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 Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 10:32 pm
The only thing Claudia loved as much as working at the shelter was working with the local therapy dog foundation. She couldn't own a therapy dog of her own because she boarded at Crystal during the school year, so instead she was assigned a dog that she took from the foundation once a week to the hospital to visit patients. This week she was assigned a golden lab, with the friendliest brown eyes you've ever seen.
The petite girl walked into the hospital a nylon leash in one hand, and a black Louis Vuitton Chrissie MM bag over her other shoulder. Most girls wouldn't dream of taking a twenty-seven hundred dollar purse near a dog, but Claudia didn't mind, she could always get another if it got ruined. She was wearing a black Michael Kors belted zip jacket and pencil skirt, the skirt already had a dusting of golden dog hair on it, but Claudia didn't mind all that much. She still looked fashionable and that's all that mattered.
Her Gucci heels click clacked down the hallway as she made her way up to the front desk. "Hi, I'm here to see a Mr. Darrow?" She had been assigned a patient when she picked up the dog. "I'm with Paws for a Cause, the therapy dog foundation." She smiled, the panting of the dog, Delilah, backing up her statement. The secretary at the desk just smiled at her, "One moment please." That was followed by the tapping of keys and then she looked up at her. "Mr. Darrow is in the General Recovery Ward, Room 2106." Claudia smiled and adjusted her glasses, "Thanks!"
She led Delilah to the elevator and rode up to the recovery ward. She wondered what had happened to Mr. Darrow, they didn't give out information when they gave out assignments, something about privacy issues. "Well, we'll see soon enough won't we girl." She crouched scratching the lab behind the ears which got her a happy bark. Grinning she stood back up, she loved animals, they were always happy to see you.
Stepping off the elevator she click clacked her way down the hall way. 2100...2102...2104...There! 2106. She stopped in front of the door and took a moment to smooth her clothes down before she knocked on the door. Turning the handle she pushed it open sticking her head in. "Mr. Darrow? There's someone that wants to meet you." Smiling she stepped all the way inside, Delilah following her with her tail wagging like crazy.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 10:52 pm
Tony was sleeping peacefully in his room, behaving himself. He was, his nurses learned, prone to trying to escape, when he wasn't occupied by visitors or the video games in the room got boring. Because he was older, his patience for video games had worn thin, so he could only play by himself for an hour or two at a time before he wanted to do something else.
What a man who had suffered a concussion as severe as his, and a badly damaged leg, could do besides sit in his bed, play the playstation or read was beyond the nurses. Tony wanted to get out, get fresh air, limp around or use a wheel chair. Anything that wasn't just sitting in bed.
But he was also easily tired out, and napping was good. Still recovering, he was lacking in the energy department. He stirred when he heard someone at the door, opening his eyes, though one was still bruised and half closed, he blinked at the stranger. And.. the dog.
"Oh!" He said in surprise, sitting up. He looked at the girl, baffled. "Why... hello. Uh. Who are you and... who is this?" he looked at the dog, unable to keep from smiling. He liked animals enough, and she was a pretty dog.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 11:06 pm
He was surprised, they must not have told him. Sometimes they forgot to inform the patient, sometimes they wanted it to be a surprise, in a way she preferred it when they knew she was coming. But not matter what she was going to do what she came her to do, and she'd enjoy it. Behind white cat eye frames, violet eyes took in his appearance. He looked to be in his late thirties, and pretty badly beaten up, but even through all the bruises she could tell her had a handsome face, dark brown hair streaked with gray and striking green eyes. The thought made her blush and look down, she wasn't used to thinking about males in such a fashion, especially older men such as himself. But there was just something about him.
Claudia shut the door quietly behind her and walked up to the edge of the bed. She smiled down at him, her heels making her 5'7 instead of 5'3. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you. I'm Claudia Jensen, I'm with Paws for a Cause. And this little lady is Delilah. Come say hello, Delilah." Claudia patted the edge of the bed and the golden lab reared back and rested her paws on the edge, her happy a face a few feet from the older man's. "We're supposed to stay for about an hour, but if you're too tired we can go?" She didn't want to be a bother, and if he was tired he should rest.
