Page 68 of The Grumpiest Elf

He’s unfailingly supportive, though, telling me that I’m lucky my mom is happy to have me around, that he knows I’ll find something as soon as possible, that in the meantime I can use the time to research different programs and degree plans, figure out what I want to do with myself.

And he’s right. So I spend time at the local library, small as it is. I even drop Mom off at work a couple days a week and drive over to Inglewood to see if I could find a job there and spend time browsing their slightly larger library that’s open more often. While those two libraries are part of a much larger network that allows me to request books and pick them up at my local branch, browsing the online catalogue isn’t the same as wandering the stacks to see what might interest me.

I check out a variety of books on everything from woodworking to psychology and self help to fashion history.

The self help is more for actually helping myself and not because I think psychology is a viable career field for me. But figuring out and moving past my people pleasing tendencies seems like it’ll only be positive in the long run, and if I’m taking this time to figure myself out, that seems like a good start.

It’s Sarah who finally comes through for me, calling me up, her voice vibrating with excitement. “How do you feel about animals?”

“Uh … what? Baby animals are cute, I guess. What kind of animals?”

“All kinds,” Sarah says. “Dr. Vanoger is looking for front office help. It’s officially temporary while his usual receptionist is on maternity leave. But word is that she’s likely to want to stay home with the baby full time, or, at worst, come back only part time until the kid’s in school. So it’d be full time to start, and maybe part time. But by the time she’s back, you could supplement with another part time gig somewhere else. And even if it’s only temporary, it’ll last until people start hiring for summer, and who knows what you’ll be doing after that, right?”

Her excitement is infectious. “Oh, that’s perfect. Thank you so much, Sarah. You’re the best.”

“I know,” she preens, then laughs. “Okay, I’ll text you the office number so you can schedule an interview. He works with all kinds of animals, from family pets to livestock, so you definitely won’t get bored. I told him you were a whiz at charming kids and could deal with technology like a pro. I hope I didn’t lie about that last part.”

I laugh. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out. It’s basic computer stuff, right? They’re not expecting me to be tech support.”

She laughs too. “I mean, if you could do tech support, he’d probably want to keep you forever, but no, it’s just basic stuff. He’s a bit of a Luddite, though, so as long as you don’t makehimdeal with the computer, he’ll love you.”

“Got it.”

“I’m not going to say it’s a done deal,” she cautions. “You still have to do well at the interview. But call now. It’ll show that you’re excited about the job, and that’ll score points with the whole staff. And if you don’t have a lot of experience with animals, talk about how you always wanted a puppy but your mom said no or something. They’re all animal lovers. You need to be one too. Or at least convince them you are.”

Laughing, I nod. “Okay. Let me hang up then so I can call now.”

“Right! Come by when I close. I’ll buy you a coffee to celebrate!”

* * *

Dr. Vonager looks me up and down at my spot behind the front desk, his travel kit in hand. “I have an emergency call,” he says without preamble. “You’ll come with me.”

Surprised, I look around to see if he might be talking to someone else, but Sharon, the tech who sits at the desk when she’s not with a patient, is doing a dental cleaning. There’s no one here but me. “Really? But what about the phones?”

He waves his free hand. “Send ‘em to voicemail. We’ll call them when we get back and schedule them then. Sharon can hold down the fort on her own more easily than I can deal with an injured calf without help.”

When I stand, he looks me over, his eyes sharply assessing, then gives a nod as though to say,You’ll do.

I scribble a sign on a piece of paper that says, “Out for emergency. Sharon will get you for your appointment.” Then I set the phones to ring straight to voicemail and hurry after Dr. Vonager, grabbing my jacket and climbing into his truck.

He looks me over again when I buckle my seatbelt, his dark brows pulled together in consternation. “Do you have boots?”

My brows jump. “I have snow boots at home.” It’s early April, and the snow’s mostly gone except for the gravel covered remains of large berms left by the plows. I wear sneakers to work with my scrubs.

He nods. “What’s your address. You’ll need them.”

After picking up my boots—where I also change into jeans and an old sweater at Dr. Vonager’s orders while he waits in the truck—he updates me on the situation we’re heading to. “The Johnsons keep a small herd for milk and beef. One of their new calves caught himself on some barbed wire and cut himself up real good. I’ll need you to help hold him down and keep him calm while I work on him.”

I swallow down my anxiety and nod. “Okay.”

He nods too. “You’ll be fine,” he assures me. “You’ll probably end up covered in mud, but I’ve seen you with some of the skittish animals—and skittish people. The calf should make it, we just need to close up some of the deep wounds and make sure he doesn’t get infected.”

I nod again, feeling more confident. “Okay.” This time, my voice is firm.

As predicted, I end up covered in mud and straw from kneeling on the floor of the barn, draping my weight over the calf while I gave it pets and made soothing noises. Dr. Vonager gave it something to help it stay calm, but out in the barn, he said he couldn’t put it all the way to sleep. Too dangerous.

It took a long time for him to clean and suture the wounds, one of them deep enough to cut into the muscle beneath, plus cleaning a lot of surface scratches that I covered with ointment at his directions.

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