Half to Death

by Robin Alexander

  Jade and I exchanged glances at the word “spray.”

  The woman cleared her throat. “They mark their territory by spraying urine on things, sort of like a dog does when he lifts a leg.”

  I nodded, and Jade looked disgusted.

  I heard someone clear her throat and looked in Miranda’s direction. She was miming something with her hands. I looked at her with brows raised, and she rolled her eyes and did the thing with her hand again. Finally, she said softly through her teeth, “toush er hat.”

  What? I mouthed.

  “Touch her cat.” Miranda hadn’t meant to speak so loudly and turned dark red when everyone in the room turned to look at her.

  It did sound odd, though I knew what she meant. “Pet the cat” would’ve made more sense.

  I smiled at Jade meekly. “May I pet him?”

  Jade waved at Miranda, noticing her for the first time, and said, “sure.”

  The fur felt a bit greasy to my hand. He’d probably taken refuge in the undercarriages of vehicles where Jade lived. Like my encounter with Sparky, I did not see images or hear thoughts, but I did have feelings wash over me that were similar to Sparky’s—confusion, fear, and an odd curiosity. “He seems nice,” I said, unable to think of anything else.

  Miranda raised her brows and nodded slightly, wanting to know if I got anything. I shrugged and looked back at the people in the room. They were all watching with mystified expressions. As though Miranda nor I had ever encountered a cat and were discovering them for the first time.

  I looked back at Jade. “How’s your foot?”

  She made a face. “Black and blue. The weight caught me right on the edge of my foot and pinched the skin. I guess I should be thankful that it didn’t break anything, but it hurt,” she lowered her voice, “like a bitch.”

  “Sparky Donahue.”

  “Oh, God.” I stood and prepared myself for the battle. Upon hearing his name, Sparky began to recoil and tried to hide himself behind Miranda’s legs. The leash was completely wrapped around her before I crossed the room. Miranda tried to walk in a circle to untie herself, but Sparky moved with her, undoing her progress. Finally, she shimmied the leash down her legs like she was taking off a pair of pants.

  Sparky was showing his teeth and flicking his tongue like a snake as she carried him toward the door, then came the paw plant. I didn’t have time to get through the doorway first, so I ended up crawling beneath one of Sparky’s legs. I could hear snickers and chuckles as the other pet owners watched the display. Again, we played the shell game with Sparky’s paws—move one, then the other, go back to the first paw.

  “Sometimes, it seems like he has forty legs,” I said to the woman who tried to avoid Sparky’s mouth and help with the paws. All the while, Miranda was grunting and pushing until we made it into the hall. Dr. Gary and another assistant were waiting with the muzzle, and that was another wrestling match.

  When they took his temperature, Sparky let out a growl that clearly said he did not appreciate the violation. I stood off in the corner while the doctor and Miranda talked. Each sentence was punctuated by a growl as Sparky put in his two cents, which were probably profane.

  Tests were run, and Sparky got a couple of shots that really pissed him off. Dr. Gary and his assistant left the room before Miranda removed the muzzle. Sparky was smart enough not to bite the hand that fed him, but that didn’t apply to me. I kept a wary distance and followed slowly behind Miranda. When we walked back into the waiting room, Jade was at the counter. Miranda handed me her wallet and allowed Sparky to drag her out the door. I got in line behind Jade. “Everything go okay?” I nodded toward the cat.

  “Yep, they think he’s less than a year old. They ran some tests, and despite the exterior, he appears to be in good health.” Jade scratched the cat behind his ears. “I made an appointment to have him neutered next week.”

  “What’s his name?”

  Jade looked at me for a moment, then back at the cat. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, he looks like a tough guy to me. Maybe you should name him something like Spike or…Hellcat?”

  Jade wrinkled her nose at my suggestion. “Tough guy,” she said. “Guy, I like that. He’ll be Guy.”

  I watched as she paid her bill, then she moved to the side as I paid Miranda’s. I half expected her to dart off when the business was done, but she didn’t. We walked out together, and I spotted Miranda off in the vacant lot next to the building where it appeared that Sparky was peeing on every single blade of grass.

