Wishbone, page 29
Had an inquiry from Dr. Reed about canceling her contract. I see you drew it up and wanted to check if you were aware of this. I let her know she needed to talk to you. She just thanked me and hung up. Let me know if there’s anything you want me to do.
I stared at the words, “canceling her contract.” Holy fuck. My gut dropped, like a cartoon character who had just run off the cliff, that moment when realization hits and you plummet.
I called Janet and told her I needed to see Sam at the end of the day. I didn’t say why. Janet said she’d be free by four-thirty. I had several hours to kill, to ruminate, to get depressed. If this were only about me, I’d avoid this confrontation at all costs. I’d wait for her to make the next move, armed with this knowledge, but I didn’t want to lose my vet. We were just beginning to get along and I had to go and fuck it up. Once again.
I think Janet was surprised when I showed up without a box of kittens or puppies. Before I could say anything, Sam came out of the exam room. She eyed me warily and handed Janet a file.
“We need to talk,” I said and brushed past her into the exam room.
She followed and shut the door.
I could barely contain myself. “What’s this about wanting to cancel the contract?”
She jerked her head reflexively, like she’d been hit. “Wow. Fast grapevine.”
“Well?”
“Not here. Stanley needs exercise. We can talk while we walk.” She didn’t wait for me to agree but stuck her head back out the door and told Janet she could close up. Then she went through to the back stairs. I waited while she got Stanley. He wiggled with joy when he saw me then focused on the back door, his little stump of a tail vibrating with excitement. He too had his priorities.
Sam had changed her scrubs for a long sleeved T-shirt and jeans. She carried a Brookline Booksmith tote bag. I suspected there weren’t books in there. Stanley did his business right away then Sam steered him down side streets to Emerson Park.
“Well?” I said again.
“It was just a passing thought. A momentary weariness.”
“Why?”
“The commitment is more than I expected, is all. But don’t worry, I’ll complete the year.”
The closer we got to the park, the faster Stanley trotted. We entered the gate and crossed the paved path that circled the perimeter. A wide treeless expanse of lawn spread before us. Dog heaven.
Sam started to reach down and unclip his leash, then froze. “Oh.”
We’d passed a sign that said all dogs must be on a leash. The park was empty.
“I give you dispensation. Just this once.” I patted Stanley. “But you’ve got to be a good boy.” Somehow I figured he would be.
Sam undid the leash but Stanley didn’t run. He paced excitedly, watching Sam’s every move. She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a tennis ball. She handed it to me. Stanley’s gaze flicked between her and me. When people talk about button eyes or nose, this is what they mean. His coarse brown fur framed a small black, wet nose and two brown eyes that could melt steel. Look up “cute” in the dictionary, and there’s a Norwich terrier. I wound up and pitched the ball halfway across the park. Stanley watched it fly but didn’t run after it.
“Sorry. I should have explained. He’s not a retriever.” Sam dug in her bag for another ball. She side armed a low throw across the grass. Stanley took off.
“He’s a ratter. Can’t resist small moving critters.”
I laughed as I watched him attack the ball. We’d been walking as she talked and she picked up the ball I’d thrown and handed it back to me. In black marker, she’d drawn whiskers and beady eyes and small ears. A rat’s face. I chuckled and rolled it toward Stanley. He bolted away from his first kill and pounced on the second ball.
Between the two balls, we kept Stanley moving around the park, chasing one then the other. It was a great workout for him.
“So then what?” I asked, getting back on topic.
“Then what?”
“After the year, you’ll quit?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. It’s a lot of work.”
Right, like she shied from work. “It’ll get easier. We won’t need your space once the shelter opens. I’m sure Karen can work out a schedule that doesn’t have you running around a lot.”
We’d made our way over to a bench, Stanley’s frenetic chasing had slowed. Sam sat and Stanley sniffed around some bushes, lifted his leg a couple times, then settled down, panting and looking adorably happy. I wished Sam was half as content.
A large yellow lab entering the park drew Stanley’s attention. A woman unclipped his leash and the dog and Stanley raced toward each other. They stopped nose to nose, proceeded to the canine greeting ritual—butt sniffing—then wrestled and chased each other across the park. The woman waved toward Sam. Then she saw me, in uniform, and froze, her hand raised.
“It’s okay, Nancy,” Sam called. “We have special dispensation.”
“You do,” I said to Sam. “Not everyone. There is a dog park, you know.”
“Across town. I’m sorry, but this one’s more convenient. We pick up and we never let them loose when there are other people around.”
Stanley had tackled the lab, who now lay on his back, completely submissive while Stanley playfully gnawed on this throat.
Nancy approached and Sam rose to hug her, then introduced us. She was older, maybe in her forties.
“How’s he doing?” Sam asked, apparently indicating the lab.
