Samantha's Talent (11 page)

Before her mother could begin chastising her all over again, Ronald came to her defense. "Dr. Summers didn't believe her, honey, even when Sammie just explained she had noticed why she thought the tiger wasn't eating. She didn't say a thing about talking to him."

"So the vet wants to thank her in person now. She's already thanked her, according to Sammie. You know what this will mean if we let it go any further, don't you? Publicity and then ridicule. Ronald, I've told you and told you, we just can't go through that again."

"I know, I know. Sammie's not at fault, though. Not that much anyhow."

"I'd like to know why not? After I explicitly told her--"

"Because we have a very observant, bright, courageous and compassionate daughter, that's why. She just couldn't help speaking up when she saw that tiger was hurting so much. The vet just told me that the dental specialist who operated said that it could very well have died if the infection had gone much further and gotten into its bloodstream. And Sammie noticed it when all the professionals missed it. You should be proud of her."

Elaine went from confrontational to confused. She knew that everything her husband had just said was true, but on the other hand... "Well, so long as that vet still promises to keep it quiet I suppose it's okay. For now. But, Sammie..."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Whatever you do, don't tell her and don't tell anyone else that you think you can talk to animals. Just don't. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Samantha said while wishing that her mother would believe her like her dad did. Sadly, it seemed impossible to convince her.

The following day Ronald called Dr. Summers and explained about the situation at home, how he and especially Sammie's mother did not want any publicity at all. If she understood the situation, then she could call on Samantha that night and talk to her.

"Thank you, Mr. Douglas. I understand perfectly and I'll do everything I can to keep it quiet, including telling all my colleagues not to talk about the episode. Dr. Masters became involved inadvertently and he and I would like to do something for Samantha, but very quietly. Perhaps a scholarship to help with veterinary training if she's still inclined to be involved with animals when she's older."

"Thank you. That would be very helpful." Then surprisingly he laughed. "I seriously doubt that anything except an interest in the opposite sex will distract her from her love of animals!"

"I'd just like to ask you one question, Mr. Douglas."

"Go ahead."

"Has your daughter ever done anything like this in the past?"

"Well... yes, but her mother doesn't like us to talk about it. She does have a way with animals, but my wife doesn't want her to be around them without supervision. She's afraid that Sammie will get hurt fooling with the larger ones."

"That's probably a good idea. Very well, then, thank you for calling me back and I'll talk to Samantha after supper tomorrow night. About eight? Would that be alright?"

"That would be fine."

***

"Good evening, Mrs. Douglas. Hello, Samantha. It's good to see you again," Dr. Summers said when Mr. Douglas escorted her into the den where his wife and Samantha were waiting.

"Good evening," Elaine said, "I'm glad to meet you, and I want to thank you for seeing to it that Samantha's part in recapturing the tiger was kept out of the news."

Dr. Summers smiled. "We just told the reporters that it decided to come home and then went right into its cage."

"Please have a seat," Ronald said.

After coffee had been offered and accepted Dr. Summers turned to Samantha. "I'm sure you'll be glad to know that... Growlfer, as you named him, is doing well." She smiled. "And he loves hamburger. It might be hard to get him back to his regular diet."

"Shufus, too," Samantha grinned. "He doesn't get hamburger very often and he was real happy staying with Growlfer and getting to eat it every meal."

"How nice. Now, I had two reasons to want to talk to you. Three, really. First, on behalf of the zoo and all its patrons, thank you again for taking care of our tiger. That was very brave of you."

"Oh, I didn't have to be brave. Growlfer likes me." Samantha stopped when she saw her mother give her a warning glance.

"Well, if you get along with other animals as well as you did with him, you would make a truly excellent veterinarian. Did you know that there are special vets who take care of zoo animals, rather than farm animals or pets?"

"Really? Maybe that's what I should study, then."

"That was my second reason for wanting to stop by tonight. I have a letter here that tells the story of you and the escaped tiger." She handed an envelope with the letter to Samantha. "Please feel free to use this when the time comes to apply to veterinarian school or for a job at a zoo. You can also use my name as a recommendation any time you want."

