by Melinda Metz
Usually she’d have called David and asked who he took Diogee to. She was sure—pretty sure—David would still take her call. He’d probably give her the answer with that same chilly politeness he’d used on her when he explained that all that had happened was that they were friends and they’d had sex, just the way they’d agreed. Then he’d probably tell her to keep in touch. She couldn’t deal with that. She’d go ask Marie. Marie knew a billion people.
She pulled on a pair of cargo pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. “Right back, Mac,” she said, then hurried out the front door. She saw Al testing the soil of his little flower patch. “Do you know a good vet in the neighborhood?” she called as she waked toward him.
“Ask Marie.” He jerked his head toward his house.
Jamie rushed up to the front door and knocked. Marie’s eyes widened with surprise when she opened the door. “Are you all right?”
Belatedly, Jamie realized that she hadn’t brushed her hair or her teeth, and partially cried-off makeup had to be streaking her face. She’d managed to hold off tears until she’d gotten safely inside her house last night, but she’d started crying as soon as her door was shut behind her.
“I’m fine.” Jamie started scrubbing her face with her fingertips, then stopped, figuring she had to be doing more damage. “I’m worried about Mac, though. Do you know a good vet around here?”
“What’s wrong with him?” Marie asked, her forehead furrowing with concern.
“Maybe nothing. He’s just acting weird and not eating. I want to know where to take him if he gets worse,” Jamie explained.
“Why don’t you ask David who he takes the dog to?” Marie said.
“Don’t you know anyone?” Jamie practically begged.
“Did you have a fight?” Helen called from the sofa in the living room. Her sister sat beside her. Jamie hadn’t even noticed them.
Jamie didn’t want to discuss the David situation with the three women, but Marie was already asking, “Did you break up with him?”
“Did he break up with you?” Helen and Nessie asked in unison. “Jinx!” they said together, grinning.
“No. We weren’t—No. But I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other as much,” Jamie said. It was pointless to try to keep it from them. They’d see he wasn’t around.
Marie shook her head. “He’s not over his wife. If you’re having problems, that’ll be the reason. I’m going to have you meet my—”
“We should introduce her to—” Helen and Nessie began, talking over Marie.
“No!” Jamie’s voice came out loud and horrified. All three women closed their mouths and stared at her. “No,” she repeated, more softly. “No more setups from anyone. I mean it. You try, and I walk out.” Jamie sucked in a deep breath. “All I want is the number of a reliable veterinarian. That’s all.”
“I’ll get you the number for the Gower Animal Clinic. Dezzy used to take his little Pom there,” Marie said with uncharacteristic gentleness.
“Thanks.” She tried to smile at the twins as she waited for Marie to return.
“This is my sister, Nessie,” Helen told her.
“I figured,” Jamie said. She wondered if she should congratulate them on making up after so many years, or if it would be rude to mention their feud. Helen had never actually told Jamie about it. She only knew the sisters’ history because Marie had filled her in.
“We haven’t spoken in—” Nessie began.
“Fifty-eight years,” Helen finished for her. “Isn’t that—”
“Ridiculous?” Nessie concluded.
Alternating back and forth, the twins gave their story. A doll that had belonged to Nessie had turned up on Helen’s porch, and almost as soon as Helen gave it back, a doll of Helen’s had appeared on Nessie’s doormat. They’d accused one another of being a thief, but that had gotten them talking. And then somehow they were talking about the county fair where they’d gotten the dolls, and they’d been pretty much talking nonstop since then.
“With time out to—” Helen said.
“Sleep and use the facilities,” Nessie said.
“That’s wonderful,” Jamie told them. And she really was happy for them. It was a great story. But she couldn’t actually feel the happiness. It was buried under the pain of David shoving her away and worry about Mac.
The twins chattered on, sharing memories of the time before their estrangement, before their parents divorced and they each stayed with one of them. Jamie pretended to listen, but kept glancing toward the kitchen, hoping for Marie’s return.
