The pawn shop was two suburbs away from Jax’s house. He had been there once before with Buzzy when he needed money. But when Jax reached the shop, all he found was an empty shell. Leaves, letters and junk mail lay piled up against the front door.
Feeling sick with grief, Jax walked slowly up the road. A sudden gust of wind knocked over a wooden sandwich board. It fell with a clatter then skidded along the footpath towards him and into the gutter. Jax wiped his eyes and read the sign:
Veterinary Clinic.
NO appointment necessary.
Small and exotic pets a specialty.
He looked down at Ruby. Her breathing came in short, sharp bursts. There was no time to find another pawn shop.
The heavy smell of disinfectant and wet dog hair met Jax as he opened the door into the clinic. A nurse, wearing a blue badge with the word Carla printed on it, sat behind a high counter. She looked up from her computer. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked.
‘My dog is sick,’ Jax said, weakly.
‘Have you been here before?’
Jax shook his head.
‘I’ll need to open a new file then.’ The nurse turned back to the computer. ‘What’s your name?’
Jax didn’t want to give his real name. ‘It’s um… um… ahh… Buzzy,’ he blurted out. He was surprised at how easily Buzzy’s name came to his lips. He felt his face flush with embarrassment and looked down, hoping the nurse wouldn’t notice. ‘It’s Buzzy Alvarez.’ This time he said it with more confidence. Jax had never realised that using another person’s name could make you feel so different.
The nurse typed the words into her computer. ‘And your dog’s name is… ?’
‘Ruby.’
‘And how old is Ruby?’
‘I don’t know exactly ’cos I found her.’
‘All right, then. And last of all, what’s your address and telephone number?’
Jax quickly made up a false one. He was again surprised at how rapidly his mind was working.
Carla looked up and smiled. ‘Take a seat, Buzzy. Dr Rainwild shouldn’t be too long.’
Jax sat down in front of the window next to a man in a blue singlet. A doberman lay at his feet, whining.
‘It’ll be all right, mate,’ the man said, reaching down to pat the dog.
Just then one of the doors by the counter opened and Dr Rainwild stepped out. He was short, with hairy arms, and wore a crisp pale-blue clinic coat. He searched the room with his eyes. They fell on a lady holding a small cage covered with a cloth.
‘Come in, please, Mrs Entwhistle,’ he said.
The lady gathered up her things and followed Dr Rainwild into the surgery. A few minutes later, Jax could hear loud squawking coming from the room.
Through a small window in the door, he saw the parrot flying frantically around. It looked like one of those mechanical birds in the shopping mall. Then there was silence.
Ruby whimpered. ‘It’s okay, girl,’ Jax whispered, putting his cheek against the top of Ruby’s head. He wished the vet would hurry up.
The lady emerged, followed by Dr Rainwild whose crisp, pale-blue clinic coat was now stained with ugly green spots.
‘You can bring Brutus in,’ he said to the man in the singlet.
The dog obediently followed his master, his tail between his legs.
‘Nearly our turn, Ruby girl,’ Jax whispered. ‘The vet will fix you and then we’ll go to the park. Would you like that?’ His voice cracked as tears welled in his eyes. He breathed deeply, wishing them away.
Jax felt as if he had been sitting there for ages when the door opened again. The Doberman came out, leaping and dancing and looking up at his owner, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as if to say I did good in there, didn’t I. Can we go now?
‘Your turn, young man,’ Dr Rainwild said to Jax.
The room was small, with a high metal table, a hand-basin and a cupboard on the wall. Another door led to a bigger room where Jax could see a row of empty cages.
‘Put Ruby down on the table,’ Dr Rainwild said.
Jax gently pulled Ruby out from under his jumper. The table looked cold and hard. ‘Can I just hold her?’ he asked.
‘Yes, that’s fine. Now, what seems to be the matter?’
‘She’s really sick and she’s not breathing properly,’ Jax replied.
‘Give her to me. Come on, girl.’ Dr Rainwild took Ruby from Jax. ‘There, now, what seems to be the matter?’
Jax was glad Dr Rainwild was gentle.
The vet listened to Ruby’s heart with his stethoscope and took her temperature, then checked inside her mouth.
All of a sudden, Dr Rainwild looked up, startled. ‘How old do you think Ruby is?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, Ruby is incredibly old. In fact, I’ve never seen a dog of this age before.’ Dr Rainwild shook his head in disbelief.
‘But… but… I don’t understand,’ said Jax.
‘The simple fact of the matter is, she’s dying of old age.’ Dr Rainwild put his hand on Jax’s shoulder. ‘The kindest thing to do, Buzzy, would be to put her to sleep. That way she won’t suffer.’
‘No! No!’ Jax was shocked. ‘I’ve got money if she needs an operation or medicine or something.’ He bent down, unzipped his backpack and pulled out the necklace. ‘This belongs to my mum. She said I could take it and pawn it for money, but the pawnshop was closed. It’s very valuable. Look.’ He thrust the necklace into Dr Rainwild’s hand.
‘I’m afraid an operation won’t do any good,’ said Dr Rainwild, putting Ruby gently back into Jax’s arms. ‘She is very, very old, like I said before. Here, take your mum’s necklace back. I won’t charge you anything. Putting her to sleep is the kindest thing you can do for her.’
As Jax reached for the necklace, Ruby suddenly jumped out of his arms. She landed on her feet and dashed out through the opposite door into the interior of the clinic. Dr Rainwild was stunned.
‘Ruby! Stop!’ Jax shouted. He grabbed his backpack and chased her down a passage and out into the backyard where he saw her squeezing through a gap in the cyclone fence. Jax scrambled up and over the wire and raced down the alley, all the while calling her name. But the little dog was strangely disobedient.
Ruby ran across a stone bridge and down a flight of steps to a small track along the riverbank. Jax could see that she was tiring, but she ran another fifty metres, then finally stopped and turned around to look at Jax, panting furiously.
‘You naughty girl,’ Jax said when he reached Ruby. He picked her up and held her close with her head tucked under his chin the way she liked to be held. Ruby’s little heart was beating so fast it felt as if it was going to burst as she gasped for air. Then, all of a sudden, the beating stopped. Her body went limp.
‘Ruby, Ruby,’ Jax called, hoping she had just fallen asleep. But he could no longer feel any movement under his fingertips.
He sank to the ground as a stifling silence closed in around him.