments."

"Yep. No problem."

"Thank you! And yes please when the coffee guy arrives."

"He's single, you know. And he asked about you last week."

"Well if I'm available when he gets here, come and get me."

Coffee-man isn't really my type, but he's typical Northern Beaches; blond, tanned, looks good with a surfboard. I doubt we'd have much conversation though.

My sneakers squeak on the linoleum through the hospital area and into the consult room where a tired-looking woman around 30 is cradling a box. I smile and peek in when I hear the tiny mewls of kittens.

"Hi," I say, smiling. "I'm Dr Amelia Harris, I don't think we've met before?"

"No, this is my first time. I'm Andrea and these are Socks and Stockings." I chuckle as I pick up Socks – at least I hope the black one with white feet is Socks. "My little girls named them."

"Well aren't you just beautiful? Her eyes are lovely and clear, aren't they? We'll just weigh them, do all of their checks and then give them the vaccination. Do you have any questions or concerns?"

Most of my day follows the same pattern, meeting new and old patients and their owners, assuring them that this patch or that lump is likely not anything major, giving shots to kittens, puppies and some adult rabbits.

At lunch I close the door to the office with a yawn and a slight tear in my eye. "I love my job." I flop into a chair in the break room and bite into an apple.

"Who did you just give good news to?" Haley asks from across the table.

"Remember Thor, the lab that came in last week with the tumors?"

"God, yes. I won't forget him in a hurry, that poor family were a mess."

"They were benign. He's going to be fine."

"Awww. They cried, didn't they?"

"Yep."

"You cried a little too, didn't you?"

"Yep." I laugh. "What's on this afternoon?"

"We're going to the shelter, remember?"

"Yes we are. I knew that."

"I'll forgive you, only because you've been here since yesterday."

"At least it was a quiet night. I got two lots of solid sleep. I'm not sure how I'll go this evening, though."

"Meditation? How do you not fall asleep?"

"Practice. But even that might not save me tonight."

A steady stream of people file into the library's meeting room for the meditation session, and I greet them at the door. Mark, the teacher, is getting ready to begin and I've had very little work to do since I arrived; all of the students so far are regulars and creating a buzz of chatter while they wait in their seats. The clock ticks over to 6:30 and I'm about to be seated myself when a man comes hurriedly through the doors.