Finally, the kitchen door swung open, and Marie reappeared with a slip of paper in her hand. “It took me a minute to find it. Al’s been rummaging in my things again. I keep telling him to let me get whatever he wants, but he doesn’t listen.” She handed the vet’s number to Jamie. “I hope your Mac is feeling better.”
“Thanks for this. I’m going to go check on him.”
The women didn’t wait to start discussing her. Before Jamie was able to shut the door behind her, she heard Marie say, “I knew David wasn’t the right—” Simply hearing his name sent an extra jab of pain through her. She ignored it. Well, she tried to. She needed to focus on Mac.
When she returned home, he seemed to be in exactly the same spot under the bed where she’d left him. It didn’t look like he’d come out for a bite of food. She decided to give him a few more hours, then she’d call the vet.
Jamie took off her shoes, but crawled back into bed fully dressed. She wanted to stay in the same room with Mac, and if she fell asleep for a while, all the better.
* * *
Two days after the breakup, David was hanging out with Adam. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking of what happened with Jamie as a breakup, since they had never officially been together, but that was what it felt like.
He hadn’t wanted to come over, but it was Lucy’s book group night, which meant it was pizza night for Adam, the kids, and David. The kids expected to see him, and so did Adam, so here he was. At least Maya and Katy were finally in bed. It was hard being fun Uncle David—they both called him Uncle David, even though he was Maya’s godfather and not any kind of actual relative—when he was feeling like crap.
“You getting whatever Jamie had?” Adam asked. “You don’t look so hot.”
It took David a minute to remember he’d said Jamie was sick when he’d wanted to get out of the double date. That felt like it was a hundred years ago. Back when he’d been excited every time he knew he was going to see Jamie. Now every time he thought of her he felt disgusted with himself.
“Maybe,” he answered. Adam had given him the perfect excuse for being off, and David might as well use it.
“You better not have infected the kids,” Adam warned. “One kid gets sick and it circles through the family, around and around, until we’ve all had whatever at least a couple times.”
David shoved his hands through his hair. Maybe he should tell the truth. Maybe it would help to talk it through with Adam. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not actually sick. I’m just kind of messed up. I broke up with Jamie.”
Adam took a swig of beer. “Unexpected. What happened?”
Before David could answer, the front door opened and Lucy came into the living room. “How’re the girls?” she asked.
“They’re great. Asleep. But David’s not so good. He just told me he broke up with Jamie,” Adam answered.
Lucy sank down on the sofa next to Adam. “What happened?”
“That’s what I just asked,” Adam said. “You want a beer before we hear the whole sad story?”
Lucy slapped his arm. “Don’t say it like that.”
“It’s okay,” David said.
“No, it’s not,” Lucy insisted.
“How’s this? You want a beer before David starts telling us what went wrong with his relationship?” Adam asked.
“Better. And no. Grace made sangria.” Lucy took off her shoes.
“Which means she’s drun
k,” Adam told David. “You know she loves sangria.”
Lucy gave Adam’s arm another slap. “I’m not drunk. I am simply slightly tipsy. I couldn’t say ‘simply sligthtly tipsy’ if I was drunk.” She turned to David. “What happened?” she asked again.
David realized he couldn’t actually answer that without admitting he’d lied to them. “We were never actually together. We were just pretending to be together, because her neighbors were trying to fix her up and she didn’t want to be fixed up. And you two were nagging me about Counterpart and I wanted to take a break from it.”
“You lying liar!” Lucy burst out. She did sound sort of drunk.
“I don’t get it. If you weren’t together, how come you’re so upset about breaking up?” Adam asked.
David groaned. “I have so totally screwed things up. I think I really hurt her and I feel horrible.”
Lucy pointed at him. “What did you do?”
“Things were going great. We had fun, a lot of fun. We had good conversations. We were both enjoying it. Then we decided to sleep together,” David began to explain.