  “So how’s the diet plan working out for you?” Jade asked as she walked slowly beside me.

  “I went grocery shopping after you gave me the list, and I’ve even been experimenting with some of the recipes in the handout.” I didn’t bother to tell her that I skipped breakfast that morning and was operating on the sugar from my coffee alone.

  “It’s not easy to eat right. Too many quick and fattening alternatives at your fingertips, but if you’ll stick to the plan, you’ll have more energy to burn, and the workouts will be easier.”

  I glanced at Jade’s well-defined arms. “You must be very disciplined. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach the level of fitness you’ve attained.”

  Jade shook her head, and for a moment, I thought she was agreeing that I’d never amount to much in the fitness department. “Don’t use me as a gauge. Although I do work hard for the muscle I’ve built, what you see is false advertisement.”

  I almost stopped walking. “How can that be?”

  “Genetics,” Jade said simply. “My mother and father were both tall and slender, even though neither of them watched what they ate or exercised.” Jade leaned against an old truck I assumed was hers. “We aren’t all the same. People look at me and think if they eat perfectly and work hard enough that they’ll have the same body. They’ll feel better and be heathier, but not all will look like me.” Jade cleared her throat. “That sounds arrogant, but I don’t mean it that way. I was just…lucky, and I capitalize on that.”

  “That’s…disappointing.”

  Jade chuckled, though her face showed no mirth. “If it’ll make you feel any better, you have a good shape. You’re not real tall, but you’re above the average height. I figure about…five-eight?”

  I nodded.

  “You’re not carrying a lot of extra weight. You’ll tone nicely, and I think you’ll be happy with the results.” She looked out at Miranda. “She’s going to have a more difficult time. Do you know if obesity runs in her family?”

  “She never knew her father, but her mother was relatively heavy-set.”

  Jade looked back at me. “There’s going to come a time when she sees the changes in you but doesn’t see them in herself. That’s going to be very discouraging. You’re gonna have to be very supportive.” Jade smiled in her odd way. “From what I’ve seen, you both seem to be very supportive of each other. I don’t think that’ll be a problem, but I did want to make you aware of what to expect.”

  Though she fake smiled when she mentioned being supportive, I felt that she envied the closeness between Miranda and me the way we envied her fitness. I didn’t want to talk about workouts or diet anymore. I wanted to know about her. I wanted her to confide in me, so I could show her that same support I thought she wanted. It was an odd revelation. Aside from my friends, I realized that until recently, I really didn’t care what other people felt. They had their own friends and family to be there for them, and I had mine. Jade was a virtual stranger, and I wanted to be…her friend.

  “How’d you become a fitness guru?” I asked.

  Jade rolled her eyes at my choice of words. “I wouldn’t consider myself a guru.” She opened the passenger’s side door and laid the cat on the seat. Guy curled into a ball content to be out of her arms. She closed the door softly and leaned against the truck again. “My first job was at a fitness center. I mostly cleaned up tanning beds. I was a janitor, really. We were allowed to use the pool and the equipment after hour
s, and I liked to swim, so I always stayed behind. One of the trainers got me into weightlifting and exercise, and before long, my body started changing. My boss noticed and enrolled me in some fitness courses and a few nutrition classes. After that, I was promoted to trainer.” Jade shrugged. “There was jealousy, and I heard a few of the trainers saying it was more about what I looked like than what I knew. One said I was a walking billboard, and that’s why I was promoted.”

  I could hear the hurt in her voice when she talked. “But you didn’t believe that, right?”

  Jade averted her eyes. “Yes, I did.” She looked back at me, her expression cold and stoic. “I’ve learned a lot, and I’m a great trainer, but what gets me the jobs are my looks. Would you train with someone with a gut or big thighs?”

  She had a point. I needed to see the results of what the hard work could bring before I committed.

