Chapter 2 #2
“Just outside the door here.” Gerald let the material fall back into place as he shook his head. “A few of my friends simply vanished. It was a terrible time.”
“That it was.” Cody wiped his palms on the legs of the coveralls, feeling the attic dust coat his skin. He tore off the top of the receipt and placed it on the island. “Thank you for calling Critter Catchers, Mr. Dorchester.”
“Please, call me Gerald.”
“All right. You take care of yourself, and if you need more critters caught, give us a call.”
“Thank you, I will. You take care as well.”
Gerald showed him to the door. Cody’s feet may as well have been cast from lead as he followed the brick paver walkway to where the truck was parked at the curb.
The ferrets squeaked and huffed as he peeled off his coveralls behind the truck.
Jugs had given each one a small bowl of water which they were alternately drinking from and splashing in.
The fresh air, slightly less humid than the blast furnace of the attic, made his skin pebble.
Hands trembling, he dug the headlamp and safety glasses out of the pockets, cursing himself for not doing it before he had taken them off.
He stuffed the coveralls into the bin Demmy had written NASTY on in thick-pointed Sharpie.
The bandana was stiff with sweat and dust as he took another swipe at his forehead, and he dropped that inside as well before securing the lid.
Pausing outside the driver’s door, he blew out a breath and shook out his hands before climbing into the cab.
Jugs had started the engine, and the AC against his overheated skin made him shiver.
“Everything go all right?” The collar prevented Jugs from lowering his head, so he held his phone up in front of him as he scrolled through social media.
“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t it?”
“Just wondering. You were in there longer than usual.”
“Was I? He was telling me about the roommate he’d had who released the ferrets in the attic.” He pulled away from the curb. His head seemed to be floating a few inches above his neck, and he tightened his grip around the steering wheel.
“You said something about buying me lunch?” Jugs said.
Cody laughed. “On top of your pay?”
“It’s a perk of the job that keeps me coming back.”
“First, we drop off the ferrets at Homeless Pets.”
“Think Darcy will be happy to see you?”
Cody made a seesaw motion as he thought about yet another ex-girlfriend he’d left waiting for him to call. “Hard to tell. She seems to have gotten over me.”
“I’m sure she needed to attend some kind of program to do it.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if I have a magnetic personality.”
“Tragic is pretty close to the word I’d use.”
“I said magnetic.”
“Uh huh, pathetic, that’s what I said.”
Cody gave him a side-eye. “I don’t think I have time for lunch. I’ve got a follow-up appointment with Zenona this afternoon.”
“At three-thirty. I already checked the schedule.” Jugs gave him a bright and toothy smile. “Plenty of time for lunch.”
Cody grumbled, “Fine,” as he turned onto Main Street. “But no dessert.”
After lunch at Margie’s, they returned to the office.
Cody had to unlock the door, which meant Demmy was probably still dealing with his own critter.
Jugs found no other jobs on the calendar, so he left for home.
After a few minutes slowly spinning back and forth in his desk chair, Cody called Demmy.
At the sound of Demmy’s soft, “Hey,” something loosened a bit inside Cody’s chest.
“Hey yourself,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Just finished up this possum job, and now I’m running some errands. How’d your job go this morning?”
“Good. Turned out to be four ferrets the guy’s previous roommate set loose in the attic.”
“Aw, poor things.”
“Yeah. We dropped them off at Homeless Pets.”
“Did you play nice with Darcy?”
Cody made an offended noise. “It’s not always my fault, you know.”
“I know.”
“If I get hit with attitude, I’m going to give it back.”
“I know.”
“Good.” Cody spun a couple times as the silence between them stretched out. “I’ve got that appointment with Zenona this afternoon.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I’m heading home to shower first.”
“Good idea since you were in an attic most of the day.”
“Yeah. You going to be home?”
“Not until later. Call me after your appointment and maybe we can meet up at Margie’s.”
“Oh, yeah, Jugs guilted me into buying him lunch there. But I put my foot down and said no dessert.”
“You run a tight ship.”
“That I do.”
Another lull, but Cody wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
“Something on your mind, babe?”
“I’m sure you’re busy…”
“I will never be too busy to talk with you. What’s going on?”
Cody told him about Gerald asking if he’d been bitten. “I wasn’t expecting it, you know?”
“Totally. Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a surprise.”
“You’re allowed to say it upset you.”
