Page 21 of The Last Lavender Sister

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in late May, and Aster couldn’t deny the call of the outdoors for a second longer. It had been her day to close the shop, and that would have had her at Hole in One an extra hour, but Drew had volunteered to fill in and stay late. He’d been searching for extra hours now that he had a baby on the way with Monica Henry, the blond nurse from the clinic. The town had scoffed when there was no announcement of marriage, and that made Aster roll her eyes. Why were they stuck in the 1960s when the rest of the world had clearly evolved? They wanted everyone coupled up, married, and living on their front porches for the rest of time. Even the handful of gay people, whom the town claimed like a badge of honor, were expected to settle the hell down and commit. That made folks happy for some reason. Maybe they craved solid ground under their feet.

Aster, however, craved the warmth of sunshine on her face. She hopped on her bicycle and set out for a ride. The early summer temperature was just what she needed. She’d opted for joggers and a short-sleeve white shirt, leaving her hair down so it could blow in the wind, wild and free. She rode the perimeter of town twice, enjoying every second of the exercise. Her muscles pulled pleasantly, and the wind soothed. And just because she was feeling ambitious, she decided to push a bit, taking one of the trails that wound its way through a wooded area a couple miles to the north. She knew enough to keep her eyes peeled for stray branches that had a tendency to droop, andbam!She was flat on her back, gasping for air, having run face-first into one. Her bike lay in front of her, wheels to the side and still spinning. She blinked and sputtered, choking on air after having the wind completelyknocked out of her on landing. Alone on the wooded trail, she found herself staring up at intermingling tree branches with a few rays of sunshine poking through in consolation. The unexpected view was actually kind of pretty, and Aster let herself lie there a moment, taking it in, trying to ignore the strange squeaks infiltrating the peaceful moment. Wait. What was squeaking? She raised her head. Not her. Her bike? No. She looked around. The sound was closer to quiet cries now that she listened closely, and it was coming from somewhere to her left. Interested, she pushed herself up, ignoring the fact that her elbow was scraped to hell. Her own fault for not wearing her full pads. She followed the insistent sound. The crying grew louder as she got closer, and her mind filled with concern for what she might be walking into.

Her fear was misplaced because about ten feet off the trail was a box with three very small black and white puppies inside. Aster almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She went up on tiptoe to survey the area, swiveling in a three sixty for who could have left them here. No sign of anyone, which was downright awful. She knelt down and took in the scene, her heart thudding. The tiny pups mewled. Well, two of them did. The third was pretty still other than some shallow breathing. She dropped her face for a closer look. Oh no, no, no. He didn’t look so good. Where was the mama dog? Another swivel. They were quite a distance from anyone’s home, and even if the mama dog did come back, this box was way too tall and cramped for her to get inside to nurse the pups. Aster had a horrible feeling that someone had just dumped these puppies out here as a way to get rid of the responsibility, and that made her want to cry and maybe throw a punch. “Hey, it’s okay,” she told the mewling duo, but it was the third puppy she couldn’t take her eyes off of. She didn’t know a ton about puppies, but he didn’t look like he had much longer. And without his mom, he didn’t have a shot. None of them did. Hell, it looked like their eyes were only just newly open. Springing into action, she made a quick decision. Time mattered. She wheeled her bike off the path and into brush, out of sight. She couldn’t bike and keep the pups safe. She lifted the box and gave the area one last good look. “Anyone out here?” she yelled to no response. She dropped her focus to the box. “Okay, you three. Let’s get out of here.” The only problem? They had quite a few miles to walk, and time was in short supply if her instincts were right.

“Please stay with me,” she told him. “Please.”

* * *

Homer’s Bluff Veterinary Clinic was open half a day on Saturdays, which meant Brynn had finished with her last patient hours earlier. As the sun set, she’d hung around the clinic to enjoy the turkey bacon avocado sandwich she’d picked up from Kip’s Diner and to take a little time to organize her work life. Her desk looked like a bomb had gone off after the week she’d had. The welcome-wagon nature of her appointments had definitely shifted to legitimate needs, most importantly an outbreak of kennel cough that had hit the dog park. They also had all four boarding runs full that weekend as residents embraced summer getaways, three regular clients who’d left their dogs while traveling and a stray that had been dropped off the day prior. She planned to make a last loop to check on each dog and make sure they had plenty of food, water, a chew toy, and a comfy blanket to go with their bed.

