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the hearty hamburger and beans that I was happy to inhale. ¡°Here I thought I was playing
it safe with Travis¡ Guess no one is safe.¡±
¡°Now, honey,¡± he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear my daughter saying stuff like that.¡±
¡°Oh, please, like you¡¯re one to talk,¡± I argued back in between mouthfuls of chili. ¡°How
do you feel about love ever since Mom left, huh?¡±
His eyes dropped to his tea. When my mom left us when I was sixteen, my dad swore
he¡¯d never love again. And he was right. Not by his own choosing, single women seemed
to flock to him when he was recently divorced, but he was just too¡ bitter. After a
moment of silence, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be like me, Sammy. Old and alone¡¡±
I flopped my forehead on the table and moaned, ¡°Ugh¡ Why is this happening to me?¡±
¡°It gets easier, honey. Trust me.¡±
¡°Does it?¡± I challenged again and this time, in a voice that was similar to how it
sounded when he used to ground me.
He answered, ¡°Yes.¡±
***
The next day, I called the veterinarian clinic to talk to my former boss Chris Walker
about rehiring me. My stomach sank when my old friend and fellow veterinarian, Ellen,
answered the phone instead of Kelly, the meek secretary. ¡°Thanks for calling East Mascid
Veterinary Clinic, this is Ellen, how can I help you?¡±
Not ready to break the news to Ellen, I lowered my voice as an attempt to disguise my
identity. ¡°Hi, is Doctor Chris Walker in?¡±
¡°Sure, who¡¯s speaking?¡±
¡°Umm¡ a friend of his.¡±
I could hear her roll her eyes, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m going to need a name.¡±
¡°Uh, it¡¯s¡ª¡±
¡°Wait, Samantha? Is that you?¡± Air got stuck in my throat and my eyes shifted back
and forth, ready to hang up and never work again. ¡°I recognized your number on the caller
ID¡¡±
¡°Fuck,¡± I whispered, forgetting that crucial detail. ¡°Hey, Ellen¡¡±
¡°Samantha, are you okay?¡± she asked. ¡°You sounded¡ manly¡ and I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve
