Happenstance (2 page)

I am lucky. My best friend Maggie pulled some strings and set me
up with a job at a local elementary school. We both graduated two years ago
with a teaching degree, and although I completed my internship right after, I
never got the full teaching experience, having chosen to be a stay-at-home wife
instead. Maggie works at the same school teaching second grade, and we had made
plans to meet up and shop at Teaching Smarts, the local teacher supply store,
to decorate the classroom. I climb into my car, a red Acura RDX (the only thing
I was able to keep after the divorce), and I can’t help but think about my new
life. I am officially a first grade teacher at Oak Springs Elementary, and I’m
responsible for the education of sixteen students! This has been my dream since
I was a little—
Bam!

“Oh, shit!”

I slam on my brakes and open my door, fearing the worst. I hear a
small cry somewhere behind the tire. I place my hand over my mouth to stifle a
sob.
Please don’t let it be a child.
I beg to all the Gods in the world.

A small
goldish
-brown dog is limping
over to a nearby bush.

Shit, I hit a dog!

“Oh, you poor baby!”
I cry.

I walk over to him slowly, but he growls at me.
Shit.
What do I do now? He obviously
needs help, but I’m not sure how much pain he’s in. I slowly move towards him
and crouch down.

“Come here, baby. Come here,” I whisper soothingly.

He seems to be in pain as he lies down on the grass, staring at
me as if to say, “
What have you done?”
I look around, but there isn’t anyone
nearby that can help me. There’s no collar on him, so I have no clue who I can
call. I give him a minute, and when he seems to have calmed down enough, I
slowly move toward him and extend my hand, palm down so he can sniff. That look
of primal fear seems to be diminishing, so I take advantage and shift my body
forward as I slowly move my hands under his belly and carry him to my car.

“Let’s get you fixed up, little guy.” I can feel his heartbeat
under my palm, and I have the urge to kiss him on the top of his head, but I
resist. I know he’s probably skeptical of me, and I can’t blame him.

Once we are both in the car, I pick up my phone, open the GPS
application, and search for the closest veterinary office. I quickly get my answer;
Blue Lakes Animal Clinic.
Thank you,
smart phone
. And it’s only a seven minute drive. Perfect. The clinic is in
the corner of a small shopping center, where I notice a restaurant, drug store,
book store, and a few other medical offices before finally finding a parking
spot. The dog is holding up his right front paw, so I carefully stay away from
touching him there while I pick him up and walk slowly to the clinic. An older
lady with gray hair and glasses is sitting at the front desk. I see several
chairs along one wall, a bench next to the front door, a tall shelf with
magazines and treats in the corner, and another long wall with dog accessories
for purchase.

“Please, I need your help! I hit this dog with my car, and I
think something is wrong with his leg.” I lean against the counter.

“I need you to sign in; do you know who this dog belongs to? Will
you be responsible for him?” the lady inquires, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I um . . . He doesn’t have a tag so I’m not sure but . . .
I, um, I did hit him with my car, but he’s not my dog. Do I have to pay?” Shit!
I don’t have much money. I already can’t wait to get my first paycheck.

“Well . .
. ”
The woman looks me over as
if I am just another young, irresponsible, college student.

“What’s going on here, Annette?” A young, good-looking man in
scrubs walks to the front desk and looks over at me. Not wanting this woman to
ruin the poor dog’s chances, I beat her to the punch and answer him myself.

“I hit him with my car by accident. I can’t afford to pay for
what he might need, but I don’t want to see him suffer. Please, is there
anything you can do?” I say desperately, pleading with him.

He stays looking at me for a bit, looking from me to the dog and
biting his lower lip as if thinking about it.
Does he think I’m lying?

“I promise he’s not my dog,” I tell him.

“I believe you. It’s just that, well, we don’t normally take in
strays, but he is hurt and I don’t want to see him suffer either. Let me take
him to the back. I’ll search for a microchip and see if I can locate his
owner.” I immediately feel a weight lift off my shoulders.

