Chasing Happiness

by Raine English

  “Maybe.” Katie got up off the couch and carried their leftovers into the kitchen when the cell phone tucked in her jeans pocket vibrated. Her first thought was Ariana hadn’t turned off her phone and must be having another issue with Phil. But the text wasn’t from Ariana. It was from Zoe.

  “Oh no,” she cried after she’d finished reading the message, and then quickly sent a text back asking if Zoe wanted her to come over. However, her answer was no. She was going to bed. They’d talk in the morning at the shop.

  “What’s wrong?” Jake yelled from the living room.

  She put their leftovers in the refrigerator before going back into the other room, where she plopped down next to him on the couch. When she spoke, her voice wavered. “Zoe caught Dan fooling around, and if that wasn’t bad enough, it was with Ariana’s friend Maggie.”

  Jake looked up from the computer. His astonishment was apparent on his handsome face. “Babe, that’s awful. Guess you were right about him.”

  Katie leaned back against the cushions. “Yeah. This was one time, though, that I wish I hadn’t been.” Her gaze raked over Jake. “What makes a guy cheat?”

  He closed his laptop, then set it on the coffee table and stared back at her. “I don’t know. Why ask me?”

  She shrugged. “Cause you’re a guy.”

  “Well, that doesn’t mean I know what would make another guy cheat.”

  “I guess. I just thought maybe… I don’t know. Never mind.” She looked down at the floor.

  Jake draped his arm across her shoulders, and with his other hand, tilted her chin up so that her eyes met his. “You don’t think I would ever—”

  “No, no,” she said, cutting him off, but that wasn’t entirely true.

  He studied her face. “I can tell you’re not being honest. What’s on your mind?”

  A tense silence fell between them, and when she finally answered, her voice was low. “I tried to call you last night, and you didn’t answer.”

  Jake laughed. “Come on. Don’t tell me you thought I was with another woman.”

  She bit her bottom lip, then looked away. “Maybe only for a moment.”

  Jake pulled her closer. “Katie bug. You don’t ever have to worry about that. You’re the only woman I’ll ever want.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.” He brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her with a passion that reassured her she had nothing to worry about.

  When their kiss ended, he held her out so that once again he looked directly into her eyes. “There will always be temptation, Katie, and it comes in all different forms. For some men, it might be another woman. For me, it might be taking on too much work, but I promise our love will always come first. No matter what.”

  Katie’s heart swelled with joy. What had she done to deserve such a wonderful man? She snuggled back into his arms and whispered in his ear, “Thank you. You’ll always come first with me too.”

  ****

  Ariana rinsed her dinner dishes, then loaded them into the dishwasher. As she turned off the light above the sink, she caught sight of Maggie through the kitchen window, heading into her condo. She had a Victoria’s Secret bag draped over her shoulder and obvious bed head. Looked like Ariana had been right about her having a boyfriend. Hmm, when was Maggie going to fill her in on this new beau?

  With a sigh, she checked Tabby’s food bowl to see if it needed refilling before retiring for the night, but it was still full of kibble. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Tabby since she’d gotten home.

  Her heart thundered. Could she be sick? “Here, kitty, kitty. Tabby, come get your food.” She picked up the bowl, rattled the food, and then waited for the usual squawking as the cat came running. However, when that didn’t happen, panic set in.

  She began looking in all of Tabby’s favorite places—under the couch in the living room, on the bed in the spare room, and in the clothes hamper in the laundry room—but there was no sign of her. With a heavy heart, she headed down the hall toward her bedroom. After scanning the room for the second time, she noticed her closet door was slightly ajar. Could the cat be in there?

  She bit her bottom lip as she pushed her clothes aside so she could get a look at the back. A moment later she let out a gasp. Tabby lay on her side, letting six adorable kittens nurse. No wonder she’d been putting on weight. Ariana got down on her knees and stroked the cat’s head. “What a good mom you are.”

