26. Heather
26
Heather
“ M ono?” I asked June, not sure I believed what she’d told me.
What adult got Mononucleosis? Wasn’t that a college thing? The kissing disease they called it, though it was more likely a too much partying and not enough sleep or healthy food disease.
It still made no sense why the owner of the beach house, a fifty-year-old woman, should be cutting her vacation short because she’d come down with Mono while in Mexico.
“They’ll be back tomorrow so?—”
“Make sure I’m out of there before then?” I finished my boss’s sentence.
“Hey, you had a nice long stay at the beach. Didn’t you? Can’t have everything,” she said.
True that. But at the moment it seemed like I had nothing as one thing after another was taken from me. Like rugs being yanked out from beneath my feet.
David. Whoosh .
Beach house. Whoosh .
What next? My job? Probably, if I didn’t play nice with the head of my department.
“You’re right. It was beautiful while it lasted. And thank you so much for suggesting me for the housesitting job. I really appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome.”
It was almost nauseating how overly sweet I could pretend to be while she had no clue I was faking it all.
We said goodbye and I hung up the phone. “So now I’m being evicted,” I said aloud for Lucy’s benefit.
She rolled her chair back from her desk so fast I was afraid she’d tip over and crash to the floor. “What? From your apartment?”
I snorted. I might not be upset if that happened. My place was like a closet. “No. The beach house.”
“That’s okay. I’ll like you living closer to me again. It’s easier for us to get together to drown our sorrows.”
Our sorrows. Sweet that she’d adopted my misery as her own.
I’d finally admitted to her that I’d called David. And of course, that story wouldn’t be complete without telling her about the woman who’d answered his phone.
She’d taken the cell out of my hand at that point—well, after pressing my thumb to the home button to unlock it—then she had blocked his number.
I’d protested at first, but she was right. Better to cut ties now. Rip off the bandage. One clean tear. It would hurt like hell, but I’d recover. Eventually.
“Yeah. You’re right.” I drew in a deep breath.
The beach house held nothing but memories of David. I needed to get home. Back to my normal life. My life B.D.—Before David.
“It had been nice being so close to the shelter though.”
Lucy waved away my concern. “You have to be there one more time. Tomorrow. For the adopt-a-thon. Then you never have to go there again.”
“I kind of liked going there.” I’d planned on doing a few more shifts before my time in Hermosa Beach was up. Especially since sitting around the condo at night alone after work was extra depressing now.
Although going to the shelter wasn’t really an escape. Almost every time I’d been there so far, so had David. There were memories of him there I couldn’t escape.
The man had even managed to ruin puppies and kittens for me. And roosters too. I couldn’t forget Rowdy.
To heck with David. I was still going to visit Rowdy. This wasn’t a joint custody agreement. Rowdy was mine and Drew was kind enough to house him. And that was that.
Funny what things took on importance in your life.
A month ago if someone had told me I’d be lamenting over being separated from my rooster I would have asked them how many pot gummies they’d eaten.
Now, I actually missed the little guy. I even worried if he missed Trixie since I’d been too busy to arrange another play date.
Then I remembered who’d arranged the last play date for Rowdy and Trixie.
David.
And there was that tightness in my chest that made it hard to breathe. And that twisting in my gut that made me not want to eat more than a bite before I pushed my food away.
The good news was, I was down a couple of pounds. The bad news was I also wasn’t really sleeping great so I looked horrid.
In the words of my boss, you can’t have everything.
So true.
The day of the adopt-a-thon dawned bright and beautiful. As if Mother Nature was making my last morning here at the beach the best one yet.
I glanced around the condo. I’d done my final check. No toiletries left in the bathroom. No chargers in the wall outlets. No shoes or socks hiding under the bed.
I was leaving with everything I’d come with, except the piece of my heart he’d taken a slice of. Right before he’d done the Two-Step on it with his cowboy boots.
Shaking myself out of those depressing thoughts I left the thank you note for the owners on the counter, checked the lights were all off, and closed the door behind me for the final time ever.
Thank goodness today was going to be a busy day. I needed the distraction. As I pulled my car up to the shelter, it was obvious I was going to get it.
The local news van was a welcome site. So was what I recognized as the New Millennia Media crew van.
So the powers that be had taken my suggestion and decided to shoot the adopt-a-thon for one of the episodes after all. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride that I’d come up with the idea.
I wondered which show was shooting. Cold Feet maybe. They were just wrapping up production on that. Hot House was between seasons. Maybe Gabby’s Trash to Treasure was shooting here. She had made that cute pet bed out of old rubber tires and I’d mentioned that to Joanne.
Excited now, I jumped out of the car and locked the door . . . and then saw Drew’s truck.
Shaking I moved to the side yard where the puppy pens and adoption tables were set up. I saw Drew, talking to one of the female cast from Cold Feet .
I did not see David—and the mingled disappointment and relief had me bending over at the waist, hands on my hips, trying to catch my breath.
What was I going to do if he showed up? But how was I going to feel if he didn’t?
Determined, I straightened. He was not going to destroy today. I’d help make this event what it was and I was not going to let him ruin it for me.
I pivoted and went inside the front of the building, avoiding a conversation with Drew for now.
There was work to be done and I was here to help do it.