Trying to Get Through the Morning

         Becky hated waking to mornings like this. Every time she had a nightmare like this, it haunted her for the rest of the day. Nothing ever good happened for or to her on days like this. She half expected Detective Underman to call and tell her that Ivan was out of jail on good behaviour or some such craziness.

         What she found this morning were several bills, all demanding more than she could ever hope to come up with to pay them. So, breakfast this morning was an anxious and lonely affair. She wasn’t built for living alone, and she’d reached her limit. Jane Ann Peters was her best friend and practically her only friend in town. Jane Ann’s parents were the best replacement parents anyone could have. But she wouldn’t go to them asking for financial help and be a burden to them. Becky couldn’t expect Jane Ann to be at her beck and call, either. That would just be too much for any friendship.

         As Becky went through her morning routine while everything seemed to get in her way and make her morning run late. The hot water heater decided it wouldn’t heat the water for her shower. She discovered last night she’d forgotten to put her laundry in the drier and it was a cold wet mess in the bottom of the washing machine growing mould. Becky just wanted to cry by the time she left her home.

         She cried when her truck decided it wouldn’t start. After a good twenty minutes of trying, Becky finally got her truck started and was on the road. Now all she craved was a large coffee from Betty’s Diner. But the thought of buying the coffee reminded her of the bills sitting on her kitchen table and how that money would be better used to pay for one of them. Coffee was a luxury she didn’t have right now. It was all she could do to live in this tiny town.

         What could she do? Get a second job? It’s a small town. It wasn’t like there were jobs just waiting to be filled. Becky knew she couldn’t go to the bank for a loan, either. If she did, it would give Ivan a paper trail to find her with more easily and they’d deny her anyway because her credit was in the toilet from her student debts and the clinic’s start-up costs. Even before that, Ivan made sure that she had nothing in the way of a financial record. Nothing had her name on or connected to her.

         Now she needed to find a parking space, and as her luck was running, Old man Jacobs packed over the laneway that led behind her clinic. She couldn’t get to the back door of the clinic with her truck. By now, he’d be in a drunken stupor in the apartment above the hardware store he owned. That’s why his car was still there. He was too drunk to drive.

Because this was a repeated event, she needed the money to take down the shed beside the clinic and put in a garage for the vet mobile as Jane Ann called her truck. That’s yet more money she needed to come up with.

So, it forced her to find parking on the street. The only free space which wasn’t a space really was in front of the laneway leading behind the local bar. Who names a bar the Wolf’s Den, anyway? It was weird? She was afraid to go in and see who their clientele were because of the name. It sounded far too rough for her, and the motorcycles out front every evening solidified the idea that there were scary people in there.

         Of course, there were bills waiting for her at the clinic, too. She’d need to do billing this afternoon again after her rounds to the local farms. Hopefully, some of them would have her payment today. It would save her a lot of embarrassment by hounding people to pay their bills. Becky hated confrontations with anyone, especially men.

           Becky needed to pack her medical equipment and supplies now, or she’d be late for her first appointment. There was no rest for the wicked, and she must be the most wicked person.

         As she gathered what she needed, Becky turned on the radio to listen to the morning news. Of course, it wasn’t good. Another person went missing in the state park, and the authorities didn’t have a clue what happened to them. That made it five people in the last six months. Three of them were in the last month. Becky thought she left statistics like that behind in Boston.

         Encumbered with a lot of equipment she’d need, Becky dropped them on the empty sidewalk beside her truck and returned to the clinic to retrieve the rest she’d needed. This was the exhausting part of her day. Jane Ann couldn’t be here this early to help her today because she needed to get a tooth fixed and the dentist in town was opening early for her. She’d be at work later before lunch some time.

         Being short and slight helped with parts of veterinary work, but it didn’t help loading a truck with heavy boxes and bags. To complicate things, it was like a game of Tetris to fit everything in around a large animal crate. The nightmare got real when a truck horn broke the morning silence, scaring her out of her skin so badly she screamed. There were only a couple of smaller bags to fit in when this happened, and she leaned out of the truck to see a delivery truck driver waving at her to move. She sighed in frustration. The bar wasn’t even open. What did he plan to do with a delivery?

         “Give me a minute. I’m almost done, and I’ll be out of here.” Becky struggled with her emotions. She just wanted to break down and cry, but she stood up for herself. Yeah, she was blocking the lane, but Old Man Jacobs was blocking her lane and there weren’t any parking spaces on the street at this hour.

         “I’m late and I need to get in there now.” The driver hung out his window grumbling at her in annoyance, all the while waving a fist at her and motioning her to get out of his way.

         “I’m late too and there’s a momma cow that needs a checkup before she has her calf. I just need to get the last of this in the back and I’ll leave.” She hadn’t locked the door of the clinic. Crap, she’d need to do that too before she left. Becky figured she’d have to double park just to do that and pray she didn’t get a ticket for it. But with her luck this morning. She could sympathize with him normally, but everything was weighing on her too much to give him what he wanted immediately.

         “Just get out of my way, woman. Or I’m calling Rob out here.” She didn’t know who Rob was, but he was probably one of the scary giants that ran the bar.

         “Be reasonable. There’s no one there to receive it, anyway. I have people and sick animals waiting for me. I’ll be gone before he can get out here.” She tried pleading with the man, but he was too busy punching something into his cellphone. She assumed it was the number to the bar and this Rob character. So, with a sigh, she squeezed the last of her bags into the back of the truck.

         “What is going on out here? I have a delivery coming in and you’re blocking the driver.” The loud, deep male voice startled Becky and made her freeze for a moment like a deer in headlights of a car. She instantly looked at the angry man. The drop dead gorgeous man. She couldn’t believe a man could be built like that outside of a fireman’s charity calendar. He wore a denim jacket, but she wasn’t sure he could get it closed if he tried over his enormous chest. His black t-shirt under it was definitely straining at its seams. The logo of the bar on the t-shirt was half hidden by the jacket. His jeans weren’t fairing much better than his t-shirt for fit and his jeans were as faded as his jacket. Black leather boots were half hidden under his jeans. Those boots were as dark as his hair and well-trimmed beard. Blue eyes glared back at her from his powerful face. Even with the beard, she could see his firm jaw was just as hard as his eyes. It revealed his strength and temper. Becky shook where she crouched in the back of her truck’s bed, trying to figure out whether she should hide or flee.