I sat in my van crying like a baby. I didn’t know if I would be able to take it. This felt like the harshest possible dog scenario imaginable, and it was just shoved into my world in the blink of an eye. It just felt like too much. From the van I called Lore, but it went to voicemail and I hung up. I called my buddy Biscuit, but that too went to a machine.
I drove back to the RV and scrolled through my contacts looking for somebody to talk to. Somebody that would understand. Somebody that might really know what it really meant.
“Hi Aaron, Jim died Sunday!”
“Oh Barb, I’m so sorry to hear that, are you OK?”
“Yeah I’m fine. Aaron, it’s so nice hearing from you. I think about you and Quinn all the time, what’s up?”
“Hey Barbara, it’s about Quinn. I took her to the vet today and the vet said that Quinn will probably be blind in a very short period of time, and it all came on very quickly, and I’m freaking the fuck out.”
Barbara Lawrence is a client of mine, and I suppose you can say one of my truest fans. About seven years ago now, long before Quinn came into my life, I spent a good portion of one whole summer working at her residence. Fifteen weeks to be exact. Since that time, I have been back just about every year for the annual maintenance. Consequently, Barbara, along with the other adjoining owners of their six townhouse complex have gotten to know Quinn very well.
“Aaron, I’m going to hang up from you right now and call my good friend Ann Grazek, she’s..”
“Holy Crap Barbara that’s the same name that the vet lady wrote down on a piece of paper and told me to go see from this point forward,” I said.
“She’s the finest Pet Opthamologist in all the land, and she happens to have an office in this area. I am going to call her office right now. They may be gone for the day but I will leave a message with the answering service if that’s the case. They will call me back first thing in the morning. I don’t know whether or not she is in her Aptos or Monterey office tomorrow, but either way, she is likely to make some time to squeeze you guys in. I even have a credit balance with them that you are welcome to use. I’ve spent a small fortune with Ann over the years treating Emma.”
“Oh man Barbara that would be amazing. I am not doing too well right now. I had absolutely no idea this was going on. It’s all so sudden and it all seems so final as well.”
“Aaron I will call you early tomorrow and let you know what time your appointment will be. I can’t promise anything, but have some faith.”
We hung up. I fell apart.