"Almost there....last one....aaaaannnnddd.....done!" Cecilia Lawson tied the remaining suture on the dog's incision and sat down the needle. She picked up the dog's womanhood that was now nonexistent and waved it in front of the technician's face. "Ready for lunch?"
Lena laughed and took her own gloves off. "Yep, there's just something about a dog's discarded ovaries that makes me hungry! Bambino's pizza sound OK for lunch?"
"Sure, let's get this dog off of the oxygen and into the hospital. I think I still have one more appointment before 12:30, then I'll freshen up. You buying this time?"
"You're the doctor and you're asking me if I can buy you lunch." Lena narrowed her eyes jokingly at her friend. "What are friend's for?"
"Great then. Let me get this out of the way and I'll catch up with you."
Her last morning appointment was with Mr. McCabe and her four cats. With her sparkling green eyes and warm smile, she was always Cecilia's favorite client. She reminded her so much of her grandmother.
Instantly her eyes welled up with tears. Never in the last five years had she allowed herself to forget about her past life and everything special that she had shared before she gave it up on a whim caused by incredible heartache. Every time she allowed herself to dwell on those memories, she immediately remembered that the reason that she had left was because the bad had outweighed the good. In a matter of a week she had lost her parents and her sister, and the one person that she had loved more than anything had betrayed her in the worst way. Although Uncle Albus had a way of putting things into perspective, she decided that her heart just wasn't into that lifestyle anymore. She no longer believed in magic, or love, for that matter. They had only gotten her into trouble.
Cecilia picked at her salad during lunch, her previous thoughts still fresh in her mind.
"Are you alright, kiddo?" Lena looked closely at her from across the table. "You've barely said a word."
"Well, you do talk enough for both of us," she joked, trying to push her memories away. "Please continue."
"Ha-freaking-ha. So anyway, Dan's friend is visiting from out of town and I was thinking that the four of us could hit the town tomorrow night. Are you in?"
Cecilia groaned. "Lena, please don't try to set me up with another guy. You know I don't do things like that."
"Geez girl! In the five years that you've lived here you have not gone out with a single guy. You're whole life is that damn hospital! Do you really want to be an old maid for the rest of your life? Pittsburgh has enough of those! Come on, Ce—," Lena stopped when she saw a tear escape her friend's face. "Oh no, I'm so sorry sweetie, I can be such a bitch."
Cecilia wiped her eyes and sighed. "Though you're probably right, I came here to get away from all of that. I might as well tell you...there was someone, a long time ago, and I guess you could say that I never fully recovered. In fact, I've been left a bit jaded, so I've done my best to cut those things out of my life."
"I'm so sorry. You have to tell me things like this to prevent me from making an ass out of myself!" Lena suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh shit! It's almost 2:00! Dr. Lewis is going to be so pissed that he has to take your clients." The two women threw down some money and ran out the door.