  Jade went on without my answer. “When I interview, they really don’t look at my experience. It’s frustrating because I feel…” I could tell she hadn’t meant to say as much as she did. Her face flushed, and she looked down at the keys in her hand.

  “It’s…important to me that you finish that sentence.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets and clenched my fists, afraid that she wouldn’t.

  “Why?”

  I blushed then. “Because I misjudged you, and it would put me in my place to hear the truth.”

  She looked at me with an expression that bordered on anger and surprise. “You thought I didn’t have a care in the world. That I probably had my pick of suitors, maybe even the perfect partner waiting on me at home, didn’t you?”

  Mentally, I was acknowledging that she was right, but then it hit me. She’d dropped two bombs in what she said—she was single, and she used the word “partner.” Straights didn’t do that. She took my awkward smile as guilty agreement. “Finish the sentence, please.”

  Jade sighed. “I feel like a hooker, selling my body for money.”

  “I’m sorry.” I held up my hand when she opened her mouth. “I’m sorry that you’re made to feel that way, and I’m sorry that I judged you on your looks.”

  We fell silent after that. Me looking at her and her at me. I had no idea what swirled in her mind, but I wasn’t about to touch her. To find out the truth might hurt, and I felt like I was hanging myself out there in the breeze. It was scary to reach out to someone. I suppose that’s why I never did it. Friendship just happened to me. I’d never had to work for it, and I realized that I wanted this woman’s favor.

  “Do you forgive me?” I asked.

  She considered my question for a moment, then softly said, “Why do you care?”

  I didn’t know how to answer. I stared at the ground and balled my fists tighter in my pocket. “I don’t really know,” I said honestly. “It’s just…important for some reason that you forgive me.”

  “But you don’t know if I judged you or not. What if I had a negative opinion of you? Would you forgive me?”

  “Did you judge me?” I looked up at her.

  “Yes, I thought you were…one of those women who used the gym as a pickup place. Not really interested in working out, just hanging around looking for fresh meat.”

  The statement stung as it slapped me between the eyes. Yes, I had gone in support of Miranda, but that’s exactly what I was doing—just looking for the next woman to date and dump when things got too…intense. “And what is your opinion now?”

  Jade looked off at the road. “That you’re a lousy pickup artist because you haven’t scored since I’ve been there, at least from what I noticed.”

  “Did you mean that to be as mean as it sounded?”

  Jade shook her head and actually smiled, a real smile that showed all her teeth and crinkled her eyes. I marveled at the change in her countenance.

  “That was a joke. And yes, I forgive you. Will you forgive me for thinking you were a player?”

  “No, because you were partially right. I was cruising the gym.”

  Jade’s eyes narrowed. “You said was. That means past tense. Have you met someone who has tamed you?” The fake smile was back.

  “No…I…um…I died.”

  Jade’s mouth twitched, and the right side of her lip rose slightly. When I didn’t laugh, it became a thin line, and I could see wariness in her eyes.

  “I guess it’s considered a near-death experience. I was in West Virginia with friends, and I walked out onto a pond that I thought was frozen through.” I shrugged. “I’m from Florida, I didn’t know. Anyway, the ice broke, and it took them a while to get me out. From what Miranda and the others figure, I was dead for a little under twenty minutes.”

  “She talks about it casually, doesn’t she?” Miranda said as she walked up. Sparky sniffed my legs, then moved to Jade’s.

  Jade looked at her and back at me. I shrugged again. “I guess I do sound causal about it. Maybe I’m still coping with the gravity of it all. It changed me, though.”

  I watched Jade swallow as her mind took it all in. “Well, I’m glad things turned out the way they did then,” she said awkwardly.

  “Me too,” Miranda agreed. “We need to get Sparky home. I think he’s pulled my shoulder out of socket.”

  Jade took that as her cue. “It was nice talking to you. I’ll see y’all at the gym,” she said with a wave and climbed into her truck.

  Once we had Sparky loaded up and we were on the road, Miranda glanced over at me. “You’ve got a lot to tell, so start talking.”

