FanStory.com - Reader, I Married Himby Heather Knight
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level
My pet helped me to find love
Reader, I Married Him by Heather Knight
Amazing pet!!! contest entry

My pet is a baby elephant I adopted three months ago. I live in South Africa and one day he just walked into my garden. I was sitting on the porch, reading this slightly boring novel, and when I looked up, there he was. It was love at first sight. His eyes looked like big pools, maybe a bit sad, and his ears were extraordinarily fuzzy. He was like an oversized soft toy.

At the beginning, I thought he must have got lost and expected his Mum to come looking for him at any moment.

After a week, however, I realized the poor thing was on his own. By then, he had become dependent on me for almost everything. I thought it was time to think of a name for him and chose the obvious. I decided to call him Dumbo.

Dumbo is very gentle, but all the same, he's playing havoc with my home. He swings his trunk and down go my trinkets with a clang. Fortunately, he still hasn't learned to climb up the stairs, so the second floor remains unscathed.

Last Friday, I finally worked up the courage to take him to the vet. I looked for a clinic in the yellow pages and chose one that seemed appropriate. It was called Jungle Fluffies, so I guessed they wouldn't find my choice of pet surprising.

'Hello. Jungle Fluffies. How may I help you?' a shrill voice said into my ear.

'Hi, I'm calling to ask for an appointment.' I answered, wondering how she could manage to say Jungle Fluffies in a serious voice. What a ridiculous name!

'Just a minute. Let me see...Is tomorrow at ten okay for you?'

'Perfect.'

'What is your pet's name?'

'Dumbo.'

'Curious choice...'

'If you knew just how curious,' I thought and hung up after giving the receptionist my details.

The next day, we got ready to go to the clinic after breakfast. We'd have to walk all the way, as Dumbo didn't fit in the car.

On the way there, I got lots of curious stares. I didn't really mind, I understood. After all, you don't see a young woman followed by a baby elephant on a leash every day. A family even asked if they could have their picture taken with us. I willingly agreed and they seemed to be very grateful.

The clinic was a glass building surrounded by exotic plants and palm trees. From her station, the receptionist saw us approaching and came out in a panic.

'What's that?' she screeched.

'What do you think it is?' I said, half amused half angry.

'You cannot go into the waiting room, you'll have to stay here till the doctor can see you...'

'No problem. We like it here' I told her.

She turned around to leave and then said, 'I assume this is Dumbo...'

I smiled at her innocently and nodded.

We walked around for half an hour or so. I admired the beautiful flowers and Dumbo ate some of them. He seems to have a special fascination with yellow flowers and I don't really know why.

I finally saw a man in a white coat approach us, just when I was losing hope.

'Hello,' he said. 'This must be Dumbo. I'm Dr. White.'

My heart went up to my throat and got stuck there. For some reason, I had expected the vet to be old and wizened, but the man in front of me was more or less my age and incredibly beautiful.

I smiled, mainly because I couldn't speak. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice, or maybe he was used to women acting like that around him.

He started caressing Dumbo's back, which gave me some time to recover.

'So what's wrong with this little guy?'

'Nothing's wrong with him. I just brought him over for a check up.'

'Excellent idea.'

After examining Dumbo exhaustively, something the little guy didn't enjoy much, Dr White told me he was perfectly healthy.

'By the way, what's your name?' he asked.

I looked around, trying to make sure he was talking to me.

'Emma' I said, blushing like a school girl.

And then, as I had expected, things went wrong. This was why I hadn't wanted to visit the vet sooner.

'I'm sorry if I'm being indiscreet, but wouldn't Dumbo be happier living in a nature park?'

'No, I don't think so. We're very happy together. I mean, he's very happy with me.

'Eh, eh. Relax. It was just a suggestion,' he said, putting his hand on my elbow. 'You know, next time I'll go to your home to see Dumbo. It will be much easier that way.'

Two days later I was feeding Dumbo peanuts out of the kitchen window when I saw a car approaching the house.

'I wonder who that is.' I said to him.

He answered me with a low rumble that I guessed meant he didn't have a clue.

By then the car was near enough for me to see that the driver was no other than Dr White. My hands started sweating, like they always do when I'm nervous.

He got out of the car and walked towards the house. He looked even more gorgeous than he had looked at the clinic. He was wearing faded jeans and a blue T-shirt with some whale logo on it. Just then, I knew I was in love, the same way I had known with Dumbo.

'Hi there,' he said.

'Hi.'

'I've come to see Dumbo and to bring him some food.'

Of course, what had I thought? My heart fell to my feet, but I made an effort to smile.

'Come on in. Sit down. Do you want a drink?'

'Yes, please. I'm parched.'

I went to the kitchen to get some iced tea and we sat on the porch to drink it. In the meantime, Dumbo played ball in the garden.

We talked for a couple of hours, mostly about Dumbo. Dr White... Edward was really curious about him.

'It's the first time I've ever had an elephant as a patient, you know.'

Sometimes we ran out of things to say and I racked my brain in search of some new topic because I didn't want him to go.

When it got dark, I got up to turn on the porch light. Then I sat back again and Edward said, 'I have to confess I have lied to you.'

'What do you mean?'

'I came to see Dumbo, but I also wanted to see you. I wanted to ask you out.'

'Oh!' I tried to say something more articulate, but I was so excited that I couldn't.

'So will you go out for a drink with me some time?'

'Yes, of course. But I'll have to find somebody to babysit Dumbo first.'

In the distance, Dumbo snorted and I was sure he meant 'I can take perfect care of myself. Thank you very much.'

Epilogue
A year later.
Reader, I married him. A quiet wedding we had: he and I, the parson and Dumbo, were alone present. Dumbo, of course, carried the rings.
I will always be grateful to my little elephant (well, not so little anymore) for having kept me company when I was alone and for having helped me find love.





Recognized

Author Notes
Reader, I married him is a quote taken from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. This is the whole quote: Reader, I married him. A quiet wedding we had: he and I, the
parson and clerk, were alone present.

     

© Copyright 2024. Heather Knight All rights reserved.
Heather Knight has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.




Be sure to go online at FanStory.com to comment on this.
© 2000-2024. FanStory.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Statement