Page 140 of Wrench

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¡°Bring whatever medical supplies you might have,¡± he said. ¡°Anything. Thread, gauze,

anything. And meet us at the Tavern. Please.¡±

¡°Medical supplies¡­? Isaac, I¡¯m a veterinarian. What is going on?¡±

¡°Samantha. I need you.¡± I could envision his serious green eyes staring at me, begging

me to help without asking questions. Glancing over my shoulder in the direction of my

dad¡¯s room where he was sound asleep, a pang surged through me. Once again, Isaac said,

¡°Samantha¡­¡±

¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±

Quickly, I searched through all my work bags, desperate for any medical supplies. I

had no idea what I was going on, let alone what kind of stuff I may need. Luckily, I had a

first aid kit handy with a few extra tools. It wasn¡¯t much, but I was a half-asleep

veterinarian. What more did they expect?

Throwing the kit in a black backpack and slipping on a black sweater and pants, trying

to be as camouflaged into the dark as possible, I snuck down the steps. Right as I was

slipping on my shoes, the living room lamp flicked on and I froze. Stirring from the sofa

was followed by my dad¡¯s footsteps and eventually, him confronting me at the door.

¡°Sammy?¡± he asked sleepily, as if wondering if he was dreaming. ¡°What are you

doing?¡±

¡°Umm¡­ why are you sleeping on the couch?¡± That was not the correct answer.

My dad¡¯s eyes perked and more alert, he said, ¡°Because after today, I was worried

you¡¯d go sneaking out again.¡±

¡°Dad, I¡¯m twenty-seven, it¡¯s not sneaking out.¡±

¡°Then tell me where you¡¯re going if you¡¯re not sneaking around.¡±

¡°I don¡¯t have time¡ª¡±

¡°It¡¯s four in the morning, Sam. What could you be in a rush for?¡±

I didn¡¯t even have an answer to give if I wanted to.

¡°Something is wrong with you, Sammy, you¡¯re not acting like yourself.¡± His voice

turned more concerned. ¡°If¡­ if you¡¯re seeing someone and they¡¯re making you act like

this, then¡­ maybe it isn¡¯t¡ª¡±

¡°Dad, stop,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±

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