On The Couch [Editing]

Chapter Sixteen

I nodded while Evan took the clipboard, his hand still on the small of my back rubbing gently. It sent shocks of comfort and pleasure through me. We took a seat in the low lighted room and I looked around at the fake green plants and salmon leather chairs. They were uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to stay,” I said a moment later.

“How will you get home then?” He said gazing at me as he pulled the pen attached to the clipboard and began to fill out the paperwork – without asking me any questions. He noticed me watching him surprised.

“I do have a file on you, you know. I know the basics,” he smiled.

“How did you know where I live?” I asked.

“Again I have a file on you.”

Oh. Duh.

“How did Stacy get a hold of you?”

“She has all clients contact information it seems. However, she seemed amused to be asking this favor of me.”

I rolled my eyes. Now I understood why Evan was the one on my porch.

“I’m going to kill her,” I mumbled.

“Why?”

“She apparently thought it would be funny to have you come to my rescue,” I glanced at him and I could guess he was thinking the same thing I was about her reasons. I quickly tried to make a different excuse. “Being my therapist and all and her knowing what Boxer means to me, she was drinking, I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” Evan chuckled.

Now he began to ask me some questions from the paperwork, ones that he didn’t know and returned the completed work to the receptionist when he finished. He didn’t ask anything else for the time being, just sat there watching me while I comforted Boxer.

The dog started to get nervous and whimpering more as if he knew we were at the doctor’s office. No animal likes going to the doctor really. For a change I was actually nervous having Evan here in such a casual way and seeing into my personal life a little bit.

“Boxer,” a nurse called my dog’s name. I practically jumped up with the animal in my arms and ran over to her.

“Yes.”

“Right this way,” she led me to an exam room and Evan followed quietly behind me. I didn’t mind I found myself wanting him to be at my side right now. I am grateful for his presence; it seemed to keep me from freaking out and becoming a puddle of nerves and stress.

The exam room is cold, probably because of all the stainless steel and disinfectant equipment strewn about in an organized fashion. I hated having to make Boxer more uncomfortable to fix what is happening to him.

The veterinarian came in a few minutes later, a stocky plump man that had a tired smile on his aging face.

“Good evening,” he still seemed cheery enough despite the hour of the night.

“Hello.”

“If you could put Boxer up here on the table and tell me what seems to be the problem while I start my exam please,” he said and it seemed like he was used to saying this to concerned pet owners all the time.

I went into a little stumbling speech of what had been going on with Boxer, trying to recall every little detail about his behavior. I explained about tonight waking up from a nap to see him lying there with his nose bleeding as the vet examined Boxer making me cringe when Boxer whimpered from a poke or prod.

“From my initial examination this looks like a bacterial infection. I’ll have to run some tests in the back and then we can get him all fixed up for you guys. Don’t worry your family pet is in good hands.”