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Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:30 am
Tony, a bit bashful about his bruised face, turned away from her a bit. Not so he wasn't looking at her any more, but in a slight effort to hide that side of his face. He didn't recognize her from the library, where he felt he knew most of the populace of Destiny City (though clearly it was only the ones who read a lot, or needed the computers). He glanced down at the dog, still smiling.
"Oh..." he said, as she patted the side of his bed and the dog popped up. He laughed and instinctively moved to pet the Labrador, a big, doofy grin on his face immediately. Dogs were so cute, and he had never had one so they were fun to pet when he had the change. "You're a beautiful girl, aren't you, Delilah?"
He looked up at Claudia, shaking his head.
"Oh, no, please stay. I was just napping to make the time go by. This is much more entertaining. Ah, I know you knew my na... well," he offered her his hand anyway, "I'm Anthony Darrow. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jensen."
He scratched Delilah behind the ears, watching Claudia. She seemed fairly young, but it was evident in the way she carried herself that she liked this job very much. "You work with, ah, this Paws for a Cause, then? Do you train the dogs? How long have you worked there? Sorry if I'm prying. There's... uh... not a lot of things to keep my mind occupied around here..." he frowned, trying to stem the flow of questions escaping him.
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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 1:47 pm
Claudia watched as he interacted with the dog, and when it was clear he liked her the sixteen year old's face lit up. She always approved of people who loved animals, and it was clear Mr. Darrow did.
Delilah's tail started to wag a mile a minute and she was nearly vibrating with delight. The lab pressed against Tony's hand, but didn't lick him, the dogs were trained not to for hygienic reasons. Instead she let her tongue loll out of her mouth and panted happily.
When Mr. Darrow told them to stay Claudia smiled widely. The man was being very nice to her, and she couldn't help but feel comfortable around him. Seeing his hand offered Claudia reached out and shook his hand, careful not to grip too hard. She wasn't sure what parts of him were hurt. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Darrow. And you can call me Claudia...or CJ." There was a slight pause before she offered her nickname, she usually told people to just call her Claudia, but Mr. Darrow was nice to her, and obviously liked Delilah so she decided she'd be extra nice to him.
"Oh, I don't really work there, I just volunteer." She didn't mention that she would never have to work a day in her life because of her parents. "I don't train the dogs, you have to take classes for that and I don't have that much time between school and the animal shelter, but I do take a dog out twice a month to visit patients. I've been volunteering since I was fourteen, and I'm sixteen now so about two years." As she talked she sunk down to sit on the very edge of his bed, near his knees, facing him. "It's okay, I don't mind if you ask questions." She smiled at him, her eyes bright behind her glasses. Adults usually weren't this nice to her, at least her parents certainly weren't. Not that they were mean, she wouldn't know honestly, she never saw them. "What do you do?"
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:50 am
"You are such a good girl!" Tony said to Delilah, ruffling her ears happily. He didn't feel like he needed to be visited by a dog for sick people, since he had only bumped his head and hurt his leg, but it didn't really matter. His pride wasn't injured, because the dog was making him feel better than before. Animals had a way of doing that.
"Claudia," he said, then amended himself. If someone offered a nickname, he imagined they wanted to be called by it, "CJ. It's a pleasure."
He listened as she explained her volunteer status with the program. He nodded, always glad for volunteers. The library had some, and they were usually more help than the kids on staff from the work program. He smiled.
"That's very impressive! So you volunteer at the animal shelter as well? I suppose I might know what you'd like to study in school?" He spoke as he petted the dog, though his green eyes were on CJ. When she asked about him, he shrugged, "I'm the head librarian at Destiny City Central Library. Not... fascinating, I know, but ah."
He smiled and shrugged.
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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:43 am
Delilah woofed quietly and pushed her head against his hand. She was an extremely friendly dog, one reason she made such a good therapy dog.