  Chapter 6

  Thunder woke me Sunday morning. I flicked on the TV in my bedroom and watched the local weather for a few minutes before trying to call Kaylie. It went straight to voice mail where I left her a message saying she didn’t have to come in, business would be slow anyway. I asked her to call me when she got the message. She did five minutes later from the store phone. Since she was already there, the day was hers.

  For breakfast, I had something low in sugar and high in fiber and a cup of coffee. I lay around watching TV until almost noon. For lunch, I made turkey on wheat sandwiches and took one to Kaylie so she wouldn’t have to go out in the weather.

  Kaylie had swept and mopped the entire store; it smelled of disinfectant when I walked in. She’d also used the quiet time to rearrange the stockroom. I whistled when I saw all that she’d accomplished. “You rock, Kaylie,” I said with a smile.

  She blushed at the praise. “I figured while I was here, I should at least be doing something.” Her eyes widened when she spied the sandwiches on the counter. “Is one of those mine?”

  “Yep. I hope you like Sun Chips, I’m on a health kick.” I supposed she did because she’d already plugged two into her mouth before I got to the counter. “You’ve worked for me for two years, haven’t you?”

  She nodded and her ponytail flopped against the back of her neck.

  “You’ve come in anytime I asked, and you always do a great job. I think that deserves a bonus.” I couldn’t help but smile. She’d stopped chewing, and her cheeks were bulging.

  Kaylie swallowed with a gulp. “Thank you!”

  “What are you gonna do with the extra bucks?” I could tell she wanted to ask how much it was going to be but was too polite.

  “I’m saving to buy a car, so the extra money will go into that fund.”

  “Have you factored in insurance?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “How much are you lacking in your fund?”

  “Around two hundred dollars.”

  I knew she’d answered honestly because I’d seen her figures when I touched her the day before. “So five hundred dollars would get the car, insurance, gas, and perhaps an outside mechanic’s opinion that the car is a good buy?”

  Kaylie’s eyes went round behind her sandwich. “Yes, ma’am,” she said slowly.

  “Then surprise, that’s how much your bonus is.” She came around the counter screaming with bits of sandwich flying out of her mouth and jumped on me before I could stop her. My
mind went to hers before I could even think to stop it.

  The day was sunny, and I could hear the streamers above my head flapping in the breeze, cheesy eye catchers that used car salesmen circled their lots with to draw attention. The VW Bug had a few scratches and dents, but the upholstery looked good, and besides it was blue, Kaylie’s favorite color. I could hear her praying in my head, Please, God, don’t let anyone buy it before I can. I felt the warmth of the hood when she put her hand on it and spoke. “You’re mine. I’ll be back for you soon.”

  “Are you okay?” She was looking at me, concern etched her brow.

  “I’m fine, got a little choked on a chip during the excitement.” I cleared my throat for effect. “Would you like me to go ahead and pay you today?”

  She looked like she was going to cry. “Yes, ma’am, that would be great.”

  “Then I’ll do it on two conditions.” Her brows rose as she nodded, agreeing to whatever I had to say before it came out of my mouth. “Stop calling me ma’am, it makes me feel old, and promise that you’ll take the car to a mechanic before you hand over the money.”

  “I will. My dad knows someone.” She clapped her hands and squealed.

  “Will your dad go with you to buy the car?”

  “Yes, ma—yes, he will. I have three sisters, and we all have to buy our own first cars. Dad says we’ll take care of them if we have to buy them ourselves. He’s kind of strict about money, but he always goes when one of us picks one and helps with the buying.”

  She looked like she was going to hug me again, and I slipped off the stool and grabbed my sandwich. “I’m gonna go back to my office and make out the check.”

  “Okay,” she said with a beaming smile. “Thank you so much, Sloan.”

  Maybe she couldn’t sit still or she was determined to show her appreciation, but that child had scrubbed half the windows in the store until they were crystal clear by the time I returned. “I need to go back to the house, so I’m leaving the check right here on the counter,” I called out to her. “Put it in your purse as soon as you can. The windows look great, thanks.”