Chapter 8
The bright morning sun peaked through the living room windows, its warming rays waking Bonnie up. For a moment, she was disoriented, but once she got her bearings straight, she realized she was on the couch—alone.
She was a little disappointed that she’d dreamt of a cat wandering into the house. Having a companion, even one that couldn’t answer when she talked, had been nice. Bonnie knew it was silly to get emotional about an animal, especially one that might already have a family, but she hadn’t had very many wins lately. The cat choosing her had lifted her spirits, so it was disheartening to realize that the whole interaction was imaginary.
She padded down the hall to the bathroom, relieved that she’d gotten a decent night’s sleep, despite the couch not being extremely comfortable. While she knew she ought to try to sleep in her own bed going forward, to avoid throwing her back out or hurting her neck, sleeping at all was already an improvement from tossing and turning all night.
Baby steps, she reminded herself.
Then, she stepped into the bathroom and gasped. The cat was there after all! She was perched on the seat of the toilet, drinking water from the bowl.
“Oh, goodness, you poor thing. I should have thought about this.” Bonnie rushed in to scoop up the cat. “Let me get you some fresh water and breakfast. You don’t need to drink toilet water, sweet girl. I’m going to take proper care of you, I promise.”
She carried her to the kitchen and set her on the floor while she found a shallow bowl. She set it out, and the cat eagerly lapped up the water. Satisfied that she was getting enough hydration, Bonnie set about finding her a proper breakfast. There wasn’t any tuna left, but there were a few cans of chicken. Bonnie liked to keep them on hand for sandwiches and salads on easy lake days, but they were perfect for this occasion, too. She shredded the chunks from the tin and put them in another dish next to the bowl of water.
As soon as the dish hit the ground, the cat dove for it. She ate voraciously, and Bonnie’s heart pinched. She must have been hungry to eat like that. Bonnie was glad she’d left the tuna out yesterday; who knew how long she’d wandered around Lake Placid, hungry and scared.
It wouldn’t be a problem anymore, though. Bonnie knew it. Now that she and the cat had crossed paths, she would keep the pet safe. With that decided, Bonnie headed upstairs to get ready for the rest of her day.
Bonnie’s first order of business was to continue her deep dive into private equity, but she didn’t get very far. No sooner had she sat down at the computer to pick up where she’d left off the night before when the cat jumped right onto her lap.
“Oh, hello! Are you going to help me sort through all these finance articles?” she asked, petting her soft head.
She purred, and Bonnie put her hands back on the keyboard to type. She didn’t get more than two letters pecked out before the cat head-butted her hands.
“Goodness, you need an awful lot of attention,” Bonnie teased. “I don’t mind the company, though. You’re such an affectionate little cat. I suppose I can’t call you ‘the cat’ forever. What should your name be? Tell me, kitty cat, what do you think sounds best?”
Its ears perked up at the sound of “kitty.”
“Is that it? Is your name Kitty?” Bonnie laughed, not at all feeling weird for talking to an animal. “Well, it’s certainly easy to remember.”
With the name sorted, Bonnie turned back to her research. But as soon as she put her fingers on the keyboard, Kitty pushed her head against her hands again. She gave her a few scratches under her chin and tried to type again—setting the whole process in motion from the beginning.
“Are you opposed to research?” she asked Kitty, bemused. “If I don’t figure this out, we’re going to run out of chicken, you know.”
Kitty’s response was to purr louder. Bonnie laughed, giving up on research for the time being. Surely the cat wouldn’t be glued to her lap all day, and she’d be able to get some work done later. A few minutes into this new approach to her day, Bonnie’s phone rang. She picked it up, thrilled to see her daughter’s name blinking across the caller ID.
“Hi, Jackie. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Mom.” Jackie’s cheerful voice was exactly what she needed. “I’m calling to see how you’re doing.”
“Oh, just peachy, honey. I’m up at the lake house, and I’ve found a cat.”
“What? A cat? Where?”
