Dirty Little Secret

sixteen | friendship bracelets

Riley

"Do you always bottle-feed them?" I ask Lucas as I lean on the metal table.

"No." He shakes his head. "She was born prematurely."

"Oh." I frown. "That's always such a sad thing because they hardly ever survive."

"She's doing really well, actually."

I sit up straighter, hopeful. "Really?"

"Yeah." He looks down at the baby sea lion laying on the blanket. "She's grown since I last saw her."

"That's a good sign, right?"

Lucas nods. "It's great." He sighs. "There's only so many ways you can treat a premature animal. We can't just stick 'em in an incubator and hook them up to tubes and machines like with humans. You just get to help a little, and hope they do the rest naturally."

"I get it." I nod. "It's hard." I swallow slowly. "A few weeks ago, I had to assist an Euthanasia for the first time. It was a goat." I shrug. "It was still hard. Even though I knew it was suffering, and it would be better." I sniffle. "I went home and cried."

Lucas gives me a pitiful expression. "I'm sorry." He says softly. "That's never easy. No matter the animal, or the circumstance."

"I think that was the first time I questioned my major."

He chuckles. "And?"

"And despite how hard it was, I'm not switching."

"Good." He takes my hand in his. "Here. You feed her."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure you've bottle-fed an animal before... Or at least a baby."

I chuckle and take the bottle from his hand. "Yes, I've bottle-fed an animal before. And a baby, once."

The baby sea lion's eyes are closed as it sucks on the bottle. I never knew I needed to see a baby sea lion until today.

"So, what's your story?" Lucas asks after a few minutes of silence.

My brows furrow. "My story?"

"Yeah." He nods. "Why do you want to be a vet?"

"Oh." I chuckle. "It's stupid, really."

"Everyone says that." He nudges my elbow. "Come on. Tell me."

I sigh. "When I was like seven, my parents took my sister and me to this drive-thru safari. There were kangaroos, cattle, a bison, llamas and alpacas, goats, giraffes, you name it." I shrug. "I don't know, I think I just fell in love with it. I spent hours with the baby animals they had inside. One of the employees let me feed them and talked to me for a while. I've loved animals ever since."

"So are you going to be a Vet for like a zoo or..."

"No, no. Just like dogs and cats." I mumble. "Though, I will be licensed to treat farm animals if need be."

"I'll let you know if my horse is ever injured."

My eyes widen. "You have a horse?"

Lucas chuckles. "It was sarcasm, sweetheart."

"Oh." I slump in my seat. "Bummer."

"You ever been horseback riding?"

I nod. "A few times. On vacation with my family, we used to go."

"My grandparents own a horse ranch, they let people come take lessons and everything. It's this whole fancy equestrian setup." He leans his palms against the table. "It's kind of ridiculous." He smiles. "I think you'd love it."