“It didn’t upset me.” That came out faster and a bit harsher than he’d intended.
“Okay.”
Another couple of spins in the chair. Cody put his head back and stared at the ceiling. “It did bring some of it back though, you know?”
“I’m familiar with stuff like that.” Demmy’s voice was low and soft. “You going to be okay? It’s all right to cancel your appointment.”
“No, it’s not that bad. It…I don’t know what it did. And maybe that whole zombie scuffle last night put me on edge.”
“Zombies have a way of doing that. I’m a little edgy today myself.”
“You?”
Demmy huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, me. What you’re feeling is completely understandable.”
Cody grunted. “It feels like it’s all connected, you know?”
“What is?”
“All the people we’ve lost over the years. The way Felicia…” The hot sting of tears surprised him. He pressed fingers into the corners of his eyes.
“Oh, Cody. I’m sorry. You’ve been through so much.”
He cleared his throat. “We both have.”
“We have, but you having to work so hard to win back your grandmother’s trust after those vampires last year and that shape-shifting asshole of a nix. You’ve really been through it, and we haven’t had much time to process any of it. Either of us.”
Cody blew out a breath and got to his feet to start pacing. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
He tried on a big smile, but it felt too heavy for his face to support. “Hey, it’s me. I’m your big, tough husband.”
“Right. But you’re also my sweet and loving husband who is extremely protective of everyone he cares about, as well as his hometown.”
“Yeah, well.”
“Look, I need to get back to this job, but we’ll talk at home later.”
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
Cody had no idea why hearing those words brought more tears to his eyes. He nodded, the phone hot as he pressed it along the side of his face, and he was only a bit embarrassed when his voice broke as he said, “I love you, too.”
At home, he let himself in the side door and removed his work boots on the small landing.
He descended the steps to the basement and peeled off his sweaty, dirty clothes by the washer and dryer, dropping them in a laundry basket.
The cement floor was cold under his bare feet, and he stepped up and down, chafing his arms. Back upstairs, he took a cool shower, scrubbing up a generous lather and washing his hair twice.
After drying off, he wiped the steam off the mirror and stood back as far as the tub allowed, turning left and right.
More salads had been helping him lose a bit of gut. That and less beer.
“You ain’t what you used to be, but you’re not done yet,” he said to his reflection, then he grabbed his toothbrush.
A short time later, dressed in a royal blue three-button pullover shirt and black linen shorts, he locked the side door behind him, swinging the keys on his index finger as he rounded the truck. While he missed the multiple pockets of his cargo shorts, he liked how the shorts hugged his thighs.
As he drove through town, he waved to a few people, the blasting air conditioning repelling the worst of the August heat and humidity. He felt better, but in a tentative way. He sang along to some classic rock with just a bit less of his usual gusto.
After parking in the structure attached to the side of Parson’s Hollow Memorial Hospital, Cody went to the emergency department. He joked with the clerk behind the glass as he checked in, a woman he guessed was in her sixties, and she told him he was a bit of a cad.
“Just a bit?” Cody replied. “I must be having an off day.”
She laughed and shook her head, waving him toward a seat. “I’ll let Dr. Baldwin know you’re here.”
After listening to people around him cough and sneeze, Cody got up and grabbed a mask from the box near the entrance. He took a few selfies wearing the mask, chose the best one, and sent it to Demmy with the message, Does this mask make my dick look bigger?
The clerk called his name and triggered the secured doors.
Zenona waited on the other side. She still appeared too thin, but her face was smooth and relaxed, eyes bright and sharp.
She smiled before she turned to lead the way back into the depths of the emergency department, and he fell into step beside her.
“Were there coughers in the waiting area?”
“What?” Cody fluttered his eyes. “You don’t think it brings out my eyes?”
“It brings out something.”
He chuckled and removed the mask. “How are you, Zee?”
“I’m doing well. How are you? How are the wounds healing?”
“You know me, I’m like Wolverine.”
“Cranky and prone to violence?”
“Ouch. I was going more for advanced healing.”
She led him to the last curtained area that was used for triage.
“Remove your shirt and let me examine the wounds.”
“No small talk first?” Cody sat on the bed to pull off his shirt, wincing as he raised his arms.
“You realize you’re in an emergency department, right?” Zenona pulled on gloves as she approached him. “Other people here are experiencing health emergencies.”
“Yeah, all right.”