“Makes sense. You like each other. You’re spending all this time together. She’s cute, you said. Of course you slept together,” Adam said.
“How was it?” Lucy asked. Yeah, she was definitely drunk. She’d have wanted to know if she was sober, but she wouldn’t have been so blunt about it.
“Details,” Adam said.
“No details. It was amazing. That’s all I’m going to say,” David answered.
“I’m so confused.” Lucy took a sip of Adam’s beer. “You like her. You have fun with her. You have fun with her,” she repeated. “And what else did you say?” She concentrated for a second. “You talk. And you had amazing sex. Really confused.”
“It is confusing, even when you’re not simply slightly tipsy.” Adam took his beer back.
“I had a panic attack. That’s all I can think to call it,” David admitted. “I knew this guy who went to the emergency room because he thought he was having a heart attack, and it turned out to be a panic attack. I had a hard time believing something emotional could feel that bad. But it did. It does. I had to get out of there. I left in the middle of the night.”
“Without saying anything?” Adam asked.
“I left a lame-ass note,” David said. “It was all I could do. It felt like my heart was going to slam out of my chest.”
Lucy sat up straight and rubbed her face with her hands, like she was trying to sober herself up.
“You haven’t been with anyone since Clarissa. It’s understandable. Just tell her what happened,” Adam said.
Lucy nodded in agreement. “Just tell her what happened.”
“We had a big fight. It was obvious she never wants to see me again. I think I want to just let it fade away. It’s not like we’ve known each other that long,” David said. “And it’s not like I want to try it again. I’m obviously not ready.”
“That is a chicken-poop move, and you are not a chicken poop,” Lucy told him. Even drunk, she kept her language kid-appropriate. “You’re a grown-butt man. Act like it.”
“You’re not going to feel any better until you do,” Adam told him.
* * *
“It’s been three days,” Jamie told Ruby. They both sat on the floor next to the bed, peering at Mac, who lay beneath it. “The vet said there’s nothing wrong with him. She gave him some intravenous liquids, but that’s all she could do.”
Ruby rubbed Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. But at least he’s physically okay. And you can get him more fluids if he’s still . . . like he is tomorrow.”
“I just don’t understand.” Jamie’s eyes filled with tears.
“Animals are sensitive. Do you think he could be upset because you’re upset?” Ruby asked.
“I shouldn’t be upset. I shouldn’t,” Jamie said. “David sent me that e-mail explaining everything. It makes total sense that he had that reaction. We shouldn’t have tried having sex. He didn’t think he was ready. We just let ourselves get carried away. It’s no one’s fault. And now I’m back to where I want to be. I have time to work on my photos without the distraction of a relationship. I even got a comment from an editor asking how many more pictures I’m planning to do in the series. She called it a ‘series’.”
“And that’s great,” Ruby told her. “But it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt that David’s out of your life. I know you weren’t together very—”
“We weren’t together,” Jamie interrupted.
“Okay, you weren’t together. But you spent a lot of time together. You liked each other. And now you’re missing him.”
Jamie angrily wiped her tears away with the heels of her hands. She leaned farther down so she could get a really good look at her cat. “MacGyver, if you’re upset because you think I’m upset, don’t be. I’m okay.” It was a lie. A big part of her wished she could curl up under the bed with Mac and never come out. Ruby was right. She missed David. No, “missed” was too mild. She yearned for him, longed for him, grieved for him, and she couldn’t have him. She couldn’t believe her feelings went so deep after such a short time, but they did. From almost the beginning, it had felt like she’d known him forever.
But she had to get over it. And she would. She wasn’t going to waste the rest of her year. She wasn’t going to throw away her mother’s gift.
She cleared her throat. “You’re my good Mac-Mac. All I need to feel fine is for you to be okay.”