  The kittens kneaded their paws against her belly, and one with markings very similar to Tabby’s let out a meow. “You and your babies need to be someplace more comfortable than the back of my closet.” Ariana didn’t know the first thing about kittens, though, but Maggie did. Two of her cats had had litters.

  She got up and went over to her bedside table to get her cell phone. She’d taken Katie’s advice and turned it off, so after waiting a minute for it to come back on, she dialed Maggie’s number.

  The phone rang and rang before her husky voice said, “Hello.”

  “It’s Ariana. I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

  Maggie paused before saying, “No, that’s okay. I was just dozing.”

  “You’re not going to believe this. Tabby had kittens.”

  “Kittens? When?”

  “Today sometime. I just found her and the crew in the back of my closet.”

  Maggie let out a little laugh. “Cats love quiet dark places, but those babies are going to need a bed. Do you have a box large enough for Tabby to stretch out in and still allow the kittens space to move around?”

  “Hang on.” Ariana ran into the laundry room where she’d stacked a couple of boxes on a shelf, but knew as soon as she pulled them down that neither one would be big enough. “No,” she said into the phone. “I don’t have anything that’ll work.”

  “I do,” Maggie replied. “I’ll be right over. In the meantime, find some blankets you don’t care about. We’ll put them in the bottom of the box.”

  “Okay, thanks.” She hung up the phone, raced back to her bedroom, and opened the chest at the foot of her bed, then pulled out two flannel blankets.

  A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on her front door. After Ariana let Maggie in, they hurried to the bedroom, where they readied the box for the kittens and then gently placed each one inside.

  “We need to put them somewhere the momma cat’s going to feel secure,” Maggie advised.

  Ariana crossed the room to the far corner where she had a large oak rocking chair. She pulled it out from the wall. “How about back here?” she asked, pointing to the area behind the chair.

  “That should be perfect.” Maggie set the box with the kittens there, and a moment later, Tabby jumped inside.

  “Guess she’s not about to let her babies out of her sight for a minute.” Ariana chuckled. “Is there anything else can I do for her?”

  “You might want to keep her food, water, and litter box close by, at least while the kittens are so young. She’s not going to want to leave them for long.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Ariana gathered the items and then returned to the bedroom where she set them down next to the box.

  “That’s it. Tabby’s all set.”

  “Thanks for the help. How about a cup of tea?”

  Maggie hesitated. “It’s been a long couple of days. I really should get going.”

  Ariana’s lips curved up into a sly smile. “Isn’t there something you’d like to tell me?”

  Maggie stiffened; her eyes locked on Ariana’s face. “I… I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  “I saw you come home with your overnight bag. You were gone most of the weekend. Come on, you might as well tell me. You’ve got a new boyfriend, don’t you?”

  Maggie pressed her hand over her face.

  “What’s wrong? I’m happy for you. I’ve figured for a while now that you were seeing someone, and I’ve been waiting for you to open up and tell me about him.”

  “Ariana, I don’t know what to say.
I—”

  “Come on. I’ll put the kettle on. I want to hear all about him. Where did you two meet? What does he look like?” Ariana laughed as they walked into the kitchen. “We haven’t had girl talk in some time.”

  Maggie sank into a wicker-backed chair. ‘I don’t think now is good.”

  Ariana filled the teapot with water, put it on the stove, and then turned around to face her friend. “Why not? Are you afraid I might be jealous because you’re in a relationship?

  Perspiration lined her forehead. “No, of course not. That’s not it.”

  Ariana crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, then, come on. Out with it. Can’t you see I want to live vicariously through you?”

  Maggie’s skin turned chalky. “Ariana, I…I need to use your bathroom.” She shot out of the chair and hurried down the hall.

  Wow! She must really like this mystery guy to be so nervous. While Ariana waited for her to return, she made them each a cup of tea, then settled into a chair at the kitchen table and wondered if there might be more to her friend’s odd behavior than just nerves.

