Unicorn Dreams Ch. 01

Unicorns. I have always loved these mythological creatures. I have been a horse woman since I was a little girl. Summers spent on my grandparent's farm riding the horses are some of my best memories. The wind blistering my face, billowing my long blonde hair behind me. I was free in a way that I have never been since. But my grandfather died when I was thirteen and Grandma sold the farm and moved to Florida. She lived in one of those retirement trailer parks so I never again got to spend summers with her.

Then along came adulthood. College where I studied veterinary medicine. Marriage where I married my high school sweetheart. Children, the requisite two of course. Mortgages, credit cards, two cars, two loans. The typical American family. Right down to the divorce after twelve years of marriage.

The love of my life cheated. With the proverbial younger woman. The secretary from our vet practice. To make matters worse, he knocked her up and felt obligated to do the right thing. Well, I was in no mood to stick around small town Texas and be the brunt of gossip. I forced him to sell the ranch we had bought. I made him max out his credit to buy out my half of the practice. I smiled and wished them luck as I loaded up the RV with the few things I wanted from our old life, including our two kids, the dog and the cat. And I headed out.

I was not even sure where I was going then. Crazy? I know. I had never done anything as crazy in my life. I had always been the good girl. But that summer I fell in love with this song my ten year old kept playing called 'Let it go.' And that was what I was doing...that good girl was gone. I was free to be whatever I wanted to be. I just was not sure what I wanted to be. And until I was I was not going to settle down anywhere.

So we set out that summer on the adventure of a lifetime. I had ordered one of those magnetic signs advertising veterinary services and when we came to a small town that I liked I would pull over to the side of the road, a church or store parking lot or best of all the most popular café in town. I would stick that sign on the side of the RV and wait.

My fees were simple...whatever you could pay. Sometimes I fixed a cat's broken leg for a quarter for some cute little girl. Sometimes I had to tell the sweetest little old lady you ever met that the kindest thing she could do was put her beloved dog to sleep. I would be crying right alongside of her when we did. Those times I always refused the fiver that she tried to give me. And on occasion the farmer or rancher like my grandfather would call me in the middle of the night to help him birth a calf or foal that was turned the wrong way. Those times always came with free breakfast for me and the children...and usually a decent payment too.

I fell in love with life that summer. I got to know my children in a way I never had before. My daughter was angry about the divorce, about being forced to leave her friends and old life behind. And I took the brunt of her anger. My son though was a delight. Like me, he had a love of animals and a way with them. He became my assistant. And without the overhead of practice, I fell in love with my job all over again too.

About the only thing I did not fall in love with was a man. But then again there was simple no room in my life for one of those. I was travelling, discovering new places, meeting new people. I was bonding with the beautiful little creatures that were my children, even if Charity wanted no part of it. And Zac and I were helping animals in a way I never had been able to before. Who needed a man, right? If sometimes I missed the touch of a lover, sweet kisses, rough sex or strong arms to hold me tight, well, a girl can't have everything can she?

Then we stopped in this small town in northern California, where the trees reached the sky. Where the skies were always blue. And where the people seemed to just need us. I knew that we were home. It was good timing too as school was about to start the next week. But I realized that this was too big a decision to make on my own.

So we sat down for a family meeting. I asked Charity and Zac what they wanted to do. Zac was all for staying but Charity of course wanted to go back to Texas. That broke my heart because one thing I knew I could never do was go back there. I battled what to do then. In the end, I made the hardest decision of my life: I promised Charity that if she gave this place a try and honestly did not like it by Christmas, then she could stay in Texas with her father and his new family. Of course, I was hoping that she would come to love this place as her brother and I were. She agreed.

Of course, it was too soon yet to put down deep roots. This was just a trial period. So I was not going to go rushing out to buy land, build a house and rent an office. No, but we did need somewhere more permanent to park the RV than the local diner. But then again diners are great places to meet people and do business. One of the local ranchers had a small plot of land at the back of his place that was serviced by a dirt road. We could park the RV there for free if I agreed to see to his horses. Given my love of horses, it was definitely a deal I could live with. We moved that day.

Then we went into town...the big city about thirty miles away to get some things that would make the place more homey and my veterinary business more legitimate. I began with a new cell phone, one with a local number. Then I found a printer and had business cards printed up. I was feeling more professional already. Now it was time to handle the other things. It was off to Wal-Mart for school schools and supplies for Charity and Zac. I even bought some plants to put out around the RV and an outdoor table and chair set that was half price because it was the end of summer. Not that that mattered in California. When we headed finally headed home, I was feeling about as good as I had in...ever. Home. Just the word caused little butterflies in my tummy.

