Chapter Seven #2
“You’re going to San Diego?”
Ryleigh avoided her gaze. “Just for the long weekend.”
“You’re going to San Diego?”
“It’s no big deal.”
No, that wasn’t true. It was a huge deal. The biggest of deals. “Just the other day you were talking about moving there so
going to visit means you’re still thinking about it.” Her heart ached at the thought. “This is about you moving.”
“It’s not about anything,” Ryleigh told her.
“I don’t believe you.”
Her sister sighed. “I need to go look at the town. I just do. I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Or like it.”
Ryleigh ignored that. “I’m confused about a lot of things.
You’re right—Dustin and I haven’t talked and we probably should.
Closure would be good. But it’s more than that.
I don’t miss him. Should I miss him? We were together over a year.
And when I think that, I wonder why I wanted to date him in the first place.
I wonder if part of it was Kim being so sick.
She introduced us, then got worse and died. ”
Jax frowned. “So you dated Dustin because it was what Kim wanted?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I wonder if us getting together is tied up in her death somehow. Like we thought we were closer than
we were because of a shared grief.” She sighed. “I’m still trying to come up with a theory. My actual point is I don’t get
why I was so focused on marrying him. The only thing I’ve come up with is that I want more in my life than I have. I saw marrying
him as a way to change that. But now he’s gone and I want to make sure I’m not drifting.”
“You’re not,” Jax told her, desperate to convince her. “You’re very anchored and happy. Especially the happy part.”
Ryleigh sighed. “You’re not listening.”
“I’m listening intently.”
“Then you’re not hearing me. Jax, I feel what I feel. You may not like it but you don’t get to invalidate it. I’m not happy—at
least not in the way I want to be.”
Jax didn’t like it, but knew she couldn’t say that. “You have such a great life. Your work, your friends, your family.”
“I want more.” Ryleigh picked at her half of the muffin. “Maybe I should have stayed in San Diego after college.”
“What? No! Definitely not. You would have been miserable on your own. You’d just ended your engagement. You needed the love
and support you have here.”
Ryleigh looked at her for a second, then said, “This isn’t going to be solved today. Tell me about the summer schedule. You’re
still doing Diary Days, aren’t you?”
Jax wanted to push back and insist they talk about Ryleigh not moving anywhere that wasn’t here, but knew if she did, they
would fight and neither of them wanted that. Plus she had promised herself to be supportive, which was turning out to be harder
than she’d expected.
“I am, but I’m not sure of the date. Marcus is still figuring out exactly when the wall’s going to come down. Then he has to put in the supports before it can all be put back up. So sometime after that. Maybe late July.” She sipped her latte. “Thinking of making a few entries?”
“Maybe.”
Diary Days were a series of dates over a week or so when people were encouraged to come in and add to their diaries or start
a new one. They generally happened in July and January.
“Is Harris taking the kids to a baseball park this summer?” Ryleigh asked.
“Yes, to Chicago to see the Cubs. Xander can’t wait but Gentry is less sure she wants to go. I told her she needed to suck
it up. If she doesn’t have a good time, we’ll talk this fall about her skipping next year.”
“She’s going to be thirteen soon. She wants different things than she used to,” Ryleigh said.
“Yet she’s still wildly excited to go to Disneyland with the folks in August.”
Her sister laughed. “I’d be wildly excited to go to Disneyland with them as well. Oh, have you told Mom and Taft about Harris
and the engagement?”
Jax slumped in her seat. “No. I thought about it, but then I didn’t know what to say. The whole situation makes Harris look
like a creep and they’re already mad at him for the divorce.”
“They’ve made peace,” Ryleigh told her. “He’s their grandchildren’s father. They have to get along with him.”
“Yes, but they’re not fans anymore. I guess I’m hoping the engagement thing will blow over before they get here, but if it
doesn’t, I’ll tell them before they fly out. I have no idea what they’re going to say.”
“Makes sense, but I wouldn’t count on a breakup anytime soon. Shawna is beyond excited. She’s flashing her ring every chance she gets and just yesterday she mentioned how she was setting up their wedding website.”
Jax winced. “This is so awful. I’m worried about the kids, but I also can’t help feeling bad for Shawna.”
“You’re sure Harris just proposed to get sex?”
“He practically admitted it. Ugh. I just don’t know what to do.”
“You do your best to help the kids through whatever happens and ignore the rest.”
“That’s really good advice,” Jax said. “And yet I find myself needing to, well, I don’t know what.”
“That’s scary. Are you thinking of telling Shawna your suspicions?”
“God, no!”
“Good. Then what do you want to do?”
Jax managed a faint smile. “I have no idea. I keep telling myself it’s not my rock.”
“It’s not.”
“So I should let it go.”
“Yes. A thousand times yes.”
“It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I can see the disaster that’s coming but I can’t stop it.”
“No, but you can get out of the way.”
Ryleigh eyed the pet carrier in the back seat of Jax’s SUV. “You’re making a massive mistake. I don’t have enough words to
tell you how bad an idea this is.”
“It’s going to be great.”
“It’s going to be a bloodbath.” She paused. “Possibly a literal one.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“He’ll be annoyed and blame you. Rightfully so.”
Jax brushed away the comment. “He’ll be thrilled. It’s time. Besides the lady at the shelter said Lucy was very sweet-natured
and affectionate. You have to admit, she’s gorgeous.”
“She is.”
The problem wasn’t Lucy’s appearance. She was a stunning Ragdoll mix with blue eyes and a cream-colored coat with darker ears
and tail. She’d been friendly when they’d met her at the shelter, but Jax hadn’t gotten the cat for her kids or even herself.
