I waste no time
in contacting my social worker and explain what’s going on and that I think
Jonathan did something to Crawford. My social worker tells me to call the vet
and that he will pay for me to take Crawford there. He also tells me that he
will stop by later to talk with me and to see how Crawford is doing.
I am in full
panic mode. Crawford seems slightly panicked and wants me to hold her as close
as possible. The nearest vet is a block away and I wrap her in a tiny blanket
and head out. I can hear the bell tinkle as the door slaps closed.
The vet is nice
but explains that she knows of a rat expert that I should contact in the
future. Crawford is hesitant to have someone look at her and will not stop
squirming. The vet believes that Crawford might have gotten her tail caught in
the cage door and that it got ripped. My theory has a whole different tilt to
it. It involves Jonathan hurting her.
The vet cleans
the wound and explains that if she wraps it Crawford will just pull the
dressing off. My social worker true to his word has called and taken care of the
bill for me. The vet writes down the number of the rat specialist for me hands
it to me over the counter.
I now have to
head home and wait for Jonathan to show up. I don’t know what I’m going to do
but I am still in slight panic mode. The first person I need to find though is
Leo. Leo will know what to do.
I carry Crawford
into the bathroom and open the door to the group home hallway. I look out and
can see Leo is in his room wearing a tiny Speedo and smoking a cigar. “Leo,” I hiss,
so no one downstairs in the group home can hear me.
Leo immediately
hears me and turns in my direction. He is standing in the doorway of his room,
cigar hanging out of the corner of his mouth. The Speedo is packed and bursting
at the seams. I feel a quick tug on my heart as he walks towards me.
Leo’s reaction to
my story is not a good one. He vows to kill Jonathan. I beg with him to wait
until we find out what happens. Leo’s plan is to sit and wait in the living
room and wait for him to get home.
What a strange
little family we are turning into, Me, Tarzan and my rat. I can’t explain. It’s
one of the first times in my life that I feel completely protected and I bask
in it. I’m aware that Leo is capable of killing Jonathan and as great as that
sounds right now, I’m not going to let that happen.
When we hear the
key turn in the door downstairs I sit in the chair facing the landing. Leo has
stepped back into the shadows near the porch. Jonathan’s familiar stomp/drag
way of walking makes my stomach lurch. My heart races when he turns on the
overhead light.
Jonathan reaches
the landing and looks up into my eyes.
To be
continued………
Geoffrey Doig-Marx holds all written and electronic rights to his writing "A Day in the Life". It can not be reprinted in part or whole without his written consent.