Page 13 of Echoes of Obsession
Why else would he saybabe?Not that I blame all the women for flocking at his feet, though. He’s very sexy. Way out of my league, but I’m not blind.
“I know who you are, Snow. Bout to go into a club meeting. Talk in a bit.”
Oh. Well, alrighty then. He does remember me. I mean, it’s only been three days, but I’m sure he’s been super busy, which explains why he hasn’t gotten his couch cleaned yet. I might call some companies today so that he doesn’t have to worry about it.
Or is that too much?
Shaking my head, I sit down at my office desk to work. While I can’t hold a physical job, I most certainly can handle editing books for authors. It’s not stressful, and I can get lost in so many different worlds every single day.
Best. Job. Ever.
I start working, and the next thing I know, Sky is at my feet with my medication bottle in his mouth.
“Good boy,” I praise, switching out my bottle for an ever-present treat.
Sky wears a vibrating collar around his neck and every time it goes off, he’s trained to bring me my meds. I had a pretty severe seizure years back that caused issues with my memory.
Actually, it’s the exact seizure that was responsible for Zoe’s hearing loss. I had a fever of one hundred and three at the time of labor. It happened while I was pushing. Zoe’s head was outside of my body, but her shoulders were stuck. I don’t know if it was the pain, the fever, or a mixture of everything, but my body decided to just quit.
The doctors and nurses had to hold me down to prevent my flailing body from hurting my baby, as the most intense and brutal seizure that I’ve ever had overtook me.
Regardless of them holding me down as well as securing the only part of the baby they could, Zoe’s head was still bouncing around way more than it should.
The seizure lasted for a little over three minutes. Zoe’s oxygen supply wasn’t cut off completely, but it was hindered, which resulted in Hypoxia. Oxygen deprivation.
The hypoxia, mixed with the birth trauma, caused her auditory system to fail. It didn’t happen instantly, but she was complexly deaf by the time she turned one.
So, he wasn’t wrong when my ex said that it was my fault that Zoe is the way she is.
Seeing that I’ve been working for three hours, I call it quits until later.
“What do you think about us walking to get Zoe from school today?” I ask Sky. “I don’t think I want to deal with another taxi driver complaining because they don’t like it when dogs stink up their cab. I have news for those fools; half the humans they haul around smell a lot worse than a dog.”
Sky snuffs his agreement.
We still have a few hours before we have to leave, so after I feed Sky, I clean up the house and eat lunch.
The walk to the school was pretty uneventful. There was a shop I wanted to explore that sold antiques, but the owner was adamant about not letting Sky inside. I guess I can understand, to a point. They didn’t want him to destroy anything, but he wouldn’t have.
I was half-tempted to have Sky stay outside by the door while I went in for a few minutes, but it’s been several days since I’ve had a seizure, which means I’m due for a pretty intense one soon, and I didn’t want to take that risk.
I just wish people were more educated about service animals.
“Good evening, Mr. Brown,” I greet Amara’s teacher. “How was Zoe today?”
“Ms. Clarke,” he smiles. “She was perfect, as always. However, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Everything is fine, but Zoe’s other teachers and I think it might be best if we move her to a special needs classroom.”
“Special needs?” I ask. “Why? I mean, I’m not against that class itself, but Zoe’s grades are top-notch. She doesn’t need the help.”
“It’s not about her grades, Ms. Clarke,” he says gently. “Zoe has a hard time following along in class. I have to step asideto give her step-by-step instructions on paper so that she understands.”
“Yeah, because she’s deaf,” I say heatedly. “Hire an interpreter.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not in the budget. Zoe is a wonderful girl, but I have to spend too much time helping her hear the lessons that we don’t have time for snack at the end of class.”