She’d gotten the cat for Ramon.
“It’s been a lot of years since he lost Sam,” Ryleigh couldn’t help pointing out. “Maybe he’s okay not having a cat in his
life. He’s around people all the time. He’s not lonely.”
“We’re different from cats.”
“Thanks for sharing,” Ryleigh said quietly.
Jax shot her a look. “I’m saying that Ramon needs something of his own.”
“Get him a stuffed animal.”
“A living something of his own. He adored Sam and he’s going to be happy about Lucy.”
“Are we taking monetary bets on that, because I’m willing to put a hundred dollars on the ‘no cat’ marker.”
“Wait and see. You’ll be regretting that in no time.”
They reached the bookstore. Jax pulled around in back and parked. While she collected the cat and a tote bag, Ryleigh picked
up the very heavy bag of litter and headed inside. They’d barely made it a quarter of the way to the stairs when Cheryl hurried
over.
“Oh, is that a cat? Did you adopt it for your two? They’re going to be so excited.”
“It’s not for the kids,” Ryleigh told her as she put the litter bag on the floor and stretched out her arms. She really needed
to think about working out a little more than she was. Once-a-week yoga was doing nothing for her upper body strength.
Cheryl frowned. “Then who is it for?”
“Ramon,” Jax said cheerfully. “For companionship.”
Cheryl’s recoil was so abrupt, it was almost comical. “A cat? You bought your parrot a cat?” Her voice rose with every word. People around them turned to stare.
“I believe the technical term is we adopted,” Jax said, sounding only a little defensive. “And it’s fine. He likes cats.”
“He’s a bird. He’s prey. The cat is a predator. He’ll instinctively feel threatened and be afraid. Why would you do that to
him?”
“Once a teacher, always a teacher,” Ryleigh said with a smile. “See how she got in a few facts, all the while scolding you.
It’s a gift.”
Jax ignored her. “I understand your concern, but it’s not like that. When I was getting ready to go off to college, I was
worried about leaving Ramon alone. He was still going to be here at the bookstore, but it wouldn’t be the same. So we got
him a cat. It took a couple for him to find his match, but when we did, he and Sam were inseparable. They played, they snuggled.
Ramon was devastated when we lost Sam eight years later to a fast-growing cancer. He was depressed for weeks. For the past
couple of years, I’ve been going to the shelter and looking for a cat to audition for Ramon.”
“She does this every three or four months,” Ryleigh added helpfully. “It’s not working. Oh, I know.” She smiled at her sister.
“Remember that train wreck we were talking about the other day?”
Jax shook her head. “This isn’t that.”
“This is exactly that. You’ll see.”
“What about the cat that refused to even acknowledge he was in the room. He treated Ramon like a houseplant. That was fun.”
“This won’t be like that.” Jax returned her attention to Cheryl. “I’ll keep Lucy in my apartment for a few days until she’s
settled. I’m here for the week, so we’ll hang out together. When she’s comfortable, I’ll introduce them.”
“This is a very bad idea,” Cheryl said. “But I suppose you know your parrot better than all of us.”
Just then Ramon flew up. Jax held out her arm but instead of landing on her fingers, he settled on a shelf and stared at the
carrier.
“It’s a cat,” Jax told him. “Her name is Lucy and she’s very sweet. I thought you could see if she might be a good friend
for you.”
“No cat.”
Jax pointed at him. “You loved Sam. You could love Lucy.”
Ramon gave her a little side-eye, then flew away.
“He’s just so excited,” Ryleigh said. “It’s touching to see.”
“Stop it! He’ll be fine. He just has to get used to the idea.”
She and Jax went upstairs to the apartment and into the spare bedroom. There were two twin beds for when the kids wanted to
spend the night in the bookstore and a small three-quarter bath. They set up the litter box in the bathroom and put out water
in the far corner of the bedroom to give as much space between the two as possible.
Ryleigh settled on the floor by the carrier. So far Lucy had been quiet. No doubt she was scared about what was happening.
“It’s okay, pretty girl,” she said softly. “This could be your new home. Or my sister’s attempt to control everything may
have you back at the shelter in a week.”
“Stop that!” Jax told her. “You’re not helping.”
“That’s only true if Lucy speaks English, which I kind of doubt. Ready?”
Jax nodded.
Ryleigh opened the carrier. Lucy looked out, her blue eyes wide as she glanced around. She took a few tentative steps toward
Ryleigh.
“Hi there, Lucy.” Ryleigh held out her hand to be sniffed. “How are you doing? It’s okay. You’re safe here. My sister’s an
idiot, but you’re safe.”
“Hey!” Jax said loudly, which caused Lucy to bolt under the bed.
“Let’s use our indoor voice,” Ryleigh murmured. “You scared Lucy.”
“I’m sorry.” Jax peered under the bed. “Lucy, I’m sorry.”
“We should let her be,” Ryleigh said. “She needs to adjust and that’s going to take some time. You want help taking care of
her?”
“I can do it.”
“I know, but she’s sweet and I wouldn’t mind. I could come by a couple of times this week after school and hang out with her.
At least until Thursday.”
Jax’s mouth twisted. “That’s right. You’re off on your long weekend trip on Friday.”
They stared at each other. Ryleigh braced herself for Jax’s criticisms or complaints but her sister only nodded. “I’d appreciate
any help with Lucy. The sooner she gets used to being here, the sooner she and Ramon can become besties.”
“Then I’ll be here tomorrow after school.”
“I’ll let Lucy know.”