In Full Bloom (Second Chances 1)

“Wow,” she said, yawning. “I totally missed that.”

Stepping around him, she looked up at the front of the building. Sure enough, there was a new sign hanging. Grinning now, she said, “It looks nice. I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”

He took her shoulders and steered her toward the side entrance. “Go upstairs and sleep, Princess. You look dead on your feet.”

She nodded and yawned, “I am.”

Walking through the side entrance, she made her way up the stairs, groaning with each step. She briefly considered whether she wanted a shower first or whether she was just going to sleep. Peeling off her work clothes, she tossed them in the general direction of the laundry basket and decided a shower was most definitely in order.

She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she walked into the bathroom. Her skin was incredibly pale, and she had dark smudges under her eyes. Grimacing, she turned the shower on and stepped inside, not caring that it wasn’t warm yet. After the brief shock, she groaned as the tension began to leave her shoulders.

She stayed in the shower until the hot water heater finally gave out and the water cooled. Wrapping herself in a towel, she flopped facedown on the bed and passed out.

When she woke around two in the morning, she felt like a new woman. Her sleep schedule was going to be totally jacked up for the next few days though. As she ran the brush through her knotted hair, she shrugged. It was totally worth it, though, every time someone called her Dr. Michaels.

After she had gotten dressed, she realized she hadn’t eaten in roughly twelve hours. Pulling the leftover carbonara out of the fridge, she warmed it and opened a can of Coke. Sitting down, she managed to finish both just as her cell phone rang. That must be Gene, she thought.

She answered her phone and let him know she’d be right down. Quickly, she pulled on her socks and tennis shoes. Grabbing her purse and phone, she locked the door and went downstairs.

Luckily, she’d been able to talk one of the lab techs into coming to pick her up today. She’d had to take a cab last night since the buses didn’t run to the zoo at that hour. It had been a total pain in the ass. She really needed to get her car situation straightened out. In a few paychecks, she’d go shopping for something small and economical.

Opening the passenger door, she said, “Thanks so much for picking me up.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “I remember being a broke college kid once. Riding the bus was rough. You should be able to fix that pretty soon though.”

Nodding, she agreed, “Yeah. A couple paychecks under my belt and I’ll go car shopping.”

“I just checked in with Mike and he said Shelby was starting to go into her second stage of contractions. I think we’re gonna get to see an elephant give birth today,” Gene said, grinning. “Paula asked me to take pictures.”

Taryn made a face and said, “Does she realize how messy it is?”

Gene just laughed and said, “She had two of her own. I’m sure she has some idea.”

“I don’t understand why people wanna tape that either, Gene.”

He just continued to laugh.

By the time they reached the zoo, she was eager to start her rounds. She wanted to make sure she’d have enough free time to watch the baby being born. It was something that she’d seen online, and studied, but it would be really exciting to watch it in person.

Parting ways at the gate, she thanked Gene again.

* * * *

Taryn was just finishing her shift when her walkie beeped. Turning up the volume, she heard Mike say, “We’re about to have a brand new baby elephant, folks. She’s close now.”

She and the three other people in the office dropped what they were doing and moved quickly toward the elephant pen. They’d put Shelby in a small area in the back, away from the public. With half of the staff gathered to watch, they were all crammed in pretty tightly. Mike must have seen her trying to work her way to the front of the group because she heard him call her name through the walkie. She moved around the group to the entrance of the cage where he stood.

He said, “Watch this, Taryn. One day it’ll be you standing here instead of me.”

“Thanks,” she said, grinning. “I couldn’t see anything in the crowd.”

He nodded at her and went through each stage of what Shelby had gone through, and what she’d need to look for in terms of signs of distress. She took notes furiously and tried to take it all in. It was hard to maintain professional distance, though, when she was so damned excited.

Forty minutes later, Taryn rode the bus home, a smile still on her face. The elephant birthing process was completely demystified for her now. It had been the most beautiful, disgusting thing she’d ever seen. She had taken a few pictures of the baby elephant. She couldn’t wait to show Cora. She could only imagine how disgusted she’d be.

She texted her the pictures, grinning. Her phone immediately buzzed back.

Cora responded, “Sick. What is that?”