If Luka noticed Lily’s discomfort, he didn’t show it. ‘Aphrodite and Artemis are still sleepy,’ he said, pointing to the crate. ‘I’ve given them long-acting pain medication and antibiotics but if you notice any swelling or bleeding please call me immediately.’
He wrote his home and mobile numbers on the discharge sheet before handing it to her. Sure that she must be glowing from head to foot, Lily fumbled in her handbag for her purse.
‘There’s no charge,’ said Luka. ‘Oksana is a good woman. This practice tries to help her as much as possible. Everything was quite straightforward.’
‘Thank you,’ Lily said. ‘Oksana will appreciate that.’ She fumbled again to put her purse back in her handbag and reached down for the crate.
Luka put his hand on her arm. ‘I’ll carry it to your car. Oksana wanted the cats put in together so I used a dog crate. It’s a bit heavy.’
‘Thank you,’ stammered Lily again.
With his free hand, Luka pushed open the surgery door and let Lily go through first to the car park. She opened the rear door to Oksana’s Niva jeep and spread out a blanket on the seat. Luka placed the crate on top of it.
‘So you’re interested in relic hunting?’ he asked Lily, moving out of the way so she could place a towel over the crate. She realised that she was still holding the copy of the journal.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, handing the magazine back to him and securing the crate with the seatbelt. ‘I picked it up to read.’
She was blushing so much she was beginning to feel light-headed. Why was she making a fool of herself? Was it because Luka was so good looking. She had loved Adam for so long that she’d never thought of another man as attractive. It was an unsettling feeling and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
‘Well, I hope to see you again, Lily,’ said Luka, flashing his charming smile again before turning to go back inside the hospital. ‘Call me if you have any problems.’
Lily couldn’t bring herself to answer. She got into the jeep and started the engine. ‘I must be losing my mind,’ she muttered, before turning out of the driveway and heading back to her apartment.
Lily found a parking space outside her apartment building. Yulian, a neighbour, spotted her and offered to carry the crate with Aphrodite and Artemis inside. Russian men, Lily had discovered, were chivalrous that way. They caught the elevator to Lily’s floor and Yulian placed the crate on her doormat while she searched in her handbag for her key, but Oksana heard them and opened the door. Thanking Yulian, she and Oksana lifted the crate through the doorway.
In the living room, Oksana’s doctor friend was examining Babushka, holding a stethoscope to her chest. The doctor was a handsome man in his forties with silver-grey hair and chiselled cheekbones. Lily thought of Luka at the veterinary hospital and marvelled at Oksana’s ability to get attractive men to do favours for her.
The women put the crate in the bathroom. ‘They’ll be fine here for a while,’ Oksana told Lily. ‘I’ve got a hospital cage set up for them in my apartment.’
When they returned to the living room, she introduced Lily to her friend.
‘Lily, this is Doctor Pesenko.’
‘She’s still suffering shock,’ he told them. ‘I’ve given her an injection of B12, but I want to take some scans of her spine and chest. Can you bring her to my office the day after tomorrow?’
The three of them helped Babushka back into Lily’s bed.
‘There’s something else,’ Doctor Pesenko said when they returned to the living room. ‘I couldn’t get her name out of her, but when I rolled up her sleeve to give her the injection I found a serial number tattooed on her forearm.’
‘You mean like one from a Nazi concentration camp?’ asked Oksana.
Doctor Pesenko shrugged. ‘There isn’t a triangle or other symbol to single her out as Jewish. But it’s possible she was sent to a camp if she lived
He wrote his home and mobile numbers on the discharge sheet before handing it to her. Sure that she must be glowing from head to foot, Lily fumbled in her handbag for her purse.
‘There’s no charge,’ said Luka. ‘Oksana is a good woman. This practice tries to help her as much as possible. Everything was quite straightforward.’
‘Thank you,’ Lily said. ‘Oksana will appreciate that.’ She fumbled again to put her purse back in her handbag and reached down for the crate.
Luka put his hand on her arm. ‘I’ll carry it to your car. Oksana wanted the cats put in together so I used a dog crate. It’s a bit heavy.’
‘Thank you,’ stammered Lily again.
With his free hand, Luka pushed open the surgery door and let Lily go through first to the car park. She opened the rear door to Oksana’s Niva jeep and spread out a blanket on the seat. Luka placed the crate on top of it.
‘So you’re interested in relic hunting?’ he asked Lily, moving out of the way so she could place a towel over the crate. She realised that she was still holding the copy of the journal.
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said, handing the magazine back to him and securing the crate with the seatbelt. ‘I picked it up to read.’
She was blushing so much she was beginning to feel light-headed. Why was she making a fool of herself? Was it because Luka was so good looking. She had loved Adam for so long that she’d never thought of another man as attractive. It was an unsettling feeling and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
‘Well, I hope to see you again, Lily,’ said Luka, flashing his charming smile again before turning to go back inside the hospital. ‘Call me if you have any problems.’
Lily couldn’t bring herself to answer. She got into the jeep and started the engine. ‘I must be losing my mind,’ she muttered, before turning out of the driveway and heading back to her apartment.
Lily found a parking space outside her apartment building. Yulian, a neighbour, spotted her and offered to carry the crate with Aphrodite and Artemis inside. Russian men, Lily had discovered, were chivalrous that way. They caught the elevator to Lily’s floor and Yulian placed the crate on her doormat while she searched in her handbag for her key, but Oksana heard them and opened the door. Thanking Yulian, she and Oksana lifted the crate through the doorway.
In the living room, Oksana’s doctor friend was examining Babushka, holding a stethoscope to her chest. The doctor was a handsome man in his forties with silver-grey hair and chiselled cheekbones. Lily thought of Luka at the veterinary hospital and marvelled at Oksana’s ability to get attractive men to do favours for her.
The women put the crate in the bathroom. ‘They’ll be fine here for a while,’ Oksana told Lily. ‘I’ve got a hospital cage set up for them in my apartment.’
When they returned to the living room, she introduced Lily to her friend.
‘Lily, this is Doctor Pesenko.’
‘She’s still suffering shock,’ he told them. ‘I’ve given her an injection of B12, but I want to take some scans of her spine and chest. Can you bring her to my office the day after tomorrow?’
The three of them helped Babushka back into Lily’s bed.
‘There’s something else,’ Doctor Pesenko said when they returned to the living room. ‘I couldn’t get her name out of her, but when I rolled up her sleeve to give her the injection I found a serial number tattooed on her forearm.’
‘You mean like one from a Nazi concentration camp?’ asked Oksana.
Doctor Pesenko shrugged. ‘There isn’t a triangle or other symbol to single her out as Jewish. But it’s possible she was sent to a camp if she lived
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