“Terrific.” Nancy turned to me. “Tip had an enormous tumor. But Sam got it all and he’s like new.” She gave Sam a flirty glance. “I’d marry this gal if I wasn’t already.”
Sam blushed and chuckled. “Gary might not want to hear that.”
They chatted for a few minutes while I sat and stewed. Eventually Stanley wandered back and Tip headed to some bushes.
“Duty calls,” Nancy said, pulling out a plastic bag. She headed toward her dog. Sam sat back on the bench.
“I’ll leave you alone,” I said. “If that would help.”
She could interpret that however she wanted.
She sagged back and gazed away, across the park. She was again stripped down to her basic elements. I almost started to apologize for the kiss but stopped. Gina had done that. She hadn’t meant it then anymore than I did now. I’d kissed a lot of women without feeling anything other than turned on. It was different with Sam. She had opened herself to me, figuratively bared her neck. Until recently, I hadn’t understood why anyone would allow that vulnerability. If anything, I expected her to yell, punch me even. I deserved it. I had treated her like shit. How do you apologize for that?
She clucked Stanley over and clipped his leash on. I thought she would get up to leave, but she leaned back, tipped her face toward the low sun, and closed her eyes.
The last thing in the world I wanted to do was hurt her any more. So I took a chance and bared my neck. “Last month, I broke up with the closest thing I’ve had to a girlfriend ever.”
She opened her eyes.
“A kid I’ve come to adore was swept out of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
She turned to me with a surprised look. “What?”
“Two days ago, I left my mother under an overpass. In the rain. She’s homeless, and I left her there.”
Her brow furrowed. “Meg—”
“And that’s not the half of it. I’ve lost everything I’ve ever loved. So when I say I can’t, I mean I can’t lose any more.”
“I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. That’s not why I told you. You don’t know anything about me. And if we’re going to work together, it’s best if it stays that way.” I checked my watch, then stood. “I need to go. Captain Decker gets in a snit if I keep the truck out late.”
Stanley jumped up and looked at me expectantly. I bent to rub his head. “Bye, buddy.”
“Meg,” she said. “I won’t quit.”
I didn’t turn around. Yes, you will. “See you later.”
SINCE NOT SLEEPING around hadn’t brought me wealth and happiness, I went to Ezri to regain some of that old Meg Magic.
She was tall, statuesque might have been an apt description. She wore a suit with a tight skirt that showed off her legs and high heels. Straight out of trade show casting and sure enough, she was in town for a conference. From Buffalo. Heading back Monday. Perfect.
I drove us to her hotel on the waterfront.
“I didn’t know it would be in the middle of a war zone,” she lamented, staring at the construction fences and piles of debris from the former elevated highway.
Her room was a sanctuary within the chaos of the Big Dig. King-sized bed, upholstered chairs next to a large window overlooking the harbor. This kind of view didn’t need curtains. No one but the gulls could see in. Lights blinked out on the water. Jets rose from the airport. But we didn’t spend much time at the window. I could get used to high-thread-count sheets. There was no chance I’d run into her again, so I let myself go a bit more than usual. I might even have come. Luckily she was athletic. I needed to work up a sweat and she let me. We wrestled. I won. Maybe she won. She bit my shoulder.
When I got up and gathered my clothes, she reached for something on the table. I watched her pull several bills from a wallet. What the fuck?
“For the parking,” she said. “It costs a fortune.”
Doesn’t everything?
BACK IN MY luxurious apartment, I couldn’t sleep, so I Googled Lily Griffin. I’d been doing that every few weeks with no luck. This night I got a hit. In the online phone directory, there was a new listing for L. Griffin in Fall River. Geez, practically in Rhode Island. Nowhere near the Cambridge DSS office. What were the chances Sylvie ever got down there to check on them? I knew better than to call her and ask about them, but her warning wasn’t lost on me. Why couldn’t I let this go?
She was right, I shouldn’t intrude on their lives. But it’d only been four months since Violet went back to her mother. They weren’t on safe ground yet. I needed to see for myself. I couldn’t trust DSS, even Sylvie. I could be doing her a favor. Hell, if it hadn’t been for my interference, she’d never have known they’d moved in the first place. I vowed to be careful. Observe without interfering. Check out the address, make sure it wasn’t a drug den or sex slave operation.
I slept a couple hours then left, armed with printouts of Google maps. The day dawned sunny and unseasonably warm.
ALL I KNEW about Fall River was that Lizzie Borden was from there. She who allegedly axed her parents a hundred or so years ago. I could relate to that.
When the highway ended, I wound my way through neighborhoods of small, single-family homes. Then I came to rows of single-story brick apartment buildings lining several streets like army barracks. Public housing. I checked the address. Sure enough, this was it. Made sense. I didn’t expect Lily had won the lottery. I drove slowly up and down each street. The homes looked in good shape. Some had bikes and toys in the front yard.
