This Heart of Mine

Ch. 21: Meet the Doc

Dr. Dalton or Kenny, as he asked to be addressed, settled in fast. He had the bare minimum of essential items, like bathroom toiletries and clothes as well as sheets for his bed. But he had no decorations, photographs or even mementos. Though he had less boxes than she had, most of them were filled with academic related materials or textbooks.

She found it odd, considering he looked to be older and had probably experienced a lot more than she had. His stark white hair contrasted sharply against his olive toned skin. Deep lines etched into his craggy face, especially around his mouth and forehead. The contagious sleepy look in his eyes almost made her yawn.

"I think that's it Mr. Mariani," the doctor said. He stepped outside to view the truck that'd transported his materials. "Thanks for the help."

The three of them stood in the main hall awkwardly stealing glances at one another. Naina had helped bring in the stuff, but still hadn't been properly introduced.

She took a stab at it; it couldn't hurt, since they'd be neighbors from now on. "I'm Naina Reddy, and the manager of the clinic."

Kenny gripped her hand in a proper way and gave an enthusiastic handshake. "Nice to meet you. Like I said before, call me Kenny or Doc. Or whatever suits you ma'am."

"Please, call me Naina." I'm younger than you, she almost blurted out.

"Alright Naina." Thankfully, his grin was more contagious than his sleepy eyes and she felt herself relaxing as every second passed.

Ian's expression also eased in its anxious severity; he stopped tapping his shoe on the tile floor and glancing between Kenny and her. "Well, I'm glad today didn't go worse. I honestly was afraid you'd quit cause of the short notice."

"Ian, I'm living here for free. You could move an elephant in, and I'd be okay with it," she said.

He nodded, flopping around his gorgeous locks. Some of them stuck out oddly, like he'd forgotten to comb it down and she had to clasp her hands together to prevent from touching it. "Well," he said, sighing a bit. "You guys know the game plan for tomorrow?"

Naina listed it off, counting on her fingers. "Speeches, then the scissors, then food and tours, and fun and games for the kids that might show up. Hopefully, no Karens will show up, demanding free goods and all."

Doc frowned. "Karens? You know a group of them or something?"

She explained that a Karen was blanket term for a man or woman who felt entitled and arrogant enough to demand things for free or harass people when events didn't go his or her way.

Doc shook his head and rubbed his shoulder. "I've met too many of those ladies and know exactly what you're talking about."

Ian piped in. "Well, about that...Naina, I'm giving you permission to throw anyone out for being a, um, Karen. And I mean anyone."

"Anyone?" she asked hopefully. Oh how she'd hoped this day would come. To tell a 'Karen' off was the dream of all the wedding planners.

"Yup, anyone."

Their eyes clicked and the tendrils that'd emerged earlier from her heart suddenly expanded into her extremities and her arms went rigid. The mischievous twinkle in his eye reverberated throughout her brain, sizzling it into a partial mush.

Stupid, stupid dreams.

Burrito distracted everyone by farting loudly and yapping, like she was confused as to where the noise had come from. Doc laughed and went to pet her, while kneeling close to the floor; she jumped onto his chest and licked his face. "I like this one," he said.

"Yeah, she's a cutie," Ian said.

Naina searched his face, remembering the last time he'd said something similar. Had he been talking about Naina that time in his apartment? How could she have been so dense?

Not this time; his eyes were trained on Burrito.

The three of them spent the rest of the day talking about the plan for the opening ceremony, and Ian giving a tour of the now completed barn. Deep red brick surrounded the outside of the barn, giving Naina the feeling that she was on an animal farm, not a veterinary clinic.

When they walked back to the main building, Naina saw Randy standing on the steps, marveling at the clinic. His weathered cowboy hat stood slanted on his head, and his white ponytail stuck out from beneath it.

"Randy!" She bounded towards him and grasped his shoulders. "I know this is sudden, but I need to talk to you about what happened at Lauren's wedding. Please."

After shaking off his surprise, he nodded. "Yeah, I've been meaning to tell ya."

They sat in the conference room; again, he kept glancing around, like he'd never seen such a place. It was a beauty to marvel at: the pristine floors, unused chairs and the wonderful, deep cherry-brown wood table.

"Randy?" she asked.

He started and corrected the angle of his hat. After fiddling with it for a few moments, he took it off and laid it on the table. "Okay. So, you know how I stay in the little out house near the mansion?"

She didn't know but nodded in the hopes that it wouldn't stop his flow of conversation. "Yes, I do."

"I heard noises where the main reception area is the mansion. You know it'd been converted into a hall to be able to accommodate wedding parties."

She nodded again.

"Well, I sneaked in cuz I didn't want anyone to see me. I saw people taking all the decorations you guys put down and messin' things up! Like how could anyone do that?"

She jumped forward, almost scaring him. "Did you see who?"

"Oh yeah, for sure. But I didn't recognize any of 'em. Obviously, they had the key to the place because they was able to get in. But they let off the nastiest looking colors in the room and ruined the entire set-up. I'm glad they didn't use real paint."

"Did you notice anything off about the food?"

"No, I wasn't there when they placed it. But I heard from the boss that they'd messed that up too."

She nodded slowly and let out a long, deep sigh. "That is pretty helpful. If lawyers get involved, would you be willing to talk to them and give any information you remember?"

"Lawyars!" he exclaimed. "Why would you need lawyars?"

"I heard from Ian that Lauren might put a case against me."

"For what though? Everyone who's worked with ya would know that you'd never do something as trashy as that."

She shrugged, unable to mention that her boss of five years hadn't cared about that. Her lips trembled uncontrollably, and she bit down on it.

He kept talking though. "I'd be willing to help you though. Juz let me know whenever you need it."

At least she had a few reassuring people in her life. She didn't know what she'd do without them.

~~~

Next chapter should be fun! Till then...hope you enjoyed this one.

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