Chapter 27: inching closer
On a Sunday morning in June, Kaybri woke up to a phone call from Noah, who told her that Phoenix was ready to have her puppies. He politely requested that Kaybri come to the farm and be present in case of any problems with the births. He explained that it meant a lot to him and his father that their first puppies be as healthy and happy as possible.
Kaybri got dressed and drove to the farm as quickly as she could. She thought about Noah and what he was doing with his life. He appeared to be more and more exhausted working the two jobs—farm and clinic. Even though he was now working three to four hours at the clinic each day, he spent most of his time working in the rear with damaged Amish dogs or the ones that had been rescued from Puppy Camp, so Kaybri didn’t see much of him. She had given up on any sort of resumption of their romance, but she did hope he might forgive her one day. The truth was she needed him back at the clinic full time.
By the time she arrived, Phoenix had already popped out two gorgeous balls of yellow fluff. Luckily, she didn’t have any plans for the day and was able to stay for the entire birthing process. It felt good to be working again alongside Noah. She marveled at how well they coordinated their efforts and seemed to each know exactly what the other needed. All went smoothly except for an umbilical cord around the neck of the very last squirming puppy, which Kaybri easily maneuvered out of the way. When it was all over, Phoenix had given birth to ten beautiful, healthy pups.
When Phoenix and her little ones were settled into their bed of hay, Kaybri asked Noah if she could speak privately with him, as there were others milling around and coming and going to check on the pups. He said, “No problem,” and walked ahead of her out the barn and toward a corner of the property that held a small flower garden. She hurried to keep up with him.
“How is your father?” Kaybri said, trying to sound more concerned about him than she actually felt.
“He’s healing well, the doctors say, but he still feels weak and tired a lot of the time.”
“Is he doing any of the chores around here yet?”
“A few. But I don’t think he’s ready to work the farm without me,” Noah said with a sigh.
Kaybri couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer. “You need to choose,” she said a little too testily.
“Choose between what?”
“Either stay on the farm or come and be a real partner to me,” she blurted out. When she saw the look of discomfort on Noah’s face, she added, “At the clinic, I mean. A partner in the veterinary practice.”
“I think he’s slowly improving,” Noah said.
“Slowly is right! You need to go up to that bedroom, stick a jackhammer under the mattress where his ass is planted, and pry him out of that bed. I’ve never heard of anyone taking this long to recover from valve replacement surgery. You’d think the doctors did a heart transplant. He wants to keep you on the farm.”
Kaybri saw a twinkle in Noah’s eyes, and it looked like a smile was trying to wrestle its way onto his face despite his effort to suppress it. “You don’t mince words, do you, Kaybri.” He finally surrendered and allowed himself to chuckle. Then he got serious again. “I don’t think he’s faking. I think it’s too much stress for him to do the work he used to do. Until he’s much better, I’ll just have to take up the slack. It’s exhausting, but it’s what I need to do.”
Kaybri shook her head in disbelief. “I really need you at the clinic. You have a way with the dogs that I can’t find in anyone else. I know you’ll never forgive me for what I did. I get it. But please stop being so cold. We need to move on.”
An expression came over Noah’s face she’d never seen before. “Kaybri, I forgave you the day we did the tour at the farm.”
“What? Why? What happened at the farm that day?”
“Well, you were pretty amazing. I’m in awe of you.”
Kaybri nearly fell over upon hearing that. “Oh, well…er…thank you for saying that,” she stammered. He was smiling at her in the way that he used to, or kind of almost like that. “But you’re still mad at me for giving the list to Teri. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Noah took her hand, which she saw was trembling. “I know that you didn’t do it to hurt us. The idea of a pressure campaign was a good one, but it was premature and not well thought out.”
Kaybri felt the blood rush to her cheeks. She started to withdraw her hand, but he held it tight.
“You’re sometimes a little rash,” he continued. “You rush into things, you take things on all by yourself instead of collaborating. But it’s always for a good end. You care passionately about the right things, and you’re not content to sit passively by.”
Kaybri nodded. “I tend to jump in and say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing. I’m clumsy.”
“A bit like a puppy yourself,” he chuckled. “You operate like this because you don’t yet know how to do things in any other way. I say ‘yet’ because I can see how much you’ve grown as a person in such a short time.”
Kaybri’s gut reaction was to resent being analyzed like this, but she took in his words and thought about them deeply. Finally, she said, “I never really cared much about anything or anybody except dogs before. But living here, knowing you, Frank, your mother, my staff, and some of the other good people around here, has made me care about what you all think of me. I’m sorry for any hurt I caused, even if it was unintentional.”
Kaybri was aware that this was an emotional moment, but oddly she had no urge to cry. She felt like an adult.
The next thing she knew, Noah bent down and kissed her like he’d never kissed her before. It was as though he was an adult.
They held each other, kissing and talking and catching up on things they hadn’t had a chance to tell each other about the farm, the clinic, mutual friends, the dogs, so many things. After a while, Noah grabbed her by both hands and looked her in the eyes. He looked so excited, she couldn’t help but feel excited too. “I’ve had this idea percolating in my mind,” he said. “I’ve wanted to tell you about it, but I’ve been so overwhelmed with everything. It’s a long-term plan.”
Kaybri couldn’t wait to hear what this might be.
“There’s a town called Bayberry about thirty miles away. There’s a home there for kids in need of foster parents where they live on a temporary basis. A lot of the kids there have a hard time finding homes. It may be because they have disabilities or…”
“Or have difficult personalities,” Kaybri interjected, shaking her head. “I know all about that.”
“Well, have you ever heard about programs to bring dogs in as service animals for people in homes like this or in hospitals or nursing homes? It’s becoming increasingly popular. The dogs are brought daily and then leave. The dogs help calm people down. They help people feel good.”
“Well, I can vouch for that. I told you about Marshmallow.”
“Yes, and thank God you had him. How would you feel about you and me starting a program to bring dogs to this home for kids nearby? We could start there and maybe expand to larger institutions?”
Kaybri felt dizzy. It seemed like hundreds of different images from the past flashed through her mind. Middle-aged couples parading past her. The social workers urging her to be sweet and friendly. The feel of the fur she buried her face in as people milled about. The sounds of the sobs of the other children when they felt rejected. The various dogs she’d cared for over twelve years. Suddenly, she felt as if all of the pain she’d experienced had been for a reason and had brought her to this moment. She was speechless. Finally, she said, “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard. Let’s get to work on it right away.”
“Whoah. You have a busy vet practice, and I barely have time to take a shower these days. We might have to take it slow.”
“True. But I think I know of a dedicated dog-lover who might like to help us pull this together. She loves dogs, but lately I think she has a special compassion for children. She also needs a new project to take on.”
“Are you talking about Teri McGee?”
“The one and only!”
Noah hit the top of his head with the palm of his hand. “Brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of that?” He pulled her close. “I love you, Kaybri Lynn.”
“I love you too, Noah Stoltzfus.”