"Oh, thank you!"

"And finally, if you still aspire to become a veterinarian and if you're admitted to an accredited school, our zoo has a special fund for helping worthy students, who in return would agree to work at our zoo for a certain length of time. A friend and also a veterinarian is aware of how much you helped, and we both believe you would fit the program perfectly if your interest in animals continues."

"That would be wonderful," Samantha exclaimed despite her mother's unsmiling countenance.

"It's no less than you deserve. Besides, your father tells me you have a special way with animals. I can well believe it now. Have you helped others like you did Growlfer?"

"Just a few. Mostly animals in the wild like to go their own way and stay away from humans, so I've only been around a few of them. A grizzly bear let me play with her cubs once and one time I helped a wolverine that was threatening some kids at our school because it was real sick. It had rabies."

"That's enough, Sammie," her mother warned.

"Oh. Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"You can see why we don't want any publicity, Dr. Summers. After that wolverine episode, in addition to a few others, we actually had to move from Alaska because the neighbors thought she was so strange. They were also scared their children might try to emulate her and get badly hurt--or worse. I can't really blame them for that but we still don't want to be ostracized again.

"I can certainly understand the parents' concern and your own, but I really do think you should encourage Samantha to consider a career in animal care. She seems so good at it. In fact, I still have a problem believing the way that tiger responded so perfectly to her, as if it understood every word she said to it."

"She just has a way with animals, that's all," Elaine said, closing the subject.

Dr. Summers could tell that she didn't want to talk about Samantha's talent anymore and in fact, appeared to be concealing information about her. Soon she simply thanked Samantha again and thanked both parents for allowing her to speak to her, then took her leave.

Elaine hoped that would be the end of the matter but somehow she doubted it. Oh
Lord,
she thought,
please let her start thinking that boys are more interesting than animals!"

By the time her twelfth birthday was behind her, Samantha had already begun noticing boys although she hadn't let on how much. Boys had suddenly become much less peculiar and much more interesting. There was a dark-haired boy in particular she found very attractive. His name was Mark Cadberry. She had mentioned him to her mother the last time they talked about the way her body was changing and what she could expect in the future. The discussion included how interesting the opposite sex would become. Her mother had told her they would and it turned out to be true. She didn't know if Mark liked her or not, and having grown up without many friends she was still very bashful and couldn't bring herself to speak to him. However, her first day back in school
he
spoke to her.

"Hello, Tiger-girl," he said with a grin as she and other students were just entering their first period class.

Startled, she didn't know what to think and found that she was unable to utter a word at first.
Tiger-Girl? Tiger-Girl!
What can he mean? How could... "
That was as far as her thoughts went because the boy's greeting was taken up by other students who made similar remarks.

"Are you going to have your own TV show?"

"Hey, here's the tiger-tamer!"

"Hey, Sammie! What other wild animals do you hang around with?"

"Are you going to join a circus?"

"How about bears? Can you make them mind you, too?"

"Nah, she's strictly a tiger lady!"

"Yeah, Tiger Lady! That's her name!"

"Did you use a whip and gun to tame that tiger?"

"She's a big TV star now. She doesn't want to talk to us peons!"

Most of the students gathered around her desk and vied to be the next to think of something to say to her. Youngsters can sometimes be very cruel without really intending to.

"Shut up!" Samantha finally yelled. "I'm not a... a tiger anything and I don't know anything about TV! What are you all talking about?" She was on the verge of bursting into tears because she knew that somehow her escapade with Growlfer had gotten out. She knew her mother would be furious and she dreaded the inevitable confrontation.

"Didn't you know you were on the news last night and again this morning? You're a star! They said you and your dog caught the runaway tiger and brought it back to the zoo!"

