Part 6 (1/2)
Sonny laughed. ”Oh, they'd pay more, I'm sure.”
”She have any sisters or brothers?”
Sonny shook his head.
”Cousins?”
Sonny busted out laughing. He shook his head.
Big Tony leaned back in his chair. ”Pity, we could've had a family affair,” he said, blowing smoke toward the ceiling.
Rheyna got out of the Jeep and shut the door. She looked around the Haven Veterinarian Clinic parking lot. She couldn't believe how crowded it was. The lot had definitely reached its capacity. She made her way toward the crowd of people who were milling around in front of the clinic. As she got closer, she could see what was holding their interest-to the left of the doorway, along the whole front of the building, cages of various sizes set in a U-shaped design were stacked on top of each other. Each cage contained an animal as diverse as the size of the cage. She walked past a row that had a monkey, several different colored rabbits, a couple guinea pigs, and a very large box turtle.
Ah, this is what I am looking for, she thought as she walked up to the small cages. She walked slowly down the row, looking at the different breeds of puppies. She stopped in front of the last one. It contained a small black puppy with a cast on its right front leg. The little pup was curled up in a tiny ball, sound asleep and snoring louder than any human Rheyna had ever heard. She looked at the card stuck in the slot. It said the puppy was a female Labrador Retriever, approximately ten-weeks old, and could be adopted for $125.00. The card went on to say the price covered the cost of the puppy's shots, an electronic ID chip, and a $50.00 gift certificate toward spaying/neutering fees.
Rheyna stuck her fingers through the cage, scratching the pup's head. The puppy opened her eyes and then stretched her front legs out, arching her little body like a cat. She yawned while simultaneously licking Rheyna's fingers. Rheyna smiled. ”Hey, girl,” she said, continuing to rub the pup's head.
”She's a real cutie, don'tcha think?”
Rheyna jumped, startled by the voice coming from just over her shoulder. She felt her pulse quicken. She turned to face Caroline and smiled. ”I think she's adorable.” She nodded at the pup's leg. ”Why does she have a cast?”
”Because her leg is broken in two places and she has a pin holding her kneecap in place.”
”That must have hurt like h.e.l.l. How'd it happen?”
Caroline opened the cage door. She reached in and caressed the side of the pup's face. She turned to look at Rheyna. ”I think she had a run-in with a car and the car won. I found her lying against a curb not far from here.”
Rheyna frowned. ”So the person who hit her just left her there?”
Caroline nodded. ”Unfortunately, it seems that way.”
Rheyna shook her head. ”People can be such a.s.sholes,” she blurted without thinking.
Caroline smiled at her. ”Yes, they can.”
Rheyna looked back at the puppy. ”I'll take her,” she said, turning to Caroline.
Caroline eyed Rheyna curiously, crossing her arms against her chest. ”Most people don't adopt wounded puppies. From my experience, they're usually the last to go.”
Rheyna laughed at the expression on Caroline's face. ”Well, I guess you can say that I'm not most people.”
Caroline smiled at her and nodded at the pup. ”I can see that, but are you really sure about her? A pet is a lot of responsibility, especially one with a broken leg.”
It was Rheyna's turn to smile. ”I thank you for your concern, but I've already made up my mind. I've always wanted a dog. It's not the way I pictured getting one, but it'll work.”
”All right, you win.” Caroline smiled as she grabbed the cage card out of the slot. ”Let's go get the paperwork taken care of and then I'll get a tech to help get your new puppy into the car.”
Artie snapped off the bowtie and tossed it on the kitchen table, along with his briefcase. He picked up the stack of mail on the counter and tossed it next to his briefcase. He opened the refrigerator door and glanced inside. He shook his head at the bare contents and then grabbed a pack of lunchmeat from the crisper-a cold sandwich again. What else is new? he thought to himself as he rummaged through the cupboard for a loaf of bread. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. He tossed a few pieces of ham between the bread and flipped through the mail. He tore open the letter from the Mortgage Company.
