Carolina

Chapter 2-1

CHAPTER 2

Nearly seven months prior to the crash, Nicole pulled into the parking lot at the Carolina Veterinary Clinic. The nerves and excitement about her first day of work had her feeling almost sick. She slung her purse over her right shoulder and grabbed her coffee with a quivering hand. The bell jingled when she finally opened the front door.

“Uh, good morning. My name is Nicole. I’m new . . .”

“Oh, yes,” the woman behind the counter interrupted with a smile. “We are so glad to have you here. Come with me,” she said, waving her hand, “I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone. My name’s Sherrie. I’ve been here for six years. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, seriously. You will love it.”

Sherrie seemed very nice and welcoming. She was a short, pudgy woman who looked about sixty-five, but spoke as if half her age. Her hair has been dyed an auburn red color, which added to her spunky personality. Nicole felt optimistic so far, but was skeptical about whether Sherrie was overjoyed by nature, or if it would be as good as she said.

“Is this your first time working in a veterinary clinic, Nicole?”

“Yes. I worked at a couple of restaurants trying to make ends meet through college. But I have always loved animals. I thought I was gonna be a vet when I was younger. You know how that goes . . . childhood dreams.”

“Yeah, I sure do. But then reality sets in. It can be hard to pay the bills sometimes with paint and canvas,” Sherrie said, as she led Nicole down the hallway.

“Oh, you paint, too? I love painting.”

“Really? That’s great! Is that what you went to school for?” Sherrie asked.

“I started out thinking I would get into something creative like interior design or something, but my love for animals took over. So I picked biology. Not exactly sure yet where I want to go with it. I think I may go back and get my master’s someday,” said Nicole.

“That’s awesome. Well, good luck to you. I hope it all works out. By the way, these are the exam rooms along this hallway. And just ahead to the right here is the x-ray room. And in the back is where the other vet techs like yourself will probably be. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

Nicole glanced in the rooms while she walked along. She expected it to smell like dirty dogs but, to her surprise, it wasn’t too bad. There was barking coming from the area ahead. “This area back here is where we perform our procedures and kennel any animals that need to stay for observation. Any medications that we prescribe are back here as well. Oh, Dr. Smith, I’m sure you remember Nicole,” said Sherrie.

The veterinarian reached out and shook Nicole’s hand. “Yes, Nicole, good to see you again. I can’t believe it’s your first day already. I feel like your interview was only yesterday,” he said. “Are you excited about your first day?”

“Yup, just tell me where to begin.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” he exclaimed.

“Well, I better get back up front,” Sherrie said. “It was nice to meet you, Nicole. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Nicole replied.

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” Dr. Smith started. A handful of people gathered around for their introduction. “This is Ashley. She has been with us for two years.” The tall brunette smiled and reached out her hand. “Nice to meet you,” Ashley said in a friendly voice.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Nicole replied.

Another brunette named Becky introduced herself. She looked somewhat like Ashley, but a little shorter and younger.

“And this is our head technician, Carol. She’s been here for twenty years . . . or so,” Dr. Smith said, with a little chuckle. “She will take you under her wing for a while.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nicole said, with a smile. Carol forced an awkward smile in return, but that was about as far as her greeting went. Well, hello to you, too? Nicole thought to herself.

“Well, I have my first patient to attend to. Nicole, welcome to the family. If you have any questions for me, just let me know. And of course, you can ask any of the vet techs as well. I’m going to leave you with Carol.” And with that, he walked back toward the hallway.

“Thanks,” she said, then she waited for Carol’s instructions on what to do next. Carol sat on the stool next to her then proceeded to look into a microscope without a word spoken to Nicole. A couple of minutes passed, and Nicole stood in awkward silence. Finally, she asked, with slight frustration, “What are you working on?”

“I am checking for worms,” Carol replied, without looking up.

