Chapter 3
Sitting at the bar while she waited for her dinner, Lydia felt incredibly tired. It wasn't just physical exhaustion – she was used to hard work. It was more emotional exhaustion. The feeling of satisfaction from that morning had slowly worn off over the course of the day to be replaced by annoyance. Every one of the clients she had met that day had treated her with a certain degree of impudence. It wasn't just the fact that she was a female vet. Being Australian seemed to immediately put her on a level below everybody else.
"Hi there, Lydia," a friendly voice greeted her. Lydia looked up to see Phil settling onto the stool beside her.
"Hi Phil," she replied. Phil was a cheerful fellow and just his presence seemed to lift her mood.
"How was your first day?" he questioned her as he learned his elbows on the bar.
"Oh, not too bad," Lydia sighed. "It's just going to take a while for people to get used to me, I suppose."
"Don't worry," he grinned. "Just let me know it anyone is giving you trouble – I'm not afraid to knock a few heads together."
"Thanks, Phil," she chuckled. "But I don't think that will win me any fans. I also don't reckon that your boss would agree with it."
"No, old Craddock probably wouldn't go for that approach. He's the sergeant in Ashfordly."
Just then, a large unkempt man in a grungy overcoat trudged into the pub, a shaggy lurcher at his heels. He trudged up to the bar, waiting to be served.
"Who's that?" She asked Phil.
"That's Greengrass and the dog is Alfred."
Lydia walked over to the man. As soon as he had walked into the pub, she had noticed the tell-tale signs of a flea infestation on his dog. From the look of the man, she wouldn't be surprised if he had a few fleas, too.
"Greengrass, is it?" she questioned him.
"Depends who wants to know," he grunted the reply.
"I'm Dr White, the new vet. Do you realise that your dog has fleas?"
"Alfred? There's nothing wrong with him." Just as the man said this, the dog began to scratch himself.
"Looks to me like he's a bit itchy." She informed Greengrass.
"I'm telling you, there is nothing wrong with Alfred. I'm almost an old-age pensioner, don't you realise. Can't an old man have a moment of peace?"
"Well if you decide to do anything about Alfred's flea infestation, just let me know, Mr Greengrass." Lydia said as she walked back to Phil. Gina brought her meal to the counter and she went with Phil to sit down at a table.
Phil talked animatedly about his day at work, performing impersonations or Sergeant Craddock and another police officer called Alf. His enthusiasm was catching and Lydia soon found herself laughing in spite of her bad day. A small corner of her brain warned her that Phil was flirting with her, but she didn't care. He was a nice guy and she needed friends in this strange place.