* * *
Mac opened his eyes, filled with determination. He’d realized the truth. He hadn’t been wrong about David. He was the packmate for Jamie. Mac knew when Jamie was happy, and she had been happy with him. David had been happy with her too. Mac’s nose was never wrong. The two of them had messed things up. Or maybe it was the bonehead’s fault. But Mac would fix it. He couldn’t stay under the bed anymore. He couldn’t abandon his person. She needed him, and he loved her.
He slipped out into the sunlight streaming through the windows, then lapped up a little of the water Jamie had left for him. The food dish was empty. He gave a loud meow. He was hungry. He need fuel to continue his mission.
“Mac! You’re out!” Jamie cried as she rushed into the room. She gently lifted him up and held him against her chest. He allowed her to cuddle him for a few minutes, then gave another meow. He needed his food!
“Food! You want food! You want food!” Jamie carried him into the kitchen, set him down, and began opening a familiar can.
Mac purred until he felt his fur vibrating. With a stomach full of sardinesies, he could do anything!
CHAPTER 20
Jamie slowly opened her front door and looked down. A sasquatch sock lay on the mat, along with a worn copy of Infinite Jest, an A’s baseball hat, and a Ghostbusters proton pack.
Every day for the last week, things belonging to David had appeared on her doorstep. Other people were still getting things, too. The rim of the fountain always had new objects displayed. Hud was about to lose it.
“Mac, this has to stop. I know you like David. I like David. But it just can’t work.”
Mac didn’t even give an “uh-huh” meow. He was too busy playing with Mousie. He’d been as frisky as a kitten since he came out from under the bed. And he’d gotten back to playing cat burglar. She was sure of it, even though she still hadn’t caught him escaping the bungalow. There hadn’t been any new thefts when he was sick, but as soon as he was well—bam.
Jamie sent David a text. You around? I have stuff for you, including the proton pack. Don’t want to leave it on the fountain until I know you’re coming. I know it means a lot to you.
She remembered the story he’d told her about Clarissa replacing the proton pack that his brother had broken back when David was a little boy.
Coming now. Thanks. I have things to drop off, too, he texted back.
Jamie put everything into a shopping bag, wrote David’s name on it, then took it to the fountain. Hud was
talking to one of her neighbors, and Jamie was grateful she could avoid at least one conversation with him. She hurried back inside. She wasn’t ready to see David face-to-face, and it was clear he felt the same way about her.
She retreated to the kitchen and her laptop. She’d gotten the owner of the Museum of Jurassic Technology to allow her to photograph him, and she was experimenting with different effects, trying to find one that matched his personality. Mac jumped down from one of the kitchen chairs with an annoyed huff and stalked out without acknowledging her.
Jamie didn’t mind that he was sulky. She was too happy to see him walking around. He was still a little too thin, but the all the sardines had gotten him almost back to his fighting weight. She’d been so afraid she was going to lose him.
* * *
Mac could tell by Jamie’s breathing that she was just pretending to be asleep. He also knew when she stopped pretending. Then he ran to the chimney and climbed up. He sat on the roof, unsure what his next move should be. What he’d been doing hadn’t been working.
Jamie and David took his gifts and left them at the fountain. He was starting to think they really were as boneheaded as the bonehead. He knew they should be packmates, why didn’t they?
Wait, the bonehead. David loved the bonehead. Mac didn’t understand why. All the dog did was drool and howl and pee on things. But David loved him the way Jamie loved Mac. Diogee was David’s packmate. That meant he was more important to David than anything.
Now Mac knew what he needed to do. He leapt from the roof to the bushes to the ground, then loped to David’s house. Luck was on his side, because the bonehead was in the yard. Mac unlatched the gate and swung it open.
Time for the good part. He ran over to Diogee and gave his tail the whap! whap! whap! with one paw. The bonehead whirled around and let out a howl. Mac took off—like he was afraid of the big, galumphing thing. As if!
He ran for home, but not too fast. He wanted the bonehead to keep up. When he reached his yard, Mac let out his loudest yowl. That got the dog barking. And that got Jamie barreling out the front door.
