Ruth's Meme - Chapter 3

To know what this is about, you need to first go to Ruth's Visions & Revisions Blog to read about her fiction-writing meme:

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Chapter 3:

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By the time I reached the Northside Zoo parking lot, it was nearly 8:00 a.m., hopefully allowing me enough time to check in at the security desk and reach my office by 8:15. A downpour during the night had left puddles here and there, so I parked carefully to avoid stepping out into one. The rain had washed a mish-mash of leaves, plastic bottles, and other bits of trash up against the sidewalk curb. I made a mental note to suggest to Pete in Groundskeeping that it was time to do a clean sweep of the parking lot again, though really that was out of my jurisdiction since I was employed in the Zoo veterinary office. As I stepped across the damp asphalt, I thought about fishing around in my purse for my cell phone to see if there were any messages from Elliott, but decided to wait until later.

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Mr. Folger in the Security Office offered me a nod and a hearty "Good Morning". He knew this was my first day of being in charge of dispatching duties in the Veterinary Office. He smiled, causing his gray moustache to widen considerably, and said, "Are you ready for today, Ruth?" For a brief instant he reminded me of the man who had been God in my dream, but I mentally shook off that thought as ridiculous. I replied, "Yes, I am, Folger, and thanks for asking!" He handed over my security badge for the day, which I promptly clipped to the front of my Zoo uniform blouse. As I turned to head down the hall to the Veterinary Office, Folger reached into the phone file slot, retrieving a memo slip which he handed to me, "There was a phone message for you." Puzzled, I took the slip from him and continued to my office.

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Since I was in charge today, opening up the office was my responsibility. After unlocking the door, I turned the wand on the window blinds, taking a few seconds to gaze across a manicured lawn towards the Monkey House and Yard. Beyond the tall fence, I could see the monkey community already busy with their morning routines, which would pretty much continue the same all day long; swinging from tree branch to tree branch, shrieking.......picking through the fur of companions, and grinning big toothy grins at the early morning maintenance workers walking by. With a sigh, I shook my head slightly......."Oh, to be a monkey."

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There were several desks in the room, mine being along another wall near a window which looked out over the flamingo pond. On my desk was a clipboard showing the scheduled veterinary procedures for the day: Foot checks on the elephants and giraffes; a maternity issue in the zebra pen; and an exam of an ailing peacock. That was just the scheduled activities for the day.......other matters always turned up for our crew of veterinarians, which was soon to be joined by Elliott now that he had finished his internship in Bombay, India. I could never understand why he had chosen to intern so far away, but evidently he craved some travel and adventure before settling down.

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Elliott and I had met at veterinary school at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, a few years ago. I never progressed beyond the first year of vet school; the class load was just too difficult for me. I returned to the Chicago area to live with Gram and Gramps, and found a veterinary assistant's position here at the Northside Zoo. Elliott and I had kept in touch while he was still in Ames and then later in India.

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Suddenly, I remembered the memo Folger had handed to me. It said I needed to call a phone number to reach Elliott on the plane. Good grief. I scooped through my purse, searching for my cell phone, with no success. Darn.......I must have left it back at the house. That meant I'd have to use a Zoo phone, which I disliked doing for my personal calls.

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I dialed the number, which must have been directly to Elliott's seat on the plane, but it was not a very good connection. I could tell the voice was his, but he kept cutting in and out, and garbling up. This much I could gather: Due to mechanical problems on an earlier flight, THEY would now be landing in Milwaukee, instead of at O'Hare. "Pick us up....(crackle, crackle).....Milwaukee". Darn.......I'd have to drive all the way up to General Mitchell International Airport on the south side of Milwaukee after work today, and with no cell phone along. And........Elliott had said, "US"........"Pick US up".......US.......that's plural!?? Whatever was that supposed to mean??? I thought Elliott was alone!!!

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Okay, now any of you can write a Chapter 4. Link it back here to this post on my blog, and also to Ruth's original Chapter 1 post on her blog.

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I think you also would need to go read Sherry's Chapter 2 .

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