A Practice of One

By Brenda Hamilton

This is the second book in the Riverbend Adventures Series, following bk. 1 The First Year. In this book, Gene, a young woman veterinarian, and Evie, a vet. tech, and her best friend both work at the Crossman Veterinary Hospital, in Riverbend, a small town in northern Ontario. The year is 1981, and things were much different for young professional women than they are these days, especially as Gene wished to specialize in large animal medicine, mostly cattle. Gene had established herself very effectively the first year working with the farmers of the valley, but now both ladies are having increasingly more trouble with the Crossmans who own the clinic.
They have some immediate and important decisions to make about their futures, both professional and personal.
This book follows them along their paths.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brenda Hamilton
• Release date: May 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370097326

Brenda Hamilton

Brenda grew up near Oxford Mills, Ontario. After high school she went to Guelph University and graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1977. She moved to the Rainy River District where she ran her large animal practice until the year 2000. Since then, her arthritis and fibromyalgia which had bothered her for years, has finally convinced Brenda to retire. After moving to Oliver with her husband, she has began to write down some of the many story ideas she has had in her head for yearsHope you enjoy reading these tales.

Book preview

A Practice of One

bk 2 of Riverbend Adventures

Written by Brenda Hamilton

Smashwords Edition 2017

Discover other titles by Brenda

doctor Vet

Knightsville

One Tough Summer

The First Year

***~~~***

Cover Art done by Brenda

who started painting early this year, and loves it.

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work of this author.

Dedication

To my husband, Dwayne who, though he has yet to have the time to sit down and read any of my books, he doesn’t read novels, he has always encouraged me to keep writing.

Although, as he has more than once wondered about me writing under my maiden name. I wrote doctor Vet using my profession name, Dr. Meyers, and now have written both this series and the Knightsville series using Brenda Hamilton.

So Dwayne, this novel is dedicated to you, for bearing with me throughout the months I disappear into the lives of my characters.

But remember, I have so much fun!!

Brenda

Table of Contents

Dedication

Characters

Start of book

End

Bio

Other books by this author

Contact Brenda

Characters

Dr. Genesis, (Gene) Black is a new grad from the Ontario Veterinary College. (approx. Year 1980) She is fairly tall especially for a woman - 5’9" or so, with long black hair that is usually worn in braids, and often tucked under her ball cap

Dr. Daniel Crossman is the owner of the Crossman Veterinary Hospital. He is a 1970 grad - a chauvinist and is married to a school teacher - grad 2- Cathy C. He is about 2 inches shorter than Gene. (interesting enough)

Cathy Crossman. - blond haired, and all that usually entails (sorry for the profiling), She is the wife of Dr. Crossman. Never heard from at clinic

Marion Crossman. Dr. Crossman`s mother and the receptionist at the vet. hospital. She prefers to be referred to as Mrs. Crossman, although Gene calls her Whitie

Evie -Evelyn Edwards - vet tech at the hospital. She is very close to Gene`s age, and is her best friend.

Mitch LeBlanc is a tall, dark and handsome young man;a carpenter, who’s great grandmother was French-Canadian. He owns a small farm just outside of town.

David Smyth is a new OPP sergeant, stationed at the neighbouring town of Burnsedge.

Edith and Bill Anderson are the owners of the Anderson Hereford Farm

Gloria Blockman is the owner of a min poodle-terrier cross Susie, who is a holy terrorr

Gordon Berkson is the nephew of Mrs. Crossman, and is called in to cover the large animal part of the practice. He has blond hair that is almost white, including his eye-brows. Evie finds the look yukky. He stands about 5 feet 7 inches,

Burnsedge, town north of Riverbend Crossing

Ellen, nursing assistant at the vet. hospital

Rev. Small, United Church minister

Chapter 1

It was mid-March and Gene was going night and day. She had been handling large animal visits that got called in during each day of the week, and alternate week nights and week-ends. This had been her routine since soon after joining the practice.

It was coming up to Gene’s first year anniversary of graduation from the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph. She had come to work for Dr. Crossman at the Crossman Veterinary Hospital and thoroughly enjoyed her job and the farmers she worked with.

Dr. Genesis, (Gene) Black is fairly tall especially for a woman - 5’9" or so, with long black hair that she usually wears in braids, and often is tucked under a ball cap. She insists that people call her Gene, which is pronounced JEAN but never written thus. This is one of the few prickly features of her character.

Once she understood this simple fact, Evie, Evelyn Edwards the vet tech at the hospital became a very close friend to Gene. Evie was rather short maybe 5`5 or so, and wore her hair even shorter, the color of which tended to change at will. Gene often described her friend as pixie-like, what-ever that means.

It was a good thing that the girls drew close, since some days the work environment left a bit to be desired. Mrs. Crossman, who Gene dubbed Whitie, was the receptionist, and over-all boss of all and sundry at the clinic. This included Dr. Crossman, her son. Whitie was in her mid-fifties, wore her grey hair pulled severely away from her face in a bun of sorts, and almost always had a look of ridicule on her face. Evie noted that her lips seemed permanently puckered. She claimed that there were even deep wrinkles etched into the skin around her mouth because of this expression. The woman was always dressed in stiff, stark white uniforms, including white stockings and shoes. It was as if she wanted all to think she was a nurse, thought Gene although, she was not. She was Dr. Crossman’s mother, so.....

Mrs. Crossman did not like Gene. A vet. should be a man, and her son deserved to have an upstanding, knowledgeable associate, not a woman. As if the two contradicted each other. She and Gene butted heads on more than one issue, but since the number of farm calls, and gross income from the large animal side of the business was up almost 40% in the last year, both Mrs. and Dr. Crossman had sadly admitted at least to each other, that Gene made them money.

Dr. Crossman, coming in at just under 5`7ʼʼ had found that he needed to look up at Gene. A fact he didn’t appreciate.

ʻOh well, too bad.ʼ Evie was heard to say when Ellen the part-time nurse had ventured to express the idea. Ellen was a retired emergency room nurse who came in on surgical days to assist in the surgery. She had known Mrs. Crossman and her son for years, and advised the two young girls to try and ignore the two of them. If they could.

This day, it was probably about half way through the worst of the calving season for that spring, or so Gene hoped. All was going fairly well, considering how busy it had been. She was tired from constantly getting up in the middle of the night to tear out to one end of the valley or the other, and come home frozen, but the weekly rotation of after dark "on callʼʼ duties allowed her to recoup her hours of sleep every other week. Thank you God, Gene thought.

But this night she was on-call.

The phone rang around 11 p.m. No sweat. This happened all the time.

Gene dressed and rushed to the vet. truck which she now kept parked in her driveway for just this reason. Why have to warm up 2 vehicles, one just for the drive to the clinic.

The call wasn’t too far outside of the town of Riverbend Crossings. The town had built up on a fairly small river which meandered back and forth through the valley, thus the word riverbend.

Gene hurriedly drove to the farm and as she pulled into the yard, she saw the farmer’s wife waiting at the door to a pole barn.

ʻHey. How are you tonight?ʼ

ʻWe were fine until father found this cow. He figures the calf is too big.ʼ Many of the farming couples referred to each other as mother or father. Probably from the years of calling each other that when talking with their kids.

ʻWell lets have us a look. Have some of the other calves been big?ʼ Gene asked as she followed the woman through a couple of gates