City Vets: Matt takes a breather

Though he didn’t like to admit it to anyone, Matt liked working on Saturdays. The clinic always felt calmer at the weekend, more peaceful. He stamped the mud from his shoes as he closed the front door.

“Hi Sharon.”

“You’re early. You know consults start at nine?”

He smiled and wandered into the ward with its empty kennels – a drip pump with a blank screen hung from a cage door. In the back room, a pile of dry towels had been stacked neatly and the floor tiles shone in the pale winter light; it was like walking through a chapel after morning service.

Upstairs, he made himself a cup of tea and sat on the sofa, looking at the scrub tops thrown aside last night in the rush to get out on time.

“First one’s here,” Sharon said.

“Okay, I’ll come now.”

“Just Mrs Philips, so won’t take long.”

Mrs Philips’ cat was on treatment for arthritis.

“How’s Buttons doing?”

“Oh, very good. I can’t believe how he’s jumping on to my bed again – simply amazing.”

As Matt dropped the needle into the sharps bin afterwards, he said, “Good, all done for another month. Do you need anything else?”

“Err, no that’s it. I did have a question, though.”

“Yes?”

“This might sound a bit silly, but I know Buttons isn’t getting any younger… can I ask what happens when the treatment stops working?”

“Erm, well, there are other things we can try, other painkillers. There’s a good one called…”

“No, I don’t think that would be fair. I suppose I’m just asking how it works when his time comes?”

“Oh, I see. We use an anaesthetic drug… very strong…”

Suddenly, all Matt could think about was Bella, the last patient he’d had to euthanise. Her trusting eyes, her thin skin, the tail that still wagged, though weaker than before. She seemed so ready at the end, not a flinch when he gave the injection. Could it be that?

“We make sure they’re comfortable, of course, use a sedative if they’re anxious. They, err, just drift off to sleep, then the heart slowly stops beating.”

Matt had a strange sensation. Could it be that Bella knew what was happening? Was she letting him? No, that’s crazy. You’re going effing crazy, get on with it. He turned back to Mrs Philips.

“Is, is that okay?”, he asked.

At lunchtime, Matt checked the weather forecast for surfers on his phone – the local coastline was all reds and purples, like a big bruise.

“Oh, oh yes,” he murmured.

“You all right, there?”, Ali asked from the other side of the staff room.

“How do you fancy a day at the seaside tomorrow?”

Ali paused. “Erm, all right then. Is it going to be sunny?”

“No, not exactly.”

The next day

The next day, Matt pulled up in a sandy space and turned the engine off. The only noise was the wind buffeting the car. He leaned forward.

“And you’re going out in that?”, Ali said from the passenger seat.

“Yeah, looks bloody fantastic, doesn’t it?” He watched as a bodyboarder caught a wave and started riding it back to shore.

“You’re bonkers.” She dug into a bag of crisps.

“Bonkers, but beautiful, I know, I know. Are those on offer?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Ali tipped a few into his hand.

“Thanks. Might need the energy.” He winked at her, opened his door and walked to the boot. Ali looked at her wing mirror absent-mindedly as he got changed – the broken arm of his wetsuit would appear and then disappear.

Occasionally, she heard a grunt.

“You all right back there?”

“Yeah. I’m sure this thing’s shrunk since last time.”

“All those crisps you’ve been eating lately.”

At Ali’s window, his hair blowing in the wind, Matt said, “You wanna come down with me?”

“Err, no. I’m quite happy with my phone and a dozen Rolos, thank you.”

“Thought you’d say that. No harm in asking though.” He trotted off, picking a path through the stones, occasionally slipping, sometimes stopping to plan his next move. Soon, he was just another person silhouetted against the grey sea and blue sky.

As he remembered their journey down in the car, Matt chuckled at his attempts to start a conversation.

“Bloody idiot,” he muttered, attaching the strap to his ankle, squeezing it tight. The surf was crashing and boiling, the sound was like static from his old radio. He clutched his board and waded in.

For a while, he lazed around beyond the breaking waves, watching them retreat, disappear from view, a cloud of spray the only thing at the end. An image of Abigail slowly came to him, the young vet who… a pregnant wave lifted him up, then quietly laid him back down. Oh, Abi.

Another hill of water surged towards him. Paddle, paddle as hard as you can. Suddenly, it was all around him. Yes. He had the sensation of being shot forward, then as he stood up, being held by something, an invisible force. The water was just there, just there by his feet, alive and open mouthed.

At the end, he jumped off and casually looked in Ali’s direction: she must have seen him, surely? But she wasn’t watching; she seemed to have her head down, staring at something.

“Hi babes,” Ali texted Louise. “How’s my fave nurse? x”