He walks over to me and carefully picks up the dog. Standing close
enough that I can smell his cologne; fresh and masculine, I’m almost
mesmerized.

“Thank you so much! That would be wonderful!” I say perhaps a
little too enthusiastically.
God, get a grip, V!

“How long will it take to check him out? When can I check back in
on him?”

The doctor chuckles.
“Well, I’ll have to
do a few tests to make sure everything looks ok and determine if he needs
surgery.”

Surgery! Poor little guy! This is
all my
fault
.

He must have seen the look of dismay on my face because he
quickly says, “Don’t worry. I’m sure he will be fine. I will try and contact
his owner so he can get him home as soon as possible after this is all over.”

I’m just about to thank him again when I feel my phone buzzing in
my back pocket. It’s Maggie, probably trying to find out where the hell I am. I
was supposed to text her when I was close to the store.

“I, uh, I have to get going, but you’re sure he’ll be alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” he reassures me and gives me a smile.

Wow, his smile is amazing. In this moment, I really get to take
in his features: Flawless set of white teeth completely lighting up his hazel
colored eyes. His hair is cut short and simple. He’s also almost as tall as my
brother, six feet perhaps? He blinks at me.
Oh,
shit.
I suddenly realize how stupid I must look gawking at this man, and I
can feel my face heating up. Awkward! I twirl my fingers through my necklace
and start to turn around before I make a bigger fool of myself. Mumbling
another “Thank you,” I walk out the door.

Chapter Two

August 2011

Jared

Well, that was
interesting.
I walk over to the back room that holds the operating table
and lay the dog down gently. He whimpers, but he seems calm. I place the x-ray
machine over him and begin my routine. That girl was beautiful, but seemed so
lost. I could tell she was worried about the dog, but there was also sadness in
her eyes. I wonder if she is married or seeing anyone. I thought I saw a tan
line on her ring finger where a wedding ring would have gone, but I couldn’t be
sure. She was twisting her necklace in between her fingers so fast I couldn’t
really focus. Besides, I didn’t want her to think I was staring at her tits.

Hmm, looks like this dog
has a fracture.
This is good; at least it’s better than a broken bone and there’s
no internal bleeding. I turn around and look through the cabinets for some painkillers
and an antibiotic.

It’s not that I wouldn’t want to stare at her tits, but that
would be frowned upon by my clients and I don’t need that shit. I did get to check
out her ass though when she walked away. Damn that was something else. I wonder
where she’s from and where she lives. I’m also wondering why the fuck am I so
intrigued all of a sudden.

Once I give the dog his medicine, I search for a microchip and .
. . find it. More good news, maybe this day will go by fast after all. I hate
when strays come in. I wish I could take in every dog—I really do—but there
just isn’t the space in my house, or the clinic, for that. Not to mention
Paxter
would kill me if I hoarded strays in his clinic. And
can I just think about her legs for a minute? They are muscular, but not scary
guyish
looking. I wonder how she looks in heels and if she
likes to wear them. I wonder how they would look wrapped around—

“Doctor?”
I hear Annette knock on my
door.
Shit. Get your mind out of the
gutter, kid.
I tell her she can come in as I’m finishing up the splint.

“Mr. Harper is here to pick up Trixie’s medicine.”

Ah, yes.
The dog with the skin infection.
I jerk my head over to the counter behind me.

“The sample pills are already set in the bottle. Can you print
out the label for me?”

She walks over to the counter and picks up a pad and paper.

“The prescription is underneath the bottle, but it’s Cephalexin.
Tell him to give it to Trixie twice a day for fourteen days,” I say. Before she
walks out, a thought occurs to me.

“Hey Annette?
Can you give me the
information sheet for the girl that brought in this dog?”