  However, when Maggie returned a few minutes later, her emotions were now under control, leaving Ariana unable to read her. “Here’s your tea.”

  “Thanks.” Maggie sat down across from her. She poured some milk into her cup and stirred her tea while keeping her eyes lowered.

  Maybe she’d pushed too hard. If Maggie didn’t want to talk about her new man, that was her choice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I was just hoping you’d want to share your good news with me.”

  Maggie stopped stirring and looked up at her. “Don’t be sorry. Normally, I would’ve been banging on your door just bursting to tell you all about him.”

  “So why haven’t you?”

  Her baby-blue eyes darkened to indigo, and her voice broke slightly. “I don’t know what to say… I don’t know where to begin.”

  Oh no! Had Maggie gotten into a toxic relationship and didn’t want to tell her because of what Ariana had gone through with Phil? “Where’d you meet him?”

  Maggie took a sip of tea before answering. “Here.”

  Ariana’s brows drew together into a frown. “I don’t understand. You mean here at my house?”

  “At your housewarming,” Maggie muttered.

  Her fingers tensed in her lap. The only other people she’d had over that day were Katie and Jake, and Zoe and Dan. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the torrid picture that was forming in her mind of Maggie making love to either Jake or Dan.

  It couldn’t be Jake. He was engaged, and besides, even if he wasn’t, there was no way he’d ever cheat…so it had to be Dan. Katie had been right about him all along.

  When Ariana opened her eyes, she glared at Maggie, and her mounting anger was hard to control. “How could you do that to Zoe? What kind of a person are you?”

  She looked away hastily, then began twisting her napkin. “It wasn’t intentional. I…didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “But it did, and you let it, knowing full well that Dan was involved with my best friend. I’m not surprised that he would stoop that low, but you… I never thought you were that kind of person.” Ariana spat out the words.

  Maggie swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

  “What did you think was going to happen?” she replied sharply. “Did you think you could keep it a secret forever?” Something flickered far back in Maggie’s eyes. Could it be guilt?

  “Of course not. I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know what to say.”

  Ariana’s mind was awhirl. “I have to tell Zoe,” she said, thinking aloud. “But how am I going to do that knowing it’ll break her heart?”

  “She knows.” Maggie’s voice was a hushed whisper.

  “What did you say?” Even though Ariana had heard her, she couldn’t quite wrap her head around Maggie’s words.

  “She found out earlier this evening.”

  Ariana narrowed her eyes to slits as she stared at the woman she thought she knew so well. “How? How did she find out?”

  Stains of scarlet appeared on her cheeks. “I was at Dan’s, and she um…well, she, um, she walked in on us.”

  Ariana covered her ears with her hands. “That’s enough. I don’t want to hear anymore.”

  Maggie’s eyes filled with tears. “I never wanted to hurt anyone, most of all you.”

  Ariana took her hands off her ears. “You need to leave. Now.” A sudden thin chill hung in the air.

  Maggie got up and walked with shoulders hunched toward the door, and then a moment later, without another word, she was gone.

  Numb with rage and shock, Ariana had to grip the chair and push herself up in order to stand. She slugged over to her phone and started to dial Zoe’s number but quickly hung up. What if she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now? Ariana sure didn’t want to cause her more pain, so she called Katie instead. She answered on the second ring, and Ariana didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “Have you heard from Zoe tonight?”

  Katie hesitated slightly before answering. “She sent me a text. Why?”

  “I know what happened. Maggie told me.”

  Katie let out a long sigh. “I had a feeling Dan was a dirty dog. But Maggie?”

  The blood began to pound in her temples. “I know. I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked.”

  Katie’s tone softened. “How are you? Are you doing okay?”

  She swallowed the despair in her throat. “I lost a friend, but Zoe lost her would-be husband. How’s she coping?”

  “I’m not sure. She doesn’t want to talk. Said she was going to bed. I don’t think it’s really hit her yet, but come tomorrow, she’s going to need all the support we can give.”