Snoogie, the spunky beagle, bellowed as she approached. He tossed his bone in the air in celebration, one of his favorite ways to express himself. He’d just be staying overnight and had already received a nice long walk and a ball session with Freddy. “I hear you, Snoogie. It’s a hard-knock life.” She gave his ears a hearty scratch. “But guess what? You’re sprung tomorrow.” He chased his tail and offered her another bark.

“I know it. It’s like vacation for the best dogs ever.”

Before Brynn could move down the line to distribute a little more TLC, her attention was pulled by a loud rapping on the door up front. She didn’t so much as pause, recognizing the insistent nature of the knock as important. Her emergency instincts kicked in, and she hurried to open up, already getting herself ready for whoever might need her help. She was surprised to see Aster standing there, pink cheeks and worried eyes. She held tightly to a cardboard box making lots of noise.

“Can you help us? We need help.”

“Of course. Come in. Come in,” Brynn said automatically, stepping out of the way.

“I have puppies. Three of them,” Aster said, hurrying in. She turned back to Brynn, eye contact unwavering, a new form of intensity from Aster that she’d not seen before. But this was Brynn’s world, herarea of expertise, and she could be calm enough for the both of them. Always best in an emergent situation.

“You came across them?”

Aster nodded and gulped air. She was worn out, clearly. “From off the trail in the woods. I don’t know what they were doing there, but I think someone dumped them.”

“Okay, let’s see.” Brynn took a look inside the box. A trio of black and white pups. “They’re young. About a week and a half, maybe two weeks old.” She scooped up the least active puppy and turned him over gently, giving him a good rub back and forth. He was clearly weak, likely cold and dehydrated, which caused her concern. He needed his mama for a good chance at survival, but they would do what they could. Twelve hours without food for a puppy this young could easily be a death sentence, and who knew how long these guys had gone. That’s when she remembered. She swiveled and faced Aster. “You know, a stray that the postman dropped off here yesterday had recently given birth. I wonder if we have a match.”

Aster’s eyebrows went up, hopeful. Her brown eyes went wide. “You might have the mom?”

“Let’s find out. Follow me.”

Together they walked back to the boarding room and found the black and white little girl who happened to match the puppies’ color scheme to perfection. Jack Russell mixes was her guess. When the box of puppies neared the stray, she started turning in circles and whining frantically. “I’d say we got her attention.” They watched as she put her paws up on the door and barked once to confirm their suspicion before turning in circles again, anxious.

Aster turned to her. “We should reunite them, right?”

“Yes. She’s probably been a total wreck without them.” Brynn took the box into the run with her while Aster watched from outside. “Hi, baby girl. I have some pups that you might be looking for.” She removed each of the three puppies from the box and placed them on the white blanket folded into a large rectangle. The mama dog immediately began to lick her pups in greeting, and the two active ones wasted no time in the pursuit of milk, suckling without prompting. “I think we have a winner,” she said to Aster.

“But the little guy. He’s not eating.”

Brynn had noticed that, too, but also knew he might just need alittle help. “Here you go, puppy,” she said, ushering him to an available teat and offering support. “You can do it.” Unfortunately, he wouldn’t latch, even at the mama dog’s encouragement as she licked and helped reposition him.

“Damn,” Aster said, hand through her hair, gripping it.

“Be patient,” Brynn said, knowing these things could take time. But after a few minutes of trying, in which the littlest puppy only seemed to grow weaker, she knew it was time to intervene. Hypoglycemia was a concern that could lead to other problems. And dehydration in puppies was dangerous and nothing to sit on. “Well, we all tried. I think it’s time to feed him with a catheter and syringe,” Brynn said. Aster had slid to a seated position on the floor, her eyes glued to the unresponsive puppy.

“Yes. Good. We have to do something,” she said, standing up and following Brynn into the supply room.

Brynn located the milk supplement and everything they would need along with a fluffy towel for warmth.

“Would you like to do the honors?” Brynn asked. “After all, you are the one that brought him for help.”

Aster’s big brown eyes blinked back at her. “I could feed him? You think that would be okay?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ll show you how.”

They sat together, side by side on the concrete floor in front of the run, as the mama dog happily took care of her two rescued babies. While Snoogie put two paws on his door and looked on with concern, Brynn gently inserted the catheter toward the back of the puppy’s mouth and pushed the plunger to expel the tiniest bit of milk, hoping he would reflexively swallow. It took a few tries but after they found a little rhythm, she handed the operation over to Aster, who looked nervously reverent as she accepted the blanket wrapped pup.

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