When I got home, I found Kooper waiting on the porch, looking like a freezer bunny popsicle. Despite the summer heat, he shivered as though a blizzard had blown in. His fur was blue like ice and nose was red as a cherry. Something was bad wrong, so I scooped him up and went back to Newcrest expeditiously. I’d never been to a vet before and had no idea what hours they kept and hoped they worked a bit longer than sim doctors. The lights were on when I arrived, and I felt so relieved to see the doctor still inside. He took one look at Kooper and ushered to a room right away. I feared his alarm showed the severity of Kooper’s condition, but it did not. He said that particular illness could lead to more serious things, and at Kooper’s age, we needed to act quickly. Good thing I didn’t try to solve this on my own.
Kooper was a champ, looking completely unbothered, though the situation was foreign to him. Even the doctor commented, saying first-timers were usually nervous and sometimes got aggressive because they went into self-preservation mode. I presumed my presence had a calming effect on him, and it was fascinating to observe the trust between us in action.
His illness may not have been serious, but the bill certainly was. Between the pets and my daughter, I realized my life was about to get very expensive, and it seemed like every day I had a new reason to appreciate the money tree.
Before leaving, I remembered I wanted to get him and Rosie some age down and wellness treats. Even though I never wanted to see my pets suffer, I was glad for the opportunity to take care of that errand because I kept putting off.
Sophia was waiting for me when we got home and looked very relieved when I came in with Kooper.
“There he is! I couldn’t find him for like two hours. I thought he ran away or something.”
“Nah, he’s fine now. I got home a little while ago and saw he was really sick, so I took him to the vet.”
“Oh! Oh gosh. Well…I’m glad he’s alright.”
“Yeah… I got them some wellness treats…and something to make them young again.”
“Oh good! We don’t need dying parents and pets.”
“You got that right.”
She fell onto me and squeezed super tight, and I melted into her, not realizing how much I had missed her. I loved my daughter, and hanging out with my niblings, parents, and Less had been great. But this… That hug was what I really needed. I tried to keep all my visits short, but it still felt like we’d been apart for way too long.
“I miss you, Luca,” she said, purring in my ear.
“I miss you too.”
“I really really miss you.”
I knew she wasn’t trying to make me feel guilty and was just stating her truth, but I still felt it. Every day, it seemed like I ran off to go be with everyone else besides her and Desi.
“I’m right here,” I said. “You don’t have to miss me anymore.”
“Desiree is asleep,” she whispered.
“Oh, good… Oh!“
I started to ask something dumb like if she felt up to it, but she wouldn’t be loitering in our living room if she didn’t. Sophia never beat around the bush when it came to woohoo, so I took her hand and went upstairs. That was certainly not the actions of a depressed woman.