When we pulled up in the area that we had selected to park the RV, I noticed that there were two little girls waiting with a box. One was older about Charity's age I supposed but the other was younger even than Zac, probably not even old enough for kindergarten. She had big crocodile tears flowing down her cheeks. My mother's heart broke at the forlorn picture they made in their scruffy jeans and t-shirt with their ponytails askew.

"What can I help you ladies with I asked?" after we had parked the RV.

The older one spoke first, "It's our cat. She's having kittens but something is wrong. And Daddy says he don't know cats like he does horses." She stammered.

I nodded, "These things can take some time you know. I mean having kittens. What makes you think something is wrong?"

"She won't eat or drink nothing. She keeps meowing real bad. I don't know it just don't seem right," said the little girl.

Although all of that sounded normal enough, I knew that it must seem frightening to little girls who knew nothing of the miracle of birth. "Bring the box inside and let me have a look. I am sure everything is all right but just to be sure," I said with my most reassuring smile.

"She ain't gonna die like Mommy did, is she?" said the youngest in sniffles.

My heart stopped and my eyes filled with tears. I wanted nothing more than to wrap this little dirty angel in my arms and hug her until everything was all better just as I would Charity or Zac. But I heard the pain behind those words and I knew that it was deeper and bigger than a stranger's hugs could ever heal. So I did what I could...I promised her what I should not. "Everything will be all right, sweetie. Just leave it to me."

I should have known better by then. Some things are bigger than doctors or veterinarians can handle. And as I got them inside and sat the box on the table, I knew I had just made a promise that I might not be able to keep. But I would do my damnedest.

I turned back to the four little faces that were gathered around me and I plastered on a smile that I was not feeling. "Mama cats need some privacy when they are having their babies," I explained. "So how about you all go outside and play for a bit." I looked at Charity and sent her a silent plea. My recalcitrant tween seemed for once to understand what I was saying as she rallied the others and shooed them outside.

As the door closed behind them, I knew I was racing the clock. There was no way I could save the tiny kitten that was stuck half inside his Mama's body. I said a silent prayer to what was out there and wished him a speedy journey to the next life as I carefully drew him from the birth canal and placed the still enclosed sac to the side.

I examined the cat more closely. She was weak from her labor and blood loss. I watched as she struggled to reach the closed sac. I knew the strength of a mother's love and as futile as I knew it was, I moved the sac closer to her as I returned to examining her. I felt her abdomen: two perhaps three more kittens remained.

I debated...should I allow her to labor a bit longer? Perhaps that kitten was unusually large, maybe the others would come easier? Of course, a surgical birth would be safest, but I tried to avoid such things without the sterile environment of surgery. Still this might well be one of those rare times when I simple had to if I was going to save the cat and remaining kittens.

I had just about decided to do that when I noticed the slightest of movements as the cat licked at the still wet fur within that torn sac. I dismissed it at first as just the mother's movements. Then as perhaps a post-mortem reflex of some sort. But then I saw the not so gentle movement of its chest as it took its first birth. I wanted to scream in joy but I knew that this job was far from over.

But that tiny kitten's fight for life renewed my own resolve to save the mother and its brothers and sisters. I allowed the mother to finish her job of cleaning the kitten, making sure that it was breathing regularly and finding its way slowly to her teats. I watched her too, noticing how shallow her own breathing was and how weak she was. By the time that kitten was clean I had made my decision.

I pulled my case from the shelf. I cleaned and disinfected the table. I washed my hands and put on gloves. Then I got about to doing my best. I only had ether and no instruments to monitor her oxygen levels so that was bad enough. But I sent one of those silent prayers to whatever was out there again. Then I set about to work. There were four not three more kittens. They were all large and healthy as their brothers: two girls and three boys in total.

But Mama kitty was another matter. She was old. Too old. Too many litters of kittens. Her womb was loose. Too loose to clamped down and stop the blood loss that got worse with each passing second. I did the only thing I could...clamp off the vessels that fed her womb and took it out. I closed her up, knowing I had done my best. I gave her all the fluids that I dared, hoping to replace the los blood as best I could.

Charity snuck her head in the door quietly. "How is it, Mom?" her eyes were wide as she took in the blood and mess all about me.

I sighed and looked at the still unconscious cat with the bandages about her middle and five hungry kittens at her teats. I shook my head and admitted my frailties to my ten year old daughter, "Touch and go for Mama. I am afraid."

She nodded solemnly, "Their dad's here to get them. What should I tell him?"

"Give me five minutes to clean this mess up. Then let him and the girls in. Mama will probably still be unconscious but at least they can see the kittens," I replied as I began to pick up the bloody gauze all about me. I lifted the kittens one by one into the box that the girls had made for the cat. It was padded nicely with an old blanket. I could see the loving thought they had put into it. My heart broke a bit more that I might not be able to keep the rash promise that I had made to that little angel.