When the librarian said her volunteering was impressive CJ beamed. It was always nice to have someone appreciate the work you did. She nodded, her hands resting on her knees. "I'm hoping to get into Veterinary Medicine, I know it's a difficult field, but I'm determined." Her eyes lit up when she talked about her future profession. She of course didn't need to work, but he didn't know that and it wasn't going to stop her.
"Head Librarian? That is too fascinating! Having to take care of all those books, all that knowledge. I bet you know where everything is." The idea of being the keeper of all those books was intimidating. She didn't think she'd be able to handle it.
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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 2:02 pm
Tony grinned, clearly enjoying the visit from the dog, as well as the young woman who had brought it. He continued to scratch at her ears and pet her. It made him wonder why he had never gotten a dog, instead opting for a hamster, but he reminded himself that hamsters were a lot more low maintenance than a dog would be. Plus his apartment would charge him an arm and a leg to keep a larger animal.
Still, dogs were very cute, and he chuckled, trying to pay attention to both Delilah and CJ. It was difficult to get distracted by the dog.
"Veterinary Medicine, hmm? That does sound really difficult. I've heard a few people in and out of the library mentioning the work involved. But with you're enthusiasm I'm sure you already understand the work. Determination is a good thing," he nodded his head approvingly. "I'm sure you'll get as far as you want to. And of course, the library is available if you ever need research material."
He chuckled, plugging the library in the middle of the conversation. But he actually meant to offer the library as a friend would their own knowledge. Since he had nothing to offer by way of taking care of animals, a whole library full of books was the next best alternative.
"Ah, yes. Well. If you work in one place as long as I have," he said, shaking his head as if to dismiss the idea that being a librarian was anything special, "you tend to learn where everything is."
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:42 pm
Claudia beamed at his praise, practically glowing. And he was offering to help her! Well he was offering the library, but still he worked there so it was like he was offering to help.
"I'd love to work somewhere, I mean I volunteer of course, but it's not like a real job with money and stuff. Not that I need the money, I mean..." She trailed off, putting her foot in her mouth was something she had perfected. "I'm still financially dependent on my parents which isn't bad since they have the money to spare, but it would be nice to be able to take care of myself."
Looking across the room she bit her lip and then turned towards Mr. Darrow again. "So, how did you get hurt?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:13 am
"Money to spare, hmm?" He grinned, looking at her. He shook his head, not wanting to make a comment on it. He wasn't exactly rich, and growing up he had anything but money to spare, but he wasn't bitter about it. Nowadays he was financially stable, had a good savings account, and loved his job. He really couldn't complain.
"It's admirable that you want to get a job, then, to work on your own. It seems most teenagers these days are perfectly content to stay at home. Not that I know," he shook his head. He was just commenting on what he saw in the library. He smiled at her, but it faded at her question.
He looked down at the dog again, who was resting its had in his lap.
"Ah, I was attacked," he said, shaking his head. That was the truth, at least. By what he didn't specify, though usually he said it was neighborhood thugs. At least his apartment was run down enough that it was believable.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:51 pm
"Oh no, that's horrible!" One hand covered her mouth in shock, it was probably those senshi up to no good again. She couldn't believe how brazen they were to attack a poor librarian. "I am so sorry." She placed one hand over the older man's squeezing it lightly.
The two continued to talk for the next hour, with Delilah constantly stealing their attention to be petted and paid attention to, and when their hour was up Claudia found it hard to leave.
"It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Darrow! I hope we can come see you again." Standing up she patted his hand one last time before she waved and walked out of the room, a wide smile on her face.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:32 pm
Tony smiled at her reassuringly, explaining that he just lived in a bad part of town, and he was there at the wrong time. After that, he enjoyed their conversation, the distraction from the drone of the hospital and the company of both Claudia and the dog lifted his spirits well over what they had done.
When it was time for her to go, which he understood since she was doing rounds, he thanked her for the visit and giving the dog a good farewell scratch behind the ears.
"Thank you very much for stopping by! You're a dear for it, honestly. Have a good rest of your day!"
He smiled as she left, then laid back to get some rest.
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