Bradley nodded thoughtfully. “A gift, yeah. I know exactly what you mean. So, are you off back home now?”
She pulled her green woollen cardigan from a nearby clothes peg and wrapped it around herself. “Too blooming right I am. I’m exhausted. I’d only been in bed a few hours when I got your call.”
“One of the downsides of being a vet on call, huh?”
“The worst one,” she said. “I need my sleep. Always have.”
“Sorry I had to wake you. I couldn’t have done it without you, though. You were amazing.”
“It’s no problem.” She gave her hands one last rinse in the sink and wiped them dry on a towel. “I’ll be back here on Wednesday to do my monthly check-ups. Will you be here?”
“I’ll be around. As usual.”
Annaliese nodded. She respected the fact that Bradley lived on the park grounds and pretty much worked seven days a week – he was young, eager to gain experience, and truly loved his work – but she thought he’d be better off having some semblance of a life, too. He was a young, average-looking bloke with a good job. There was more to the world than a modest zoo on top of a hill.
“You should get out more,” she said. “You’ll end up working yourself to death before you’re thirty. You need to find a balance between work and life. Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.”
Bradley raised any eyebrow. “Did you come up with that yourself?”
“No, John Lennon did, but if you can’t trust the Beatles, who can you trust? Just don’t work yourself to death.”
He shrugged. “I enjoy it. Tell you the truth, I sometimes like spending time with the animals more than I do people. Sad, huh?”
“A little bit; but I know what you mean.” She really did understand the peaceful tranquillity that being around animals brought, and how it was the total opposite of the stress and anxiety that being around people caused. “But that’s a dangerous road,” she added. “You’ll end up a hermit. Get yourself out on the town. Grab a drink and a girl, and be irresponsible for a night.”
“You fancy going with me?” he asked.
Annaliese spluttered at the unexpected question. “Me? I’m almost ten years older than you are. You can find far better company than me.”
“I don’t think so. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Annaliese was surprised. She had no idea that Bradley thought of her in such a way. She didn’t know what to say, or even how she felt about the suggestion. It had been years since she’d dated anybody.
For good reason.
I’m damaged goods.
“I…I’ll think about it, Bradley,” she said. “See you Wednesday.”
He seemed a little disappointed, but not devoid of all hope. In all honesty, she was not turning him down, just stalling for time while she considered her options. She never did anything without weighing up the pros and cons first. It was too easy in life to make mistakes and fill your head with regrets. She often thought fast, but she always thought smart.
She headed out of the stable’s washroom and stepped into the concrete corridor which led past the four stalls housing the zoo’s Clydesdales. The reek of oiled leather and musky smells filled the air.
Rita was lain down in the first stall, cleaning her mewing foal with her coarse tongue. The stallion, Cassius, was in the booth next to her, sniffing at the air with interest.
The proud father.
At the end of the corridor, she turned the deadbolt on the block’s exit door and stepped outside. The cold atmosphere of dawn pinched at her cheeks and slapped away some of her tiredness. It didn’t stop her from letting out a long, drawn-out yawn, or rubbing at the fuzziness behind her eyelids.
She glanced at her watch: it was 6AM. The birth had been a long one, even if not particularly complicated. She hoped she wasn’t too tired to drive. Rush hour would be approaching soon and she was feeling like a zombie, dead on her feet.