Bonnie giggled under her breath at her daughter’s shrieking tone. “It was wandering around the lake, but don’t worry, she doesn’t seem feral.”
Jackie’s sigh rang through the line. “Mom, are you sure you’re okay? When we talked last, you were pretty upset about the life insurance and Daddy’s business not doing well. Why are you at the lake house? I’m really starting to worry.”
Bonnie tutted into the phone. “Jackie, I’m doing perfectly fine considering the circumstances. It takes a while to iron out all of the financial details, and that’s all right. I’m your mother—it’s my job to worry about you, not the other way around.”
Her excitement at receiving a call from her daughter faded. Jackie had enough on her plate without worrying about Bonnie’s work or what was going on with her father’s business.
“Of course I’m going to worry, Mom. You’re on your own for the first time in a long time. I’m sure it’s an adjustment.”
“I’m not alone. I’ve got Kitty. That’s the cat’s name, by the way,” Bonnie protested.
“I don’t think a random cat you found in Lake Placid counts as company.”
“I also have neighbors.” Bonnie tsked, though she flushed a little at the thought of Jack. He was good company, but she couldn’t keep making a fool of herself in front of him or the one friend she had up here would start avoiding her like the plague.
“So you’re getting out and talking to people? I don’t want you to be lonely, Mom. Maybe there’s a walking group or a book club you could join in Albany or at the lake. You know, some sort of social club you can be a part of.”
“I promise, if I get lonely, I’ll look into something like that. But enough about me. Tell me about the sales pitch. That’s coming up, isn’t it? The one you had to rush home for?”
Jackie paused as if she wasn’t ready to change the subject. Then she inhaled loudly and said, “The initial pitch was yesterday, and we’re working through the contract details now. It’s a huge deal, and the sale is going to be really great for the company. Once we close it, it’s going to change things for us. I can already tell it’s going to lead to more business. We’re looking at some major growth over the next quarter. I’m really excited about it.”
Bonnie smiled. There was so much enthusiasm in her voice when she talked about work, and it made her happy to hear. She was in awe of her daughter, and how high-achieving she was.
“That’s so lovely, honey. I know you’ve been working so hard on this. But I hope you’re taking time to celebrate these achievements.”
Jackie laughed; a sound Bonnie had missed as of late. “We’ll definitely do a company dinner or happy hour to celebrate once all the contracts are signed and we’ve gotten the deposit.”
“Oh, no, I meant with your friends or…I don’t know, maybe a boyfriend?”
Most of the time, she tried to stay away from digging into her daughter’s personal life because Jackie always said it made her uncomfortable. She insisted she’d tell her mother about her love life when and if there was something to report. When Jackie was in high school, she would go on dates and had partners for school dances and important social functions. She was a well-liked girl with plenty of friends. But she’d always insisted she was too busy with school and extracurricular activities to have a serious boyfriend.
But she was twenty-five now, and out of college. Bonnie thought about all the years ahead of her daughter, and her heart ached at the idea of Jackie not having anyone to share them with. Peter’s passing was a reminder that everything could end abruptly. Eventually, Bonnie would be gone, too, and then who would Jackie have? She only ever talked about her coworkers, not friends outside of the company. Bonnie was beginning to worry that all of Jackie’s friends were her coworkers. Peter’s business failing was a reminder that jobs could disappear as easily as lives.
The question hung in the air without an answer, and Bonnie almost regretted asking it. But she would have regretted not asking more.
“Mom, you know I don’t really date.” Jackie’s tone was gentle yet firm. “There’s no time. I travel so much for work, and when I’m home in Chicago, I spend all my time in the office. No one wants a girlfriend who’s never around. It wouldn’t be fair to ask someone to constantly wait for me to come home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart. The right person will be more than happy to wait. Besides, what is the point of working so hard to build such a fantastic life if you aren’t sharing it with anyone? You really ought to make some time to date—or at least hang out with friends you don’t work with. Life is better when you have someone to share it with.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Mom, but the world is different now than when you were my age. I don’t need a man. I can take care of myself. I enjoy my life, and I’m building it for me.”