She looks at me skeptically. I know what she’s thinking. I’ve
never
asked for the information sheet
for anyone who has dropped off an animal before.
Shit, she’s going to call me out on it.
But she doesn’t. Instead
she nods and says, “Sure, Doc.”

She closes the door, and I’m left contemplating what to do. She
seemed sincerely interested in his condition. We have people come in with
strays all the time, but usually they just drop them off and are never seen
again. I can tell she is kindhearted, and I should call her to tell her how the
dog is doing. That really is the only reason I want her number.
Right?

Chapter Three

August 2011

Victoria

The smell of school books and art supplies hits me as I
walk into the teacher’s store and face several different aisles with high,
cramped shelves. I take a look around and find the section labeled Kindergarten/First
Grade. This is like being a kid in a candy store. I’m giddy.

Pulling a cart that was left abandoned by the entrance, I start
to skim through the shelves, admiring the colorful posters and stickers, when
the bell chimes, announcing a new customer. Glancing over, I can’t help the
smile that crosses my face. I wave at a tall young woman with an oval-shaped
face I’ve missed looking at. She has gorgeous almond-shaped brown eyes, and her
long black hair is pulled back in a high ponytail. Blue skinny jeans show off
her slim figure.

“V!” Maggie exclaims. I walk over to greet her with a smile and a
hug.

“I am so happy to see you!” she says as she wraps her arms around
me.

“I know! It’s been too long. We have a lot of catching up to do!”

We walk back down the aisle, and I smile to myself as I remember
our long phone conversations when we were younger, staying up late, gossiping
about catty girls, and swooning over cute guys.

We met senior year of high school. Maggie, whose parents were
always moving her around for new job opportunities, was a new student that year
and we shared the same English class. We were instant friends. While we were
both very different in looks and personalities, we respected and looked out for
each other. Having the same career dream, we set off to get our degrees at the
same college, taking as many classes together as we could to help each other
out. When her parents decided to move to California, Maggie made the decision
to start her own life and make a home in
one
city and moved to Orlando.
I was thankful that she didn’t move too far from Miami and we were always able
to catch up via phone or webcam in between trips.

Breaking my reverie, Maggie asks, “So, tell me what happened this
morning.”

My eyes shift downward, and I try hard not to cringe. My brows
crease as I remember that poor animal shaking near the bush, growling at me due
to his fear, a fear that I caused. I catch her up on my morning while we walk
around the store, our feet crunching down on the wooded floors.

“He is so cute. You should have seen him.”

“The dog or the vet?”

“
Mags
!
Is that
all you got out of my horrible morning?” Has she been listening to me at all?

“Doesn’t sound so horrible to me!
You
clearly thought he was cute. I can tell by the goofy grin you got when you
brought him up.”

I shake my head, smiling at the observation.
Had I really been
that obvious?

”So what do you think of a Dr. Seuss classroom theme?” I ask,
trying to change the subject.

“Oh, we can get all you need right now, but don’t think this
conversation is over, missy.”

I bite my lip to keep from smiling and bend down to pick up a
stack of construction paper, focusing on my future students and not a
particular doctor. Satisfied we had plenty to start the school year, we go to
Maggie’s apartment to relax, have lunch, and mostly talk. I had all but shunned
my friends from high school after I got married, spending as much time as I
could with my husband. All but Maggie, she was the only one that knew
everything that went on with my divorce. She was always there, lending an ear and
encouraging me to start over and move on.

“So . . .” Maggie says, looking over at me with a sly grin.
“How about that Doctor?

“Oh
Mags
, really?
Can we just drop it?”

“I won’t drop it! You need to get out there. And if this guy
really is cute and is set in his career, then he’s definitely worth a try.
Besides, he was willing to save that poor dog you almost killed without
anything in return.”

I gasp and slap her on the arm.

“Maggie! I feel bad enough as it is without you giving me the
guilt trip!”

“I know you do.” Maggie sighed. “I really think you should at
least stop by and see how he’s doing.”

“Really?”