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“Amanda, you are making me regret not canceling out on you today,” I warned.
“You wouldn’t do that. We meet every Sunday for breakfast. If you blew me off, I’d only show up at your house to find out why.”
That was true.
The waitress came over and refilled our coffees. I hoped that was enough of a distraction for me to change the subject. Wrong again.
Amanda said, “Maybe we should go to his house and check on him. What if he is really sick or passed out on the floor and needs medical attention?”
“He looked fine when I left,” I said. Then again, my eyes were half closed and I was surprised that I even made it home myself.
“Maybe you should check again. I mean, you are hisdoctor.”She chuckled even as she said it.
“I guess a text message wouldn’t hurt.”
Pulling out my cell phone, I typed, HI, JUST CHECKING ON YOU. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? DO YOU NEED ANYTHING? I CAN BRING IT OVER TO YOU IF YOU WISH. I read it back before hitting send, and I hated it. It was very...pushy.Boy, guess you called that right, Cameron.I deleted it and tried again. HOW’S YOUR HEAD? That was enough. I hit send.
He replied right away. STILL ATTACHED.
I snickered. Amanda asked, “What did he say?”
“That it is still attached.”
“Humor. You like that in a guy. Okay, so far, we have, handsome and funny. Not bad.” She looked over at my phone and her eyes widened. “Giampietro? That’s his last name?”
“That is what he said.”
She shook her head. “You know that is a fake name, right? I mean everyone says Giampietro or Jones when they don’t want anyone to know their real name.”
“Why would he lie?” I asked.
“Oh, let’s see. He’s married?”
“Have you forgotten that he brought me to his apartment? There was no wife or children there,” I stated.
“And did you go into his bedroom?” she questioned.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then you aren’t sure, are you? I mean, if his bedspread was pink ruffles you would know,” she huffed. “It’s like you never dated before.”
“This wasn’t a date. I was there to ensure he wasn’t seriously injured,” I said firmly. “You’re just trying to make it something that it is not.”
“One could hope. I mean for the past year all you have done is work, work and oh, more work. The only ones getting action are the dogs in heat,” she laughed.
“You arenotfunny. I can’t help it if I am busy. So many veterinarians are running short staffed too. We have no choice but to work harder than ever before.”
“And the fact that you will still take an emergency visit after hours and let the person pay what they can afford when they have no money, is why you are short-staffed. You need to raise your prices like everyone else has,” Amanda said.
“Why? Just so I can be rich and know that there are animals out there that might die because I decided to fill my pockets instead of following my heart?” I asked.
“Well, when you say it like that, I sound like a cold bitch,” Amanda sighed.
“No. You are the practical one. I need you to remind me that I need to take care of myself too, and not just everyone else. I couldn’t believe how exhausted I was yesterday. I fell asleep on his couch. That is not like me at all,” I admitted.
“No, it’s not. Why didn’t you tell me that before?” she asked.
“Because I know you would worry.”
