Page 2 of King from the Sky

“Then drink up and stop worrying about my love life,” Emily said as she grabbed a beer from the bucket, twisted off the cap, and began to chug.

She had not done a chug-a-lug in a long time and she decided that there was no time like the present. The beer tasted good as it rolled down her throat, the bubbles stinging the back of her tongue sweetly.

“Go! Go! Go!” the group chanted until Emily had to stop drinking with a quarter of the bottle left to go. Her stamina was not nearly what it had once been.

“OOHH! LAME!” Ellie and Amber said in unison.

“You have lost your touch,” Laura said as she began to swig from her own bottle.

“I know. It’s been a while.”

“You should have been practicing at home,” Ellie said.

“What? I’m not an alcoholic like you,” Emily replied with a smile.

“I’m an alcohol enthusiast; there is a big difference.”

Emily had to shake her head as she looked at this insane group of misfits she had somehow wrangled together in her college days. But she had to admit she was having a blast. It had been way too long since she had been out with her friends. It was one thing to love your work and to be dedicated, but she had to learn to prioritize a bit better so that she could enjoy her life a bit more. All work and not nearly enough play had left her exhausted and almost unaware anymore of how to unwind. She just needed to strike a balance.

Which would be much easier to do if she ever got an office manager or another vet to share the practice with. But so far she had not found anyone that she really clicked with on a professional level for either position. There were several qualified candidates, but she knew that she had to enjoy working with these people on a daily basis and being with them eight hours a day. So that was a big factor in who was selected. If only at least one of her college friends had followed her into the exciting world of veterinarian science.

“So, how about your new guy, Laura? I’m surprised that he let you out to play tonight,” Ellie said.

“What? I think you got that the other way around, sister. I have him by the balls and I tell him when he can play,” Laura replied.

“Oh, that is hysterical.”

“It can be. I imagine he is passed out in front of the TV right now with a pizza and an empty six pack.”

“Well, hell. That sounds like the party is at your house!” Amber replied.

The girls loved to pick on Laura because she was the only one of them to get married so far. She had gotten married about six months ago and she was still getting used to it. With marriage came a great responsibility, Emily thought to herself with a smile. But she hoped to get there herself one day. She could tell how happy Laura was to be married to the man of her dreams, even if she did complain and make fun of all the disgusting and weird things he did. Really, Emily thought that was just Laura’s way of talking about how good it felt to be with someone and how amazing he was, because to come right out and say he was amazing would have been weird and lame. Emily noticed a lot of women did that who were in strong relationships.

It had been almost six months since she had been with anyone. That relationship had only lasted for five months before she got the text message that Brad wanted to see other people. Seriously. The dingus broke up with her over a text message. That was a definite low point in her love life she felt.

Emily wasn’t really sure why she had been so unlucky in love. If she had some better insight, then she might fix it so that she knew how to stop failing in that department. But she figured that it would happen eventually or she would become some weird cat lady. Except she was more of a dog person. Of course she loved all animals, but as an actual pet she just needed the happy go lucky nature and the overwhelming affection that a dog gave you. There was nothing better.

She thought about her pug Bailey. He was at home for her right now probably wondering where she was. He would smother her with licks and demand hugs the second that she walked in the door. That was their routine. She had stopped home briefly after work just to take him for a walk and then she was on her way to meet the girls. Never mind that she was utterly exhausted after a long week at work and all she wanted to do was take a hot bubble bath, have a nice cup of tea, and do some reading.

But it was Thursday. She would have all weekend to do that. It wasn’t like she had any other plans.

The group of friends went through one more bucket of beer and another round of chicken wings before calling it a night. Emily left the bar feeling good, but bloated. She had not drank that much beer in a long time and she felt just a little bit tipsy, but she had made sure not to overdo it and she imagined it would be gone by the time that she finished walking home.

Emily only lived about six blocks away and she had elected to walk simply because she knew that she would be drinking. She had thought about ordering an Uber driver, but decided it was too nice of a night and since she had eaten and drank so many empty calories she felt horribly guilty so she wanted to try to walk some of it off at least.

Besides she enjoyed quiet walks at night sometimes. That was the great thing about a small town like Buckeye—there was very little crime and it was almost like a throwback to the fifties where everyone knew everyone else. She had lived here her whole life and Emily couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Besides it was only a twenty-minute drive from the city and the university she had attended.

Emily was just rounding the block towards her house when her phone buzzed. It was a text from Rachel—her best veterinarian assistant. She was not feeling well and had suddenly had to go home. She thought she had food poisoning and couldn’t stay at the clinic to keep an eye on the animals who were having to stay overnight. She wondered if it was possible for her to check in on them?

Emily sighed and texted her back that she would take care of it.

Rachel lived a good fifteen miles away and was a reliable employee. They alternated on who would take the graveyard shift and stay with the animals in the hospital portion of the clinic every night. There were some that had to be hooked up to IV’s.

Emily turned around and began her walk towards the animal hospital. It was only about a ten-minute walk for her and she walked it most days. It was great exercise and she hated wasting any more gas than she had to. A lot of people thought vets made crazy money; that was just not so.

Emily arrived at the animal hospital and let herself in with her keys. She locked the door behind her and turned on the light. She was always amazed at the way the hospital looked during the night hours when no one was here. She could hear the whine of the animals in the back, but there was no human element here and it was somewhat creepy. She wasn’t sure why that was, but she had noticed it since she had started working there. She wasn’t allowed to do the graveyard shift pop ins until after she turned eighteen because of the labor laws, but she had never minded them. She usually just packed a few sodas and a good book and enjoyed taking care of her furry little friends.

She was going to probably leave briefly to check in on Bailey at some point. She usually made arrangements for him to stay with Ellie or Laura. Emily had tried just bringing him to the clinic with her, but he became so agitated at the barking of the other dogs that it was a big cause of anxiety for him.

Emily walked into the small employee lounge area where she and her meager staff ate lunch every day. They would close the clinic for that hour and take turns going to get lunch for everyone else. It was a fun time.

She grabbed a diet soda from the fridge and an ice cream bar—the damage had already been done to her diet for the day—and sat them down on the front desk. When she walked back into the hospital section she had never in her wildest dreams thought she would witness what she stumbled into.

As she pushed open the door she saw something that would forever change her perception of reality and logic as she had understood it up to that point.

Her entire world was about to get turned upside down.