I lifted Mama cat very gentle and arranged the babies around her, trying to hide as much of the bandaging as I could with their tiny bodies. As I had predicted she was still unconscious, but her breathing seemed a bit steadier. We were not out of the woods yet though. I knew I would be up and down most of the night, checking on her, supplementing the kittens.

I knew I was running out of time as I shoved all the bloody gauze into the garbage. I had just finished disinfecting the table where the kids and I would eat breakfast and was washing my hands at the sink when the door opened again. The kids filed in first. Charity led the way followed by the others. She took them straight towards the table and the box.

I was smiling at the oh's and ah's when I looked up and saw him. He was every woman's wet dream of a cowboy rolled into one. His dark blonde hair fell in soft waves about a ruggedly handsome face that would make Brad Pitt jealous. It just touched the collar of his dusty shirt with its sleeves rolled up to reveal biceps that belonged in a gym somewhere. Not steroid monsters but real ones. His shoulders were broad. When my eyes drifted lower, I wished they hadn't. He filled out those jeans way too nicely.

And damned, wouldn't you know it? His first site of me was in bloody jeans and shirt. My hair must have fallen out of its ponytail as I worked. And I knew for sure that I was sweating from an hour or more of hard work fighting to save Mama cat's life. Not glowing...plain old stinky ass sweat. Not the picture you want to present to Mister Perfect.

I sighed and shook my head. Oh well, it weren't like I stood a snow ball's chance in hell with someone like him anyway. I relegated myself to the friend zone as I dried my hand on the towel next to me. "Jessie Mason," I said by way of introductions.

"Chad Thornton," he replied as he looked towards the table. "You already met my little hellions, Beth and Joy."

I smiled and nodded, "Joy, the younger one?" He nodded. "I can't think of a more perfect name for that one."

"She is special. That one," he replied. We watched the children softly touching the kittens in silence for a moment before he asked the inevitable question, "What's the prognosis?"

I closed my eyes and gathered my strength, "She was too old for another litter. The first one got stuck in the birth canal and I thought it was a goner for sure. But she managed to save it somehow. But it took all her strength. I did a cesarean for the rest of them."

I paused before continuing with the bad news, "I had to take out her uterus to stop the bleeding. And to be honest, I am not sure. She may have lost too much blood already. I am afraid only time will tell. Tonight will be crucial. I'll stay up to watch her and feed the kittens."

He nodded and looked at his daughters. His blue eyes fell on his youngest and I swear I saw tears glistening there. I think I fell in love that moment. His voice cracked when he spoke. "I know you doing your best. And I realize that there's some things in this world we got no control over. But do all you can please. I don't know how Joy would take another lose."

I nodded and made another promise, "I will. You have my word on it."

He held out his large hand, "Let me get the girls settled in bed for the night and I'll take a turn watching the damned cat. The old thing don't even have a name. Just one of the barn cats to keep the mice away from the stables. But Joy fell in love with her the moment she saw her. That's my little girl for you."

I shook my head, "Really it is all right. It isn't the first time I have been up all night."

"Nay, you look like you could use the sleep and it is the least I can do."

And the wind went right out of my sails. Just what every woman wants...to be told that she looks like shit by Mister Perfect. What is a girl to do but nod her head and say "Thanks."

He gathered his daughters and left then. I got my own two ready for bed. I checked on Mama and fed the kittens a bit of formula that I had among my supplies. I made sure not to over-feed them though so that they would still nurse at Mama's teats. I even managed to grab a quick shower and change into an old over-sized t-shirt and boy shorts before the knock at the door. I had almost forgotten his promise that was how tired I was.

He looked kind of sheepish as he stood in the doorway. His eyes ran up and down me. I would say that I wish I had worn something else but that would be a lie. A big one. I will say that my body took that exact moment to remember it was a woman. I blushed as my nipples grew hard. I had to choose a white t-shirt, didn't I? "Come in," I stammered.

He filled the tiny doorway as he stepped inside. He held out something then, "I know it ain't much in way of payment, but a birdie told me you have a thing for unicorns."

I took what he held and examined it. It was a stuffed unicorn in my favorite colors...girly pink and purple. I hugged it close to my chest, "No, it's perfect. More than payment enough," I giggled.

I made him a cup of coffee, gave him instructions on what to look for and when to call me. As a horseman and the foreman of the ranch, he knew almost as much about animals as I did. It was nice not having to dummy things down when I spoke. After about twenty minutes I realized that I could not come up with another logical excuse not to go to bed. So with a final check on Mama who was finally waking up and licking her babies, I said my good nights and headed off to bed.

I slept that night and many nights since with that unicorn pressed between my bosoms. He always brings me sweet, naughty dreams of handsome cowboys doing very nasty things to me. But that's for another time.