He looked at the typed form letter. They were now three months in arrears on the mortgage payment and if the bank didn't receive the back payments within one week, they would begin foreclosure proceedings. He took out a hanky and wiped sweat from his brow. He opened the next letter and shook his head as he read the final disconnect notice from the phone company. He pushed it aside and opened the next one.
”Artie, is that you?” Alice yelled from the bedroom. ”Is that, is that you?” she asked again.
He pushed away from the table and walked down the hallway toward their bedroom. He stopped in the doorway and looked at the disheveled woman lying spread eagle across the bed in her bra and panties and wondered what happened to the beautiful woman he had married. He walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at the nightstand littered with whiskey bottles and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette b.u.t.ts.
Reaching down, he angrily s.n.a.t.c.hed up a pile of gambling tickets. ”What the h.e.l.l is this, Alice?” he asked, slinging the ticket stubs at her. ”You promised me you would stop gambling!” he yelled, his voice shaking with anger. He walked over to the desk sitting against the wall and jerked the computer plugs out of the receptacle. ”That's the final straw.”
”What, what are you doing?” she asked, pulling herself upright to look at him.
He ripped the computer monitor off the desk. ”I'm taking this d.a.m.n thing out of here!” he yelled.
”Artie, please don't be like this!” she cried.
He stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her. ”I can't take this anymore, Alice. I don't know what else to do.”
She fell off the bed and shakily got to her feet and followed him into the kitchen. ”But you can't take my computer,” she whined.
When he set the monitor on the table, she grabbed him by the s.h.i.+rt. He pushed her hand away. ”I can take it and I will,” he said and headed back to the bedroom with her on his heels. He jerked the hard drive out from under the desk. ”I'm leaving on an a.s.signment, I'll be gone awhile, and this is the only way I can be sure you won't be gambling.”
She followed him back to the kitchen. ”I don't, I don't really gamble that much, snookims.” She made a halfway attempt to bat her eyes in what was supposed to be a seductive fas.h.i.+on.
He set the hard drive next to the monitor. ”Like the h.e.l.l you don't. Have you looked at our bills, Alice? Well, have you?” She started to sob. ”And you can quit the crying c.r.a.p. It doesn't work anymore.”
She dropped down to her knees and leaned against the stove. ”But I'm sick, Artie, I need help.”
He knelt down on the floor next to her and smoothed the stringy hair back from her face. His expression softened as he looked at her. ”I know you are, honey,” he said, pulling her into his arms. ”I don't know how to help you anymore, Alice. I've tried. You need professional help, honey. You need to be in a treatment center where they can help you, but you have to want it and right now, you don't. You don't even think you have a problem half the time.”
She angrily pushed him away from her. ”I'm not as bad as you make me out to be!” she yelled.
He stood up and looked down at what was once his beautiful wife. He shook his head. ”Look at you, just look at you. When was the last time you combed that rat's nest mess of hair? When was the last time you took a bath and put on clean clothes?”
”That's not fair,” she pouted.
”Not fair? Not fair?” His look was incredulous. ”I'll tell you what's not fair, Alice. You maxing out our credit cards on that d.a.m.n online gambling site and drinking yourself into oblivion. Do you have any idea how much money we owe because you think you're not that sick-how about $275,000 dollars' worth?” He pointed at the bills lying on the table. ”In that stack is two final disconnect notices and a letter of foreclosure on our home. I've worked my a.s.s off for our home and now I don't even know if it'll be here for me when I get back.”
Alice sobbed as she pulled her legs up and curled herself in a fetal position on the floor. ”I'm sorry, Artie. I promise I'll get help.”
”Either you get help while I'm gone, Alice, or I'm filing for divorce when I get back. I have packing to do.” He stepped over her and headed back to the bedroom.
Caroline and Rheyna stepped to the side to allow the vet tech to lay the puppy on the back seat. Rheyna thanked him and slowly pulled the seatbelt across the pup's midsection. She took extra care to avoid hitting her front leg and clicked the belt in place.
”She won't break, you know,” Caroline laughed.