“Oh, cool. What are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for the eggs, actually.” Carol paused for a second then glanced up and noticed Nicole’s curiosity. “We take a stool sample, mix it with solution then run it through the centrifuge. Then you make a slide like this and view it under the microscope to see if there are any parasitic eggs present. It’s a pretty simple process. I will show you how to do it.”

“That sounds interesting,” said Nicole.

“Yeah, it’s the highlight of my day. So, is this your first time working as a vet tech?”

“Yes. It’s always been an interest of mine, though.”

“Well, I think you’ll like it here. Everyone is nice and easy to get along with, except for me, maybe,” Carol said, chuckling to herself. “I’m just kidding. Sometimes I’m looked upon as a bit of a grump, but I’m really a nice person. I just believe in working hard. If a person works hard, then I usually get along with them.”

“I hear ya. I’m the same way so I think we’ll be fine.” Nicole held her ground.

“So, are you from Carolina?” asked Carol.

“Originally, yes. I went to college straight out of high school, then after I graduated, I decided to move back. I thought I was gonna figure out who I wanted to be while I was gone. But I just worked as a waitress day after day and never discovered anything about myself, so I came home. I figured I might as well come back to the life I’m used to and be close to the couple of friends I have.”

“Maybe living away from home and not enjoying it was what you discovered about yourself,” Carol suggested.

Nicole nodded. “That’s a good point.”

Carol gave Nicole a generic tour around the clinic, showing her different aspects of the job. She seemed a little rough around the edges at first but was very nice once she opened up a little. Nicole soon figured out why Dr. Smith wanted her to follow Carol. She was very knowledgeable and great with the animals. She was also a great teacher; her instructions understandable and easy to follow.

They spent the day together going through the daily routine step by step. They helped the doctor with patients, filling prescriptions, blood draws, and testing for parasites. Nicole could tell from the first day that she would love this job. It was much better than serving rude customers as a waitress. The animals didn’t complain and didn’t argue. They weren’t impolite, although they did occasionally get grouchy. They were simple creatures. Some were excited, some nervous, but all of them were pleasant to work with.

At the end of the day, Nicole thanked Carol for all her help and told the crew to have a good night. She got in her car and started her drive home, feeling fatigued and famished. She definitely didn’t feel like cooking supper at this point and decided to grab a sandwich on the way. Nicole savored the sloppy burger as she rolled down the highway into the countryside.

She finally approached her street after chugging along for what seemed like an eternity. The old county road was gravel, with only a few distant houses. Nicole was renting her house from an old friend’s dad who gave her a pretty good deal on the price. It wasn’t very big, but after all, she didn’t need much for just her and Salem. He was her grumpy, fat cat that she’d saved from the shelter after she graduated from college. He loved Nicole, but was pretty nasty to the few strangers he had encountered.

She shut the car door and walked up to the front porch while trying to dig through her purse. Damn it, I know I put the keys in here, Nicole thought to herself. Her uncoordinated feet tripped over the first step. Finally, she unclipped them from the strap, which, of course, was where they were the whole time.

She walked in the door, thankful to be home. Salem greeted her right away. He made several laps around her feet, trying to brush against her legs. She attempted to walk without tripping over him. He purred loudly as he watched her pour the food into his bowl. “Here you go kitty.”

Nicole strolled through the kitchen and into the living room where she flipped on the TV. She kicked off her shoes in the bedroom, refusing to wear them any longer than necessary. The flip-flops that she normally carted around with her had been forgotten that morning. After switching the scrubs for some basketball shorts, an old t-shirt, and her fuzzy blue slippers, she made her way to the couch. Her body came crashing down, then she grabbed the remote.

“I wonder what’s on tonight?” she asked Salem, as if he would somehow give her the answer. She flipped through the channels trying to find something that would jump out at her. “News, news . . .” she muttered out loud in disgust. She despised watching the news because nine times out of ten it was depressing. There was a TV series or two that she tried to follow, but today she was hunting for a good movie.

Finally, she came across a classic romantic comedy. “Oh boy,” she told Salem, with a layer of thick sarcasm. “Another reminder of how boring and lonely my miserable life is.”