Looking at Omens

A sunbeam slicing across her face cut the dark room in half. It was enough to penetrate the fog of sleep and she rolled over. There was stiffness in her back and across her shoulders. Fumbling, her fingers found the switch for the lamp in the gloom. With the light on, her eyes sought out the clock. She bolted out of bed. It was already 9:15 am and breakfast would soon be over. More importantly the clinic hadn’t called. She had to do some deep breathing and self-talk to keep the panic at bay. “No news is good news” became her mantra. Grabbing her card key she headed to the lobby to see if there was any breakfast left. It was with relief that she discovered that she could still get a muffin, an apple, and a glass of juice. Still chewing, she headed back to get cleaned up. In record time she arrived at the Vet School. All the people behind the counter were new faces to her. She had to swallow hard in order to ask about Mister. The fresh faced woman searched the database and asked Lu to have a seat while locating an update on his condition. Looking out the window, the snow was exceptionally bright as the sunlight was reflected by the millions of ice crystals. The sky was an extraordinary blue, uncommon in winter. She relaxed and thought all these were good omens. “Ms. Dupin” a low masculine voice intoned. Startled, she looked toward the source to see the surgeon, grim faced a few feet away. It was an instant recognition between the timbre in which he spoke her name and her heart. She knew that Mister was near death. He knew that she knew and simply asked her to follow. This time Mister wasn’t in the sealed oxygen cage. He was curled in a fluffy white towel on an exam table. He wasn’t moving. She placed a hand on his head and his eyes fluttered. She leaned in and whispered into his ear. He replied with a feeble vibration that started then faded faster than a struck match. He took a deep breath and opened his large shining eyes. He looked at Lu and with a wheeze died. No one had spoken during the visit and the silence was unbroken until a soft wail emanated from Lu. Her face was buried in Mister’s fur muffling her cry of anguish.

I know. You are all mad at me for letting Mister die. However this is not the end of the story…. stay tuned.