As I neared Lily’s, I pulled over. I didn’t want to drive right by. My car is pretty nondescript, but I didn’t want to take a chance that Violet might look out a window or be in the yard and see me.
I sat for several minutes not knowing what to do. I’d driven over an hour just to get here. Then they came out of the apartment. An older version of Violet, with frizzy red hair, pulled back in a ponytail. She looked like a teenager. Short T-shirt that showed her slim midriff, tight, low-slung jeans and flip flops. Violet looked like Violet. Same freckled face, same big grin.
I pulled my Red Sox ball cap lower over my eyes. You don’t stand out in a Red Sox cap. Thankfully, they headed away from me. Violet held her mother’s hand and skipped. So carefree. Lily let go long enough to light a cigarette then took Violet’s hand again.
Once they rounded the corner at the end of the street, I moved forward. I’d seen a playground on my way in so I tried that. I parked on the far side of the wide street. Violet swung on the swing next to a boy about her age, and her mother sat at a picnic table smoking a cigarette, chatting with another woman. Violet looked happy, content. The swings screeched to the steady rhythm of their rise and fall. She and the boy seemed to be having a contest to see who could go highest, their legs pumping and bodies straining to squeeze out another inch.
There wasn’t anything to do but watch. No dire emergency, no fear, no need for Meg to be here. This was exactly what I wished for her.
Everything was fine now, but things had been fine with my mom for months at a time. There was no guarantee Lily would stay sober, that Violet wouldn’t be hurt. There was also no way I could protect her. If all went well, DSS would close the case and Violet and her mom would slip back into anonymity and go on with their lives. Until the next time Lily got drunk or she met a less than nice man who might not like Violet as much as he liked Lily.
I wanted to nonchalantly walk over to Lily and strike up a casual conversation. I’d compliment her beautiful child, mention how lucky she was. Wish her the best. Would Violet even remember me? Maybe, from what Sylvie had said. Maybe I had done some good. Maybe Pam did too. Maybe Lily, realizing what life was like without Violet, recognized how precious she was. You only get one chance to raise a child.
Violet jumped off the swing and ran over to her mother. She climbed onto the seat beside her and wrapped her arms around her. She seemed to be saying something to her.
Lily laughed then stubbed out her cigarette. She rose and, taking Violet’s hand, ran with her across the ball field and out the far gate.
“I’ll miss you, my friend,” I said to no one.
Chapter 28
THE WEEK BEFORE the shelter opening was busy with last-minute tasks, keeping all of us running around preparing for the ceremony. For whatever reason—I had not inquired—Pam did not design the signs or brochures, much to my relief. It was up to Sam and me to make sure everything was in place before the animals moved in. We each had our own to-do lists, so I was more aware of Sam being there than actually interacting with her.
She showed no flagging of intent to perform her job faithfully and fully. Each day, she greeted me pleasantly. I detected neither lingering anger nor sad-sack sympathy. We’d been on pace to be friends. That was now impossible. So the only options were a business partnership or something more.
Out of purely hypothetical curiosity, I stopped by Town Hall to see Ana. I asked her if it would be a conflict of interest to date someone I’d hired.
“Dr. Sam?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
She smiled. “She seems nice.”
“You know her?”
“I take my cat to her. That’s not a conflict of interest. Maybe if she gave me a discount, or, worse, I expected one.”
“But dating her would be different, right? Hypothetically.”
“Of course. Let’s see. My boyfriend is a firefighter. The chief of police is married to a school teacher. Edie Watkins’s father is a judge. Heck, I know of towns where one family runs everything from the ice cream stand to city hall.” She raised one eyebrow.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, it’s not the relationship that’s a problem. It’s the abuse of power that’s a problem, or even a perception of abuse. If I reported to my boyfriend, that would be wrong.”
“I hired her. We have to work together.”
She shook her head. “No, you vetted her. No pun intended. The selectmen hired her. Now, if you lied on her paperwork to make her look better—”
“No. Absolutely not.” If anything, I should have lied to make her look worse.
Ana smiled. “When the time comes to renew the contract, let’s talk. She can’t get preferred treatment.”
“Hell, she was the only one who wanted the job.”
Not that Ana’s approval gave me free rein to pursue Sam. On the contrary, I still sensed pending disaster. If she would quit just because I kissed her, what would she do if we were together and broke up?
THE OPENING CEREMONY was an event to get through, not enjoy. It meant one more day before the animals could move in. That said, Karen organized a hell of a party. Balloons festooned the entrance. In the lobby, the counter served as a refreshment center, with punch and soda, snacks and giveaways. Kids could get their faces painted—I’ve no idea why that’s become the must-have activity, but Violet would have loved it. Staff were on hand to conduct tours.
Chaz and Louise and Jeff and Cindy came. My mother did not. But then again, I didn’t invite her and not just because I had no idea where she was. Sam brought Stanley. I gave my friends a tour, knowing only Jeff really cared for the details I delighted in.