  A dull ache settled in Ariana’s chest. “I feel partly to blame. Maggie and Dan met at my house.”

  Katie’s voice rose sharply. “Ari, nothing about their affair is your fault. Please know that.”

  “I’m feeling so many emotions right now that my head is spinning. I need to go to bed. I’ll see you at the shop in the morning.”

  “Don’t worry,” Katie reassured her. “Zoe’s tough. She’ll get through this. It might take a while, but we’ll be there to help.”

  “You’re right. Good night.” As Ariana hung up the phone, she remembered all the times Katie and Zoe had been there for her, and she was so thankful that they were such a big part of her life.

  Before getting into bed, she checked on Tabby and the kittens. They were all fast asleep. It would be nice if she could sleep that soundly. Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t the case. She wound up tossing and turning all night. At one point, she even shot up in bed after dreaming that Phil was standing over her. That nightmare had seemed so real that it was nearly dawn before she was able to fall back to sleep. If this kept up, she might have to ask Dr. Michaels to prescribe something, even though she was hesitant to do that after her terrible experience with diet pills.

  As she got ready for work, her thoughts shifted to Zoe. She had a pretty good idea how she must be feeling. Not that she’d ever walked in on Phil with another woman, but she didn’t need to. The writing had been on the wall. She was suddenly assailed by such bitterness that if she didn’t shift her thoughts away from the past, she could sink into another round of depression.

  Ariana went into the front hall, grabbed her handbag that was hanging from the back of a chair, and slipped it over her shoulder, then she grabbed her keys from the hall table.

  She was about to unlock the dead bolt on the front door when her fingers froze on the knob. The door wasn’t locked. She checked the bottom lock. That wasn’t locked either. How could that be? She never left her door unlocked. Could she have been so shaken up by last night’s events that it slipped her mind?

  The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she recalled the horrible dream she’d had. Could it have been real? Could Dan have really been watching her sleep? Was it
possible that he’d gotten into her house?

  She raced around, checking for anything that might be out of place, but everything looked as it should, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, last night had been nothing more than a dream. Exhaustion must be clouding her judgment. She would make sure she called Dr. Michaels today. No more putting it off.

  Chapter Seven

  Zoe looked up from the newspaper she’d been trying to read, when her mom walked into the kitchen. She hadn’t gotten past the headline because a picture of Dan and Maggie in bed was burned into her mind, and she couldn’t focus on anything else.

  “Good morning, dear.” Her mom kissed her cheek. “You look exhausted. Didn’t you sleep last night?”

  “Not much.” Zoe noticed her mother had dark rings too. “You look pretty tired yourself. Are you feeling okay?”

  Mary had high blood pressure and a few other problems that were a worry. Especially, since her mom had a habit of acting like everything was okay when it wasn’t. And Zoe had inherited that unfortunate trait from her.

  She took one last sip of coffee, then pushed her chair back from the table. “I’ll see you later, Mom. Don’t try to do too much today. The house looks fine. I don’t want to come home from work and find that you’d gone crazy cleaning.”

  Mary rolled her eyes. “Yes, dear.”

  Zoe doubted she’d listen but felt better for having said it. She quickly left the house before her mom could start bombarding her with questions as to why she hadn’t slept. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to saddle her with problems that weren’t hers and that she could do nothing about either. Zoe would have to tell her about Dan eventually, but the longer she put it off, the better it would be for both of them.

  The first thing she did when she got in the car was to turn up the radio, hoping the noise would keep her from dwelling on things as she drove to the Rosebud. It did work, but it was only a temporary fix, because as soon as she reached the shop and turned off the ignition, the horrible image of Dan and Maggie returned.

  Luckily, both Katie’s and Ariana’s cars were in the parking lot. Her friends were already at work, so Zoe would only have to tell her story once, and then after they talked about it, she didn’t plan on doing so again.