Untangling The Stars

by Alyse Miller

  She took out two ceramic bowls and washed them. She filled the first one with water and placed it on the placemat she had arranged on the floor at the end of the kitchen counter. Opening the bag of all natural, premium, ocean whitefish guaranteed to keep your cat “happy and healthy,” she filled up Templeton’s other dish.

  “Here Kitty, Kitty,” she called. “Templeton.”

  An orange head finally emerged from the crate. Taking that as a positive sign, Andie called again and Templeton gingerly stepped out, stretched, arched his back, sat down, and yawned. Andie laughed; his level of apathy was just too much. She went over, picked him up, and placed him in front of his food and water.

  “Here you go. Just so you know where it is.” She petted him some more and then left him cautiously sniffing the two bowls. Another blip came across her phone.

  Are you happy? Andie sucked in a deep breath. This time it was from Guy. Okay, so the next text probably would be from Madeline because today was the day of total unpredictability. She didn’t know what to say to that text either, she wasn’t even sure if the question was rhetorical or accusatory. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, and she felt her palms get sweaty. Was it too early to drink? A glass of wine sounded wonderful for her nerves. She’d been getting really familiar with the bottle opener lately. Maybe if she had a glass—or three—she could think of what to say back to two people she genuinely cared about, who just mere days before had been quite clear that they didn’t really want to have much to do with her. Had she fallen asleep and reawakened in the Twilight Zone?

  A sudden meow jolted Andie back to the present. She looked down and Templeton was leaning against her legs, his purr sending little ripples up her skin. This was such a good idea, getting a companion pet. Why had she not done it sooner? Andie bent down and lovingly stroked her purring cat. With her mind back on getting him set up, she pulled the litter box out of one of pet store tote bags and carried it and the box of litter into the laundry room. This time, Templeton followed her in, so she picked him up and set him on his litter box, and then left to give him a little privacy in case he needed it.

  Because I’m having a blast her phone blipped again as she walked back into the kitchen. Guy, again. She read the new text and put the phone down, not really knowing what to think. That was the problem with texts; you couldn’t hear tone. Her heart stirred. He could be being mean—his messages seemed loaded with condescension and invitation to argue. Or, he could be being sarcastic. Or, maybe he was just rubbing his ability to bounce back in her face. It had only been two weeks, so how well could she really know him? And she had seen the paparazzi picture of him last night that Scott showed her. But, what she read and what she felt were different. She could almost hear Guy’s voice in his messages, and yes, there was sarcasm, but there was also sadness. She and Guy had connected. There was something there beyond lustful attraction, she was sure of it. Sighing, she picked up the phone and went to the couch. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and thought. Andie needed to respond to him—she wanted to. But what could she say? Honesty was always best, right? Just be honest. I am happy…and I’m not. She stared at her reply for a few seconds and the hit send.

  As she waited for Guy’s inevitable response, she noticed the last bag on the counter and busied herself unpacking the toys she had bought for Templeton. There were balls, a fishing pole with a catnip mouse on the end of it, and a scratching post that had a bird with a bell hanging from a spring. There was also a laser that the guy at the store had sworn would entertain her cat for hours. Out of the two aisles of toys and treats to pick from, Andie had no idea what Templeton might like, but he had plenty to choose from and she knew he was already spoiled. But that’s what he’s for, she thought. She smiled as she saw him settle in front of his food bowl and start munching. Too bad she wasn’t a cat herself. That seemed like the life.

  What does that mean? The reply had not taken long and only served up more questions. Screw it, Andy thought. It was Saturday, a little after noon, and she wasn’t going anywhere. A glass of wine and a Netflix binge sounded wonderful. So did turning off the phone. She walked past Templeton into the kitchen, made a sandwich, and poured a glass of wine. Is the college professor lost for words? Reading that last, Andie knew now that Guy was being snide, maybe not mean, but not nice either. In all fairness, he probably had a terrible hangover and felt like crap. Not that it was her problem, thank you.

  It means what it said. In some ways, I’m happy and others I’m not. Frustrated, she set the phone down and began eating her sandwich. Templeton had begun to explore his new home, and Andie watched him, not really thinking about anything. She really did despise drama, and she was not going to spend her Saturday or weekend being consumed by it. Tandy. Crap, she had forgotten.

  Taking the last bite of her sandwich, she picked her phone back up and scrolled to the earlier message. Hey. Watching Netflix. Just chilling, talk to you later. Andie didn’t want to invite more arguments, but she wasn’t going to deal with Tandy today either. Space, time, peace, and quiet were what she wanted—and needed. Sliding the power bar off on her phone, she lay back on the couch and selected the first TV series that popped up on her queue. Perfect. Ridiculous, mindless entertainment was exactly how she wanted to spend the next few hours. Templeton jumped up on the couch, creeped up on to her belly and settled, curling his front paws under his chest. She watched him for a second, stroked him absently, and then turned back to the television to watch the over-dramatized preview of the show getting ready to start. At least it wasn’t about vampires.

  ***

  Andie was dreaming and there was some bell or alarm that just kept interrupting the conversation she was trying to have with the Queen of England. It was very annoying and the queen didn’t even seem to care, waving off the noise with a flip-flap of her white-gloved hand. Andie jolted, suddenly awake and Templeton let out a screech and, half-clawed, leaped off her stomach. “Ouch, geeze Templeton,” Andie whined and rubbed her stomach where his nails had bit the skin. Her doorbell was chiming repeatedly and still groggy, Andie padded to the door in her socks. The Queen of England? Really? she thought as she approached the door, realizing that she was in her flannel jammie pants and baggy “I heart big books and cannot lie” t-shirt. Oh well.

