Chapter 18
Note to self:
Become a cat person.
The little yellow house on the corner of Oak and Delmont had always been my favorite place to visit when I was younger. It still looked exactly the same, too. Like time hadn’t touched this magical place where homemade cookies were always available, and hugs were given out freely.
Theo and I climbed out of the car and were immediately serenaded with a rich, hearty baritone coming from the back corner of the yard where Grandma Grace’s prized roses lived.
“Is he singing a Taylor Swift song?” Theo asked.
I paused at the gate to the front yard and listened. Mack seemed to hit his stride when he got to the chorus and started to really “shake it off.” I couldn’t help smiling.
Mack and Grandma Grace had been a case of opposites attracting. Michael “Mack” Sullivan was the life of the party, quick to make friends, and always willing to chat with a stranger. He could charm anyone he met within minutes. So, it wasn’t a surprise he’d started as a salesman at a furniture store after he got out of the Navy and worked his way up to regional manager by the time he retired.
Grandma Grace was quiet and thoughtful, happy to be in the background, allowing Mack to have his fun, but always by his side. They went everywhere together. I’d never known a time when they were separated.
Grandma Grace had been my person. As the youngest of four, I always felt lost in the shuffle. The boys all had each other; they shared a room, friends, and a camaraderie between them I wouldn’t ever understand. While I had lots of friends, it wasn’t the same as a sister. Plus, no one ever listened to me.
When I was seven, I campaigned to get a little sister. That is until Mom sat me down and told me how babies were made. If her plan was to gross me out enough to never ask again, it worked.
But Grandma Grace always remembered me. I loved making the long drive to Amarillo because she’d be there waiting. Grandma Grace, with her faded blue eyes and soft gray hair, asked me questions about school, and what my favorite color was and my favorite food, and she listened to the answers. She’d been gone a little over a year now and I missed her. Mack missed her too, even if he pretended he was fine.
Mack was starting to fully commit to the song, belting it out without any care of pitch or correct lyrics. Theo and I caught sight of him repurposing a pair of garden shears as a microphone. His hips shimmied to the music.
He was in his “gardening” outfit which consisted of cargo shorts, socks and clogs, and…that was about it. His shirt was tossed on the grass and his shoulders and back had taken the brunt of the sun.
“He’s got some moves, doesn’t he?” Theo said.
I bumped his hip with mine. “Runs in the family.”
Mack moved on from singing to chatting up the roses.
“Now, listen here,” he said in a stern voice. “You’ll do well to listen to the neighbor while I’m gone. Don’t go getting any ideas about withering away.”
He paused, his ear tilted toward the roses.
“Well, of course, I’ll be back. I’m headed to Oregon to see my grandson get married. I have to go, there’s no way around it.”
Mack had always been a little eccentric. I’m not sure being alone helped any. There was no one around to rein him in like Grandma had done. Mom had brought up the topic of him selling the house and moving closer. But Mack was having none of it. This was the home he and Grandma had lived in for over fifty years, raised their kids there, made lots of happy memories. It was the last place Grandma Grace had been alive and I think a part of him worried leaving would mean letting go of her completely.
“Mack.” I called from across the yard.
He turned and grinned. “Ali-Cat!”
I was three steps away from him when The Thing appeared. A tiny little hairy ball of…something scampered out from behind the rose bushes and launched itself in my path. It emitted a low growl that gave off, GET AWAY. I’M SUPER-SCARY. Which might have been true if it didn’t look like it weighed more than five pounds and three of those were hair. The sandy-brown fur looked wiry and thick, and stuck out in all directions, like the thing had been electrocuted. It made the small, random patches of baldness even more noticeable. It could have been a large rat, a very small raccoon, a possible alien life-form, or a tiny dog with an attitude. It was hard to tell based on appearance alone.
Startled, I jumped back. Theo caught me and pulled me against him.
“What is that?” I straightened, but for some reason, Theo kept his hands on my hips.
“Karen, now, stop that,” Mack scolded as he bent and picked it up. “That’s my granddaughter. We like her.” The Thing yipped and proceeded to lick every inch of Mack’s face its tongue could reach.
“That cannot be a dog,” I said.
Mack frowned. “Be nice. Karen is very sensitive.”
“When did you get a dog?”
“Last month from the county shelter.” He brushed the hair off her face and that did not make things any better. Karen’s bottom teeth protruded from her mouth in an unfortunate underbite. It made her look wicked angry even without all the growling and barking.
“Does she have a lazy eye?” I asked.
“Yes. But she sees just fine, don’t you, little one.” He held her up, so they were face to face. Karen went to town, licking all the spots she hadn’t been able to reach before.
“Mack,” I said, “that is the ugliest dog I have ever seen.”
“Don’t listen to her, my sweet baby,” Mack said to the dog. “She’s just jealous of all your charm.”
I snorted. “Yeah. That’s not it.”
Theo slowly approached, holding his hand out. Karen growled but leaned forward enough to sniff him out. He seemed to pass muster because she allowed him to pet her.
“She’s not so bad,” Theo said. “Come pet her.”
So, I tried. I followed Theo’s example and approached cautiously, holding my hand out. I got within a foot of her, and Karen’s angry little face grew angrier. She escalated from a growl to full-on, there’s-a-stranger-in-my-house level barking to snapping at my fingers, her whole body vibrating with rage.
“Wow. I don’t think she likes you,” Theo said.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Mack said, pulling Karen closer to him. “She’ll have plenty of time to get used to you on this trip.”
“Wait,” I said. “She’s going with us?”
“I can’t leave her here with someone else. She has separation anxiety.” He looked at the dog cradled in his arms with adoration. “Don’t you, sweet girl?”
“There’s not a neighbor that could keep her while you’re gone?”
“I think she’ll be fine. She is pretty sweet.” Theo reached over and began scratching Karen under the chin. She let out a contented little sigh and went boneless in Mack’s arms.
She did have that “so ugly, she’s cute” thing going on for her. I lifted my hand to scratch her like Theo had. Before I even touched her, she cracked open one eye and growled.
I yanked my hand back. “A whole week in the car with her. That sounds like…fun.” Right up there with root canals, letters from the IRS, and jogging on a street paved with Legos.
“My two girls can get to know each other.” Mack rocked back on his heels. “Watch, you and Karen will be best friends by the end of this.”
Somehow, I doubted that.
Mack’s mischievous blue eyes darted between Theo and me and a wide grin spread across his face. “It’s good to see you, Theodore. When are you going to put a ring on this one?”
I gasped. “Mack.”
“I’m just saying I’d like to see it happen before I die.”
“We are not dating. We’re friends.”
“Sure. Sure. Gracie and I were friends before we fell in love. I met her when I was seven, did you know that?”
Of course, I knew that. I’d heard the story many times.
Mack had been in his second-grade class when the door had opened and a new student arrived, a quiet girl with long blonde braided pigtails and enormous blue eyes.
“Love at first sight. Decided that day I was going to marry her.” His eyes turned soft and dreamy. “’Course, she hated me at first, but I was persistent.”
I smiled. “And it took fifteen years before she agreed to go out with you.”
He paused and winked at Theo. “Married her three months later. Take it from an old man, Theodore, you find a good woman like our Ali, you get her hitched to you as fast as you can.”
Theo smiled, his dimple peeking out. The look he shot my way could only be described as sly.
Mack threw his arm around my shoulder; Karen growled softly. “Alright. Alright. I’m an old man, what do I know? Now, let’s go inside. You can relax while I get myself situated.”
Shaking my head, I trailed behind Theo and Mack. That’s when it hit me: Theo hadn’t tried to correct Mack, not even once. What the heck did that mean?