I arrived at the clinic with Mabel's stool sample in a sealed container and her care log folded in my coat pocket.
She was brighter than she had been all week. She resisted the carrier, complained at every turn, and tried to climb over my arm when I lifted her onto the examination table. Dr. Vale checked her temperature and listened to her heart. She said the fever was gone and Mabel's appetite looked better, but she wanted to see her again if the eating slowed.
I asked whether the fever could come back.
"It could," Dr. Vale said. "That's why you keep watching her."
I nodded. It wasn't the promise I wanted. It was the truth I could use.
At work, the review had reached its conclusion. The instrument vendor's findings matched the internal records. There had been no valid repeat run befo
