"Hey," I replied. "So what's the verdict? What must I do?"
"I spoke to Jimmy. He's happy to help out. What you can do now is ask the cops to escort you to Jimmy M. Knight's veterinary practice. They should know where it is. He's going to close up soon, and then he'll head with you to my place. We're near him right now, so I'll drop my house keys off with him. You and him can stay at my house until I get back, and then we'll figure out further details regarding what we need to do."
"Alright, that sounds good," I replied.
"Okay, you got that? Jimmy M. Knight's veterinary practice," Everett repeated.
"I got it. Thank you so much, Everett. I appreciate it. I'll let you know when I get to Jimmy's."
"Sure thing. I'll keep you updated about my situation too."
"Goodbye, Everett."
"Bye, Vivienne."
"Wait!" I blurted out.
"Yeah?"
"There's one more thing," I said, feeling a little nervous about how he would react to what I was about to say.
"Alright, what is it?"
"I... I miss you," I said, blushing furiously as the words came out of my mouth.
"I miss you too," he replied instantly, without hesitation, and I could tell from his tone that his words were genuine.
"I'm glad you feel that way," I said.
"I do... absolutely."
"I'll talk to you later, Everett."
"That you will. Let me know when you're there safe," he reminded me.
"I will."
I told the Lieutenant about the plan, and he instructed one of the deputies to escort me to Jimmy's veterinary practice. We got there after about 20 minutes, and then the cops went inside with me to make sure he was there and I was safe. Jimmy shuffled out of the back and smiled as he saw me, and I couldn't help but smile in return as he had a kind, friendly face.
"You must be, Vivienne," he said.
"I am. And you're Jimmy, right?"
"That's me. Look, I'm just seeing to this old lady's Scottish terrier in the back, but she's the last patient for the day. You can just wait out here in the waiting room, and I'll be out in 15 or 20 minutes."
"Sure thing. Thanks so much, Jimmy."
"Everett, he's a very old friend of mine, and any friend of his is a friend of mine. I'm very happy to help. I'll be done shortly."
I said my goodbyes to the cops, who had been very helpful, and then took a seat in the little waiting room. I picked up a pet magazine and started paging through it, remembering all the pets I had had when I had been a little girl. I had to say that I really did miss having a pet. Maybe it was time to get another dog.
I read a few articles, and then the old lady and her dog came shuffling out of the back room. Jimmy sorted out their bill at the front and then said goodbye to them.
"Don't you have a receptionist here?" I asked.
"I do, but she's been out sick the last few days. Got a bad stomach bug, so I've been trying to keep everything together on my own. It's been quite a task, I tell ya! She'll be back on Monday though, thankfully."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But you seem pretty organized; you do seem to be on top of everything here."