Chapter 2
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The next morning Doreen was up early, not sleeping well, her mind consumed with Mack’s latest murder case. She had a quick shower and a quicker breakfast, plus fed her animals and let the four-legged ones outside for a bit. With the bitter cold weather here, they would want back inside soon.
Meanwhile, she sat at her kitchen table, haphazardly doodling notes on the pad of paper in front of her.
And now she heard scratching at the door.
That didn’t take long. Doreen got up and let in Mugs and Goliath.
She sat again at her kitchen table, before her notepad.
Her mind just couldn’t understand a scenario in which a weapon was found in a watermelon.
But the phrase kept playing over and over in her head.
She didn’t even know if it was true because Mack, of course, hadn’t seen the actual crime scene yet.
Plus, he wasn’t sharing much about his latest case.
She couldn’t blame him, yet it was frustrating because he was dishing out little teasing tidbits, as if leading her to an end—an end she wasn’t allowed to participate in.
Groaning, she sat back, wishing she had a police scanner to be a fly on the wall in their office, allowing her to get the extra bits and pieces to satisfy her curiosity.
In this case, she would only figure out what was going on if and when Mack got around to telling her.
It was an active case, and that meant his case.
As she sighed, she thought about all the cases she had worked on recently.
She’d been involved in so many different cases, and it was great.
It really was, and she’d had a grand old time with all of them.
By rights, she should welcome a break, a chance to sit back, relax, and just do nothing.
However, as she stared around the house, the walls started to shrink in on her, confining her, making her realize that she needed spring to arrive more quickly than it would actually come.
Either that or she needed something to keep herself busy. A hobby of some kind.
Mugs gave a woof. Doreen chuckled, as it seemed her trusty basset hound was reading her mind.
She had to shake her head at that. Yet Mugs had been with her for years, helping her survive her abusive marriage to Mathew.
In fact, Doreen wondered why he had even allowed her to have Mugs in the house and not relegated him to the outside.
In truth, he’d probably preferred to have no animals within miles of him.
Doreen shook her head and couldn’t imagine her life without her animals.
Doreen checked on Thaddeus, Nan’s African grey that Doreen now looked after.
He was asleep on his roost in the living room.
And she spied Goliath—also Nan’s but now Doreen’s to keep—asleep by her feet on the kitchen floor.
He was a huge Maine coon. How boring and sad her life would be without them and her grandmother—and Mack.
She glanced at her engagement ring and smiled.
When Nan called a little bit later, she was slightly cross and out of sorts herself.
“I figured that maybe you had something fun and exciting to help us along,” she grumbled. “We’re all bored.”
Doreen groaned. “Mack does, but I don’t.”
At that, Nan asked, “You can’t get anything out of him?”
“Not right now. He was very clear and a little too smug when he left as it was,” she shared, with a groan.
“I know you don’t want to discuss it, but we could always sort out more wedding details.”
Doreen winced. “You mean, those details that I haven’t even started thinking about?”
“Yes, those,” Nan agreed. “I know that you’re being … not overtly difficult about it, but maybe a little.”
She stared down at her phone and frowned. “I don’t mean to be difficult about it,” she declared, “but I really don’t want to get pushed into doing something that I’m not ready to do, Nan.”
After a long pause on the other end, her grandmother sighed. “On that note, I guess I’ve just been told to back off completely.”
“At least for a little while,” Doreen murmured. “I just don’t want to feel pressured.”
“Of course not, but you realize that, for us, this is big. It’s fun, and it’s exciting, and we all want rather desperately to get little tidbits of information to keep us going because it’ll be a big deal for all the Rosemoor residents.”
“If all of them want to attend, where could we possibly have a reception?” Doreen exclaimed.
“There won’t be enough room there. I did talk to the manager at Rosemoor recently about the possibility of maybe doing two receptions.
That way, everybody there at the home, …
if they couldn’t travel to the wedding and its reception, they could attend a second one there. ”
Nan cried out in joy, “That’s a wonderful idea.”
“But is it?” Doreen asked. “I’m sure some people won’t want anything to do with my wedding and all the rest, while others will have a little involvement, with some all in.”
