Snakes Among Sweet Flowers by Jason Huffman-Black Page B

they needed on the form, Regina came back and called out, “Tom?”
    Cam glanced over at the cat in the cage, then to Regina in confusion. “Want me to come back with him?”
    “Of course,” she said on a laugh.
    “Good, ’cause I’m not sure how he’d do on his own.” Cam followed as she waved him down a hall and into a small exam room, where she closed the door and left them alone again. Cam sat in the chair beside a table, on which he’d set the carrier, and tapped his fingers on his thighs as he waited, finally standing and pacing back and forth in the almost claustrophobically small space.
    After a few minutes, an extremely attractive man in a white coat entered the room with Regina following behind. Cam knew immediately that Dr. Moore was gay. There was no doubt in his mind. It wasn’t that the man was obvious in his mannerisms, but the tell came from the way the doctor’s gaze swept over Cam from head to toe, pausing dramatically at the crotch.
    “Camden Sanders?” the doctor asked, then turned to the carrier on the table. “And this must be Mister Tom.”
    When Dr. Moore met his eyes, Cam lifted a brow to let the doctor know he was reading him loud and clear. “You can call me Cam and him Tom.”
    “Regina, I think we’ve got it in here. You can man the front desk for me.” Dr. Moore never glanced away from Cam as he spoke.
    Once Regina had left the room and closed the door, Dr. Moore busied himself getting Tom out of the cage and placing him on the table. “I’m Grant,” he introduced, “and what is going on with Tom here?”
    Cam stepped up next to the doctor and looked down at Tom where Grant held him down. “I think he has fleas and maybe worms.” Cam noticed what looked like a wedding ring on the doctor’s finger and wondered if the little town of Hog Mountain was up to handling a gay married couple in their midst.
    Grant nodded and began searching through the cat’s fur, looking in his mouth, and generally feeling him up. “How long have you had Tom as a pet?”
    “Well, he ain’t my pet. He umm… hangs around and toms it up out behind my place. I leave water out for him and sometimes food.”
    “If you feed him, he’s yours,” Grant said with a chuckle, then stopped short, froze, and cut his gaze over to Cam.
    “What?”
    “Who told you Tom was a boy?” Grant started to smile and it got bigger and bigger.
    “What? Well, of course he is. Look at him.” Cam sputtered. “He’s big… and manly.”
    “He’s also pregnant,” the vet announced with a smirk.
    Cam dropped into the chair and stared off into space. “Fuck.” For a moment, he felt responsible. Not like he’d got the cat pregnant, for God’s sake, but maybe if he’d known she was a girl, he could have kept her safe or something. He was a fucking idiot.
    Grant patted him on the shoulder in compassion. “Okay, we are going to run some tests. Make sure she doesn’t have feline leukemia and worms, generally make sure she’s healthy. Then we’ll give her a treatment for fleas. You sit here and come up with a girl’s name for your cat.” Grant laughed as he turned away and started pulling open cabinet doors.
    “My cat,” Cam mumbled to himself. “Leukemia sounds serious.”
    “It’s like AIDS for cats, so yeah, pretty serious. And highly contagious too, to other cats, that is. So if she doesn’t have it, you should keep her indoors to make sure she’s safe.”
    Cam huffed but didn’t answer. This visit to the vet was getting more involved by the minute.
    While his back was to Cam, Grant said, “I like your tattoos. How far do they go?”
    That got Cam’s attention, and he grinned slyly. “How far you willing to look for ’em?”
    Grant turned and walked back to the table, where the cat still lay, appearing unconcerned with the entire process. “I’ve always been known to give a quite thorough exam.” He gave a mischievous glance to Cam, then added, “Come help me hold her while I draw