Incandescent

Grant covered his mouth with his hand as he gasped. I wondered if this was the moment where he’d blame me and tell me he hated me—but I’d already beat him to it. If Ruby’s injuries were severe, he’d probably hold it against me for a long time, and I wouldn’t even fault him.

When fat tears began rolling down Grant’s cheeks, his grandmother put her arm around him. I patted his knee, feeling even more awful and helpless.

“What if we lose her?” he said, laying his head against her shoulder.

“We can’t think that way,” she replied. “We need to have hope.”

“Dad?” he asked, glancing my way.

“Positive thoughts, Grant,” I said, even though I was having trouble with the concept myself.

It was awkward, waiting with my mother-in-law, not knowing what she was thinking about the situation with Marcus. I could feel her watching me, and I knew she must have so many questions…

I stood up, went to study the fish, then some of the photography on their walls.

Soon enough, we were called to a back room to meet with the vet. Grant seemed just as jittery as me. Like father, like son.

“I’ve got some good news,” she said, but I held my breath regardless. “It doesn’t look like there’s any internal bleeding.”

“Oh, thank God.” I sagged against the wall.

“But the x-ray did show a hairline fracture on her back leg.”

“So she’ll need to be in a cast?” I asked, trying to think through the logistics.

“Actually, we don’t use casts so much anymore,” she explained. “Nowadays, we use metal plates and screws to stabilize the bone. It’s more effective in helping them heal properly.”

“Ouch.” Grant cringed. “Will it hurt?”

“Not more than it already does. Though we did administer a painkiller, so she’s feeling much better.” She smiled. “Animals are more resilient than we think. They even start using their limb pretty quickly after a break, especially when we use this method.”

I breathed out. “That’s good news.”

“Can I see her?” Grant asked, looking relieved.

“Not until we’ve set the bone. We’ll call you back again in a little while. When she’s ready to go home.”

We retreated to the waiting room, and Grant pulled out his phone, no doubt to text his friends. Though I was bummed about Ruby’s leg and how painful it must’ve been for her, it could’ve been so much worse.

“The woman who hit Ruby,” I said to my mother-in-law, “she was so upset.”

She frowned. “I’ll bet. I’ve had close calls with squirrels and birds. I can’t imagine a dog.”

I nodded. “I told her I’d let her know how Ruby fared.”

I lifted my cell to dial Marcus, knowing he had her information and that I had an audience. Walking over to the fish tank, I watched them swim around as the call went through.

“Hey there,” I said when he answered.

“Is she okay?”

“A broken leg, but no internal injuries.”

“Thank fuck,” he said, and I felt relief wash over me again.

I glanced over my shoulder to my mother-in-law, who was pretending she wasn’t listening. “So, uh, while we’re waiting for her to be fixed up and released, I wondered if I could have the phone number for the lady who hit Ruby.”

“Sure thing. I’ll text it to you.”

I paused, trying to think of something else to say, but now wasn’t the time. “Thanks, Marc.”

The woman seemed very relieved, and once we’d hung up, I told Grant and my mother-in-law about the call. “She insisted on getting our address so she could refund some of the cost.”

It was afternoon by the time we finally got to see Ruby. She came out wearing a cone so she wouldn’t fiddle with her leg, and we were given instructions about how to care for her over the next few days. Grant sat in the back seat with her the whole way home, and my mother-in-law briefly came inside with us to make sure we were all set.

“Thanks for waiting with us. I know Grant appreciated it, and so did I.”

“Of course.” She opened her mouth to say something but then changed her mind.

When she left, my stomach loosened its fist a bit more. I set Ruby up on her pillow and went to my room to change. The evidence of what happened the night before and this morning was visible from the hallway, so I shut the door behind me. I straightened up then changed the sheets, something I didn’t have time to do earlier.

Fucking hell.

After everything was back in order, I sat on my bed and texted Marcus.

We’re finally home. I’m cleaning up our evidence, if you know what I mean.

Oh, shit. We did leave in a hurry.

I’d laugh if it wasn’t so heartrending.

Good God, did that really happen?

Unfortunately, yes. Glad she’s going to be okay.

Me too. Thank you again for being there.

No problem.

I stood up and looked out the window, the driver’s skid marks still visible in the street.