“One of the biggest lessons in life that you have to learn, child, is that you can’t make everybody happy all the time.”
“It would be nice if I could make some people happy some of the time though,” she noted.
Nan laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“People always have wants and wishes, and they’re not necessarily the same as yours.” Doreen pointed out and waited for her grandmother’s reaction. When Nan pealed with laughter, Doreen smiled. “I was afraid of upsetting you.”
“No, I see that you’re trying to be considerate and all, but feelings of frustration will arise every once in a while,” she shared. “I just don’t want you to go half crazy and cancel the whole thing because you can’t see a way to move forward.”
“I wouldn’t do that to Mack,” Doreen stated.
“If you do want to, it’s better to do it to Mack now, before you drag this out more.”
“No, I’m not uncertain about marrying him.
It’s just the push for an expedited time frame on the formal ceremony.
I really need to be ready emotionally and mentally to connect fully.
I don’t want to feel pushed into it. Everybody keeps asking me, particularly Millicent.
” She mentioned Mack’s mom, who had been more insistent with every visit.
“And I know she sees time as an issue, but …”
“You have to remember that Millicent is older than I am, and I’m sure she is looking forward to seeing both her sons happily married. She had those kids very late in life, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she’s looking to get this settled before she goes.”
“Maybe,” Doreen conceded. “Millicent is definitely pressuring Nick and Mack to get married soon. Although Nick did thank me the last time we talked, as my engagement to Mack seems to have relieved some pressure on Nick to find a woman and get engaged and married.”
“Yes, and I think one of the things that has infuriated her to no end is that her sons have refused to get married and to give her grandkids for so long,” Nan added pointedly. “So, even if you do tie the knot while she’s alive, you can bet that then the push will be on for the next generation.”
Doreen gasped and closed her eyes.
“I understand,” Nan noted. “I’m not pushing for that, but I’m sure Millicent will.”
Doreen winced. “I think you’re right. She probably is looking for grandkids.”
“It will be enough for the moment to know that Mack is happy. She just wants him to be happy.”
“I hope so,” she muttered. “And I hope she thinks he’ll be happy with me because there are times when he’s completely infuriated with me.”
Nan burst into laughter. “I am certain he is, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. You can’t let them get complacent and think they know everything about us.”
“But you never married,” Doreen pointed out, “so, it’s not as if anybody was hassling you to tie the knot.”
“Oh, I went through the same thing, child. I basically just told my family to forget it. I wasn’t going there, wasn’t interested in going there, and, if they didn’t like it, it was too darn bad.”
“Ah, so now I know what to tell you.” Doreen chuckled.
“If you want me to back off,” she replied, “I’ll try. No guarantees though because … it is definitely something I want to see happen before I die. Since moving here last April, you’ve had quite a busy life in Kelowna, and Mack has been there with you every step of the way,” she noted.
Doreen modded. “Believe me that I do know how truly blessed I am to have him in my life.”
“As much as he needs to know that,” Nan admitted, “don’t tell him too often. We don’t want any more insufferable overinflated male egos.”
“Mack’s ego is hardly overinflated, is it?” she asked.
“It still isn’t good to give him too much self-confidence,” Nan muttered, then let out a gasp as a knock came at her apartment. “Uh-oh. I’ve got people at my door. I think I’ve forgotten an appointment. Got to go.” Nan ended the call.
Doreen shook her head, reminded of how her grandmother had a way-more-active life than Doreen did. How did that work?
Yet it kept Nan happy and content, and, considering Nan’s age, Doreen was more than okay with that too.
It was just so very strange that everybody else was having all these great things happen in their lives, while Doreen felt as if nothing was happening in hers.
And yet that wasn’t true, and she knew it.
It was just how she felt right now, which wasn’t good either.
Morose, she decided that she would do something she absolutely hated doing.
If she was already in a pissy mood, she might as well get some unpleasant chores done.
With that thought, she got up and grabbed the vacuum, then proceeded to torment the animals by vacuuming the whole house, both floors, even inside the closets, finding every nook and cranny.
When she was finally done, she turned off the vacuum and looked around. No animals were anywhere to be seen.