Best Served Cold

Don't Think About It

            Something moved inside his chest, and it was very gentle, and warm, and careful. He didn’t think very hard about it, he couldn’t. But whatever it was, it came with three very distinct words.

            “Mystery needs you.”

            He wasn’t sure how he got to his feet, but he didn’t think about it. When the sling was lowered for Mystery, he placed him in it and climbed the ladder for himself, making very sure not to think about what he was doing. As soon as he reached the top, he reclaimed Mystery, stammering that they needed to go to the vet right away.

            “You need to go to the hospital first son, you were in a cave-in!” The patrolman exclaimed. “You look okay but no telling what kind of damage you might have where we can’t see—”

            “M-Mystery’s the one b-b-b-bleeding out, get us to a v-v-v-vet now!” Arthur blurted, crawling into the back of the car.

            “He’s right, we aren’t injured, but our dog got caught in the rockfall.” Vivi slid in next to him. “Please, we’ll come in to answer questions later.”

            Reluctantly, the patrolman drove them to the nearest 24-hour vet. Arthur barely waited for the car to pull to a complete stop before diving out, racing through the doors and shouting, “P-p-please, s-s-someone beat my d-d-dog, please h-help!”

            And the hours after were a blur. Questions he couldn’t recall the answers to that somehow got answered. Medical forms his hand was too shaky to sign that were signed Lewis.  His hand moving to take Vivi’s when all his thoughts were bent on Mystery, and not on the silent blue girl next to him.

            Finally the vet came out. She was a kindly-looking middle-aged woman, her auburn hair shot through with streaks of silver and eyes like warm chocolate. “You bring in the battered dog?” She asked.

            Arthur shot to his feet, then sank back down to the chair, hyperventilating. Vivi squeezed his hand and let go, standing. “Yes, that’s us. How is he?”

            “He’ll live, but I want to keep him here for a couple days. He almost didn’t make it, but I think the worst is over. You kids live in the area?”

            “I don’t know,” Arthur muttered, gripping his head with his hands.

            “I think so.” Vivi pulled out her phone, checking their location. “Sorry, it’s been a rough night, we’re not sure where we are… about an hour away.” She confirmed.

            “Alright, if you can leave him with us for a couple of days we’ll have him ready to go home then. Maybe try to come visit him, we’ll need to talk to you about how to help him learn to adjust to losing a leg.”

            A thin giggle escaped Arthur. “Us teaching an ancient fox-beast how to recover, that’s funny.”

            The vet shot a quizzical look at Arthur, but Vivi just put a hand on the vet’s arm. “It’s been a long night,” she apologized, “We’re tired, he’s kind of out of it. We’ll be back soon, our numbers are on the paperwork.”

            “I’m not leaving Mystery.” Arthur stared down at the ground, eyes still wide.

            Vivi hesitated, then sighed. “I’ll talk to him. Thank you doctor…?”

            “Doctor Noble.”

            “Thank you Doctor Noble. We’ll be back soon.”

            The woman nodded, shaking Vivi’s hand and casting a sympathetic glance at Arthur before turning to leave.

            Vivi turned, her azure shoes clicking hard to a stop just within Arthur’s view.

            “Now you listen here,” her voice was far from the steady, calm small-talk voice he had just heard her use. “Both of you.”

            Don’t think about that.

            “I just got whisked off by a giant fox—which is amazing—and taken to the cave where my boyfriend died—which was not—to find Arthur falling through the air to his death, and then I find out that everybody knows a lot more about that night in the cave than they ever told me and that. Is. Not. Okay. Now. I get Arthur’s not stable, and some explanations have to wait. But Arthur M. Rebbs, you are leaving Mystery here. You are going home. You are going to sleep. You are going to eat. We will come back for Mystery soon, we’ll visit him tomorrow if you want, but we are leaving this place.”

            Arthur withered under her diatribe, cringing back into his seat. He had no wherewithal to hold his own, and he felt a familiar misery creeping up on him.

            His mouth opened, and someone else’s voice came out.

            “Viv, he’s still a wreck. Gentle.”

            Vivi’s breath caught. Her voice came out cracking. “I don’t want to hear that from you. I don’t know what you did, but I got to see him all this week. I got to go to his house earlier today and see his goodbye note on the end table, the one that said you were coming for him. I got to see him fall apart this week because of you, and that’s not the Lewis I know and love.”

            A deep shame, not his own, welled up inside him. To his surprise, he felt pity for Lewis, but Vivi was right. He needed rest, he could barely walk as it was.

            He spoke for himself again, his voice dry and whispery. “Viv… you’re r-right… I… we’ll… talk to you… I promise. B-but I…” His voice dropped off, and was picked up by Lewis.

            “He needs rest.”

            “Then let’s go.” Vivi flicked her phone on. “I’ll call us a car, and I’m calling in sick. This qualifies as a family emergency, and they can do without me for a few days.”