Bonnie shook her head and blinked up at the ceiling, partly regretting getting into this topic with her. “I know how the world works, Jackie. Obviously, you don’t need a man to survive. Nobody needs a man. That’s not my point.”
“I know what your point is. But you’re not listening to what I’m telling you.” answered.
She didn’t like the direction this was going. Jackie was closing off and getting argumentative. They’d had this conversation before, but after all of Jackie’s talk about worrying about Bonnie being lonely, she thought that maybe her daughter was speaking more about herself than about her. If she would just relax about work a little, she wouldn’t have to be lonely in Chicago.
“Life is better with a partner,” Bonnie said. “It’s not about survival. It’s about happiness.”
“And you were happy with Daddy? Come on, Mom.” Jackie sighed, exasperated. “I watched you glance at the front door every five seconds, waiting for him to come home, trying to keep dinner warm on the stove while the minutes ticked by. I know that Daddy was a good man, and he loved all of us. I know he worked hard to give us a good life, and I appreciate that, I really do. But, Mom, I don’t want to be the one standing at the stove, waiting. And I don’t want to be the reason someone else waits, either. I’m fine on my own, and I need you to be okay with that.”
Jackie’s words cut through Bonnie like a knife. Yes, Peter had worked long hours, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to be home later than expected. There were probably more weeknights when dinner was late, rather than on time, but it wasn’t a big deal. Peter was there when it really counted, and that was more important than having to stir the risotto a little longer than necessary every once in a while.
“Well, think about it,” Bonnie said in the most loving, non-argumentative way she could. “Anyway, I’ll let you go since you’re so busy at work.”
“Mom, don’t—” She sighed in resignation before saying, “Okay, yeah, I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Bonnie hung up while tears burned the backs of her eyes.
Kitty pawed at her arm, and Bonnie looked down at her lap, where the cat was patiently waiting for more attention. She ran her hand over her head, grateful to have a companion who needed and loved her, but her heart was sore. Hearing Jackie’s opinion of her parents’ marriage, her dad’s work schedule, and Bonnie’s role in all of it hurt.
More than that, though, she didn’t like the way she felt about it herself. She was vaguely jealous of her daughter for having the confidence to know what she wanted and go for it, even if it was different from what other people expected of her. She admired the way her daughter stood up for herself, and stood on her own two feet. Bonnie didn’t agree with a lot of Jackie’s choices, but she loved that Jackie was strong enough to make them.
“Maybe it’s time for me to make some strong choices of my own,” she said to Kitty.
Her new roommate purred, so she took that as her approval. The first order of business was to make a hard but necessary decision: It was time to sell the house in the city. Bonnie’s friend Rachel was a realtor in Albany, so she figured that was a good starting point and called her.
“Hi, Bonnie. How are you doing?” Rachel asked when she answered the phone. “Are you managing all right on your own without Peter?”
“I’m doing okay. I’m starting to make some plans for myself. Are you sitting down?”
“Sure am.” Rachel sounded giddy. “You sound determined. I’m intrigued.”
“I’m selling the house in Albany and moving into the house in Lake Placid full time.”
Rachel gasped, and Bonnie could practically see her holding a French-manicured hand over her parted lips. “Oh my gosh, are you serious?”
“Very serious. It’s time for a change.” For the first time in days, she felt powerful and in charge. And it felt amazing.
“It’s a gorgeous house, Bon, and in such a great neighborhood. You can get a pretty penny for it. We’re talking seven figures,”
Bonnie’s heart lifted. This was good news—the best news.
Rachel kept talking, going over the logistics of selling the house and getting into the details of what to expect moving forward. From the way she was talking, it sounded like the sale would be enough for Bonnie to live on for years and years, especially if she was smart about savings.
With the business out of the way, she chatted with her friend for a while, petting the cat and gazing out the window. Things were looking up, and Bonnie was grateful for the win. She hoped it was a sign that the tide was turning in her favor.