Carrying on
For his trip to England, Macon dressed in his most comfortable suit. One suit is plenty, he advised in his guidebooks. It should be a medium gray, which not only hides the dirt but can be worn on any occasion, business or social.
He packed a small bag and took a last look round, not wanting to leave the safe routines of his house. Then he whistled for the dog and stepped out the front door into the midday heat.
He was taking the dog to the Veterinary hospital while he was away. Edward did not like staying there, and when they arrived, he began to make little moaning noises and would not get out of the car. Macon had to pull him all the way into the building.
The girl behind the desk asked for Macon’s name and gave him a printed form and a pencil. Edward was now standing on his back legs and holding on to Macon’s leg.
‘Leary. Leary.’ The girl pulled a card out of a box, frowning. ‘Whoa,’ she said. ‘Is that Edward? On Rayford Road?’
‘That’s right.’
‘We can’t accept him. Says here he bit an attendant. Says, “Bit Barry in the ankle, do not re-admit.”’
‘Well, they should have.’
‘Look,’ Macon said. ‘I’m on my way to the airport, right this minute. I’ve got a plane to catch.’
But the girl was not interested in Macon’s problems, and he went back to the car with Edward. What now? He didn’t think his sister would want Edward either, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask Sarah for help.
He drove toward home, wondering if he could leave Edward in the house the way he left the car, with plenty of food and water. Then across the street he saw a sign: MEOW-BOW ANIMAL HOSPITAL. He braked, and made a left turn into the entrance.
Behind the desk in the waiting room stood a thin young woman, with frizzy black hair that came down to her shoulders like a small tent. ‘Hi there,’ she said to Macon.
Macon said, ‘Do you take dogs? I need to leave Edward somewhere for a week.’
She leaned over the desk to look at Edward. Her eyes were very small, like little brown buttons, and her face was sharp and colorless. Edward looked up at her cheerfully.
‘You need to have a reservation in the summer,’ she said.
‘please,’ Macon said. ‘I have to catch a plane in a hour, and I don’t have anybody to look after him. I’m desperate.’
She seemed surprised. ‘Can’t you leave him with your wife?’
‘If I could do that,’ he said, ‘why would I be standing here?’
‘Oh,’ she said. ‘You’re not married?’
‘Well, I am, but she’s… living somewhere else.’
‘Oh.’ She came out from behind the desk. She was wearing very short red shorts; her legs were like sticks. ‘I’ m divorced myself,’ she said. ‘ I know what you’ re going through.’
‘The place I usually take him,’ Macon said, ‘won’t take him again. They say he bit an attendant.’
‘Edward? Do you bite?’ the woman said. ‘How could you do such a thing?’ Edward looked up at her happily, and put his ears back, inviting a par. She bent and stroked his head.
Macon realized he should not have mentioned the biting, but the woman didn’t seem to mind.
‘So will you keep him?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I guess,’ she said. ‘If you’re desperate.’
She gave Macon some forms to fill in. ‘I’ll most likely see you again when you come to pick him up,’ she said. ‘My name’s Muriel. Muriel Pritchett.’