She turned this way and that as the boys and girls continued to crowd her and shout questions. A few uttered ugly epithets. Some remarks were friendly but Mark, the boy she thought she liked, had set the tone and most of the other students followed his lead. She wanted to run from the room. She wanted to go and hide somewhere but there was nowhere to go. She huddled at her desk and wondered what to do.

"Class! Class! What on earth is going on here?!" Ms. Smithers had entered the room unnoticed and observed for a moment or two before speaking. "Take your seats immediately! You should be ashamed of yourselves for making fun of Samantha when she's a hero. She and her dog may have saved someone from being hurt or killed. Maybe even one of you! Now apologize to her, right now!" Her voice and manner was so stern that the class was subdued immediately. The students who had been clustered around Samantha's desk mumbled apologies in a half-hearted but ashamed manner, then took their seats.

Samantha couldn't bear to look at anyone. She thought of her mother and her father and how they would react. Had she really been seen on the television news?

She had, and to confirm it, during the breaks between different classes Betty and a couple of other girls she had made friends with told her what they had seen when their parents were watching the evening news. Footage of her, Shufus and the tiger exiting the van was shown, followed by her leading the tiger into the clinic by simply guiding it with a hand on its shoulder. There was another scene of her assisting Dr. Summers giving the first pain shot to Growlfer. There were several subsequent parts of a recording. One was shown several times, where the huge cat licked her face with its rough red tongue in gratitude for her help. She was shown in close-ups laughing and hugging him in return. She was told that her dog was also seen with her in the clinic. He was by her side each time she came in contact with the tiger.

"I bet it was that helper of Dr. Summers who recorded all that," Samantha told her friend, Betty. "He acted like I was trying to steal his job or something. I never saw him doing anything but watching us, but I bet he was using his phone to take videos of us all the time."

"Well, someone sure did. That was awful brave of you and you're famous now!"

"I don't want to be famous. My mother is going to be really, really mad about this."

"How come?" Betty asked with a bewildered expression on her face.

"She doesn't like me to be around any animal but Shufus or Tuffy."

"But, golly, why not? Look how much good you did."

"She just doesn't," Samantha told her, unable to admit to her friend that she could talk to animals but her mother didn't believe her. "Come on, it's time to go to our class." Only the fact that she and her parents had gone out the previous evening for dinner and an early movie had prevented any of them from seeing the news stories she was featured in. She knew her Mom and Dad would have either seen or heard about it by the time she got home, though. The way the story had spread to even the kids at school made that almost a certainty. She wasn't looking forward to their reaction, especially what her mother would have to say.

The final bell rang and classes were let out for the day. Samantha dreaded to leave because she had to take the bus. She couldn't even talk to her father first like she wanted to, because this week he had early classes and Elaine's car was in the shop. Exactly as she had feared, her mother was waiting on her. She approached with trepidation, but instead of being mad her mother greeted her with tears in her eyes and a huge hug and kiss. It was the last thing she had been expecting. Not only that, her father was home, too. He had left work early to be there for her. He gave her a fierce hug and kiss as well.

Samantha was befuddled. "I thought you would be mad at me," she said, looking at her mother rather than her father.

"Oh, honey, I'm not mad at you. It's that ungrateful, avaricious, jealous attendant at the zoo who filmed you helping the vet I'm mad at. The lout actually
sold
the video to a news station. Dr. Summers called a little while ago and apologized and told us he had been fired. He should be put in jail as far as I'm concerned!"

Samantha was awestruck. She had never seen her mother so upset at another person, not even at the ungrateful authorities at the school in Alaska after she saved the first and second graders from the rabid wolverine.

"I've talked Mr. Orleans and he's agreed to become our attorney here and represent us. He told me he'd see what can be done, but I'm afraid the cork is out of the bottle now and can't be put back in. Sammie, we know how you were treated at school today. Ms. Smithers called us about it," Ronald said. "That's a perfect example of bullying and we're not going to stand for it and we don't want you to, either. If it
does
happen again, you be sure and tell us and Mr. Orleans will jump all over the parties responsible. He's really grateful to you after the way you helped him and your friend Betty with Tuffy."