“I can hold Blackie,” Russell said. “This is pretty cool. I might want to be a vet someday. I bet you meet a lot of girls.”
“I suppose,” Martin said. “I'm not exactly the girl expert. I'm better with animals. Animals think I'm cute. Girls just think I'm bald.”
“I think you're cute,” Charlene said. “You're cuddly… like Fluffy.”
“Who's Fluffy?” Martin asked.
“Our rabbit,” Ralph said. “He weighs a thousand pounds.”
“Everything in our house is overweight,” Charlene said. “Except the kids.”
Martin exchanged his jacket for a blue lab coat. “Maybe I could take a look at Fluffy someday and suggest a better diet.”
“It's not just Fluffy,” Ralph said. “We practically have a zoo. Mom takes all the rejects.”
Gary Martin and Charlene Klinger were perfect for each other. He wanted kids, and she had a pack of them. They were the same age. They were both animal lovers. And he could doctor up Charlene's menagerie when they set them-selves on fire. Plus, Charlene Klinger and Gary Martin looked like they belonged together. They were a matched set. Far better than Gary Martin and Loretta What's-Her-Face.
“Do you make house calls?” I asked Martin. “I was thinking it might be better for you to go to Charlene's house to see her animals since she has so many. And since you'd be doing her a favor she could make dinner for you. I bet you hate to eat alone all the time… now that you're alone.”
“Are you sure I'm alone?” Martin asked.
“Trust me, you're alone.”
“I'd love to have you look at my animals,” Charlene said, “but I don't know if you want to eat at my house. It gets real hectic at dinnertime.”
“I had three sisters and two brothers,” Martin said. “I'm good with hectic.”
“Can you fix a toilet?” I asked him. “Can you cook?”
“Sure. You don't grow up in a house with three sisters and two brothers and one bathroom and not know something about toilets.” Martin took Blackie from Diesel and headed for x-ray. “And I make a killer pork tenderloin. And I can make brownies.”
I took Charlene aside. “Did you hear that? He makes brownies.”
“What the hell, I shave my legs anyway,” Charlene said. “And he reminds me of Fluffy. I guess I could give it a shot. Do you think he's interested?”
“Of course he's interested,” I said. “You're a domestic goddess. Just what he wants.”
An hour later, Kitty had the end of his tail wrapped in white gauze, and Blackie had a cast on his front leg.
“It was really nice of you to come in early like this,” Charlene said to Martin.
“Happy to be able to help,” Martin said. “You have great kids. Russell was a terrific assistant.”
“Maybe you could come over and check on Blackie and Kitty and Fluffy sometime,” Charlene said.
“Sure,” Martin said.
We all stood around, waiting. Gary Martin was slow picking up social cues.
After a long moment, Diesel slung an arm around Martin's shoulders. “Maybe you want to check out Charlene's rabbit tonight.”
The lightbulb went on in Martin's head. “Tonight would be wonderful! I see my last patient at five o'clock, so I could come over around six.”
“We're having pot roast tonight if you'd like to take a chance on dinner with us,” Charlene said.
“Boy that would be fantastic. I'll bring dessert. I won't have time to make my brownies, but I'll stop at the bakery.”
We got Charlene and her kids and animals back to their house, waved good-bye, and angled ourselves into my car.