  Peering through the peephole, she saw a determined Tandy knocking and ringing her doorbell, head sideways holding the cell phone. She had her pink lips pursed in determination. Still, even Tandy was better than that platinum-haired demon that had been at her door armed with two cameramen a few days before.

  “Okay, okay, hi!” Andie said, opening the door. “Stop before the fire department shows up.”

  Tandy looked Andy up and down and shook her head. “That’s what I thought.”

  “What? I was napping. It is Saturday. A day for relaxing.”

  “Right, and that is exactly what normal people do on Saturday—but not you. Dr. Foxglove spends her Saturdays grading papers, reading and reviewing journal articles, researching and writing the next best-seller. Hiking. Writing poetry. Bird watching. Basically anything other than napping.”

  Andie shrugged, but she couldn’t help but smirk. Tandy was right. Saturday naps weren’t exactly her thing.

  “Well, are you going to let me in?” Tandy asked, shifting her hand that was holding a bag to her hip.

  “Why?” Andie let the word sound as rude as it felt and didn’t even try to hide the suspicion in her voice. This was weird.

  “Okay, I deserve that…but…,” Tandy put down the bag and pulled out a DVD of Thelma and Louise, the best-friend classic. She held it up, grinning the old Tandy grin that had been a part of their friendship for years. She hadn’t always been a younger, prettier version of that pink hell beast, Dolores Umbridge, from the Harry Potter series. Andie chuckled to herself; she’d never actually made that association before, but it fit.

  Andie wasn’t moved. “So you think bringing over some chick flick is going to mend and forget everything that
happened?”

  “Of course not, silly,” Tandy said, bending over again. “I brought wine, too.” She held up a bottle of her and Andie’s favorite Merlot. “Chilled.”

  Andie laughed. She couldn’t help it. Friends didn’t have to go through lengthy apologies to admit they’d been wrong. In fact, sometimes they didn’t need to mention it at all—the best thing to do was to keep going. “All right. Now you can come in.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Tandy said and grinned, walking past Andie through the open apartment door. She went straight to the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks. “You didn’t?” she called.

  “Didn’t what?” Andie called from back at the couch. “Oh, and I already have a glass. Just grab yourself one.”

  Tandy swiveled, eyebrows up, holding and swinging one of Templeton’s stuffed mouse toys by the tail.

  “Okay, Sherlock, you got me. I got a cat.”

  With a leap and a meow, Templeton appeared from nowhere on the back of the couch and jumped down beside Andie. She petted him and smiled smugly at Tandy.

  “It’s even worse than I thought,” Tandy said, shaking her head. She turned and disappeared into the kitchen. Andie scratched Templeton’s ears while Tandy got the corkscrew and another wine glass.

  “What’s worse? And don’t imply anything about me getting a cat,” Andie said when Tandy sat down in the wingback next to the couch.

  “Oh right. Everything goes to hell for you, you’re in your jammies on Saturday afternoon, and you got a cat.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that? Yes, I got a cat. One cat, one, Tandy—not eight, not twelve.”

  “It’s just the beginning,” Tandy said, pouring herself some wine and refilling Andie’s empty glass.

  Andie rolled her eyes. Whatever.

  “Okay, Andie listen, seriously,” Tandy said, leaned back in her chair and sipping her wine. “I really came over to apologize. I let the stress of the gala, maybe jealousy about you and Guy and, maybe, who the hell knows what, just get in my head and run my mouth. You know I love you. You’re my best friend. I am truly sorry.”

  Andie was silent for a minute. She listened to Templeton purr and thought about everything that had gone wrong in the past few days. Tandy was acting like a grown-up…now…and her friend. Truth be told, she needed one. And as great as Scott was, what Andie really needed was some girl time.

  “I appreciate the apology. Really, I do. But it really hurt to be asked to step away from the gala. I put just as much into planning it as everyone else. It means just as much to me, too.”

  “And that is exactly what we all want to talk to you about today.” Tandy nodded.

  We? “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, the girls are on their way over. I just wanted to get here first.”

  “Oh my god! Tandy! Why couldn’t you call and tell me?”

  “Um, I did! Your phone was going straight to voicemail.”

  “I shut it off. Oh my god, I need to get dressed.”

  “Oh relax, I’ll call the girls and tell them to bring their jammies too, and I’ll borrow a pair of yours.” Tandy winked right as the doorbell rang. Andie groaned and burrowed her face in Templeton’s side, letting Tandy get up to answer. Andie heard the hushed voices at the door. “Come on in and get comfy. I’m hosting a party, shoes and bra not required. And there’s a cat.”

  Andie couldn’t hear the next whispers, nor did she care.

  Melody led the way with two large boxes of pizza. “So where is he? Oh my god, he’s soooo cute.” She dropped the boxes on the coffee table and wrapped her hands around a surprised Templeton’s face. “Hey there. Aren’t you the big, handsome boy?”

  “Dear god, pull yourself together. You’re a lawyer, not a veterinarian,” Denise quipped, an unopened wine bottle in hand, in front of Elizabeth who had a copy of what looked like Steel Magnolias.

  “Hey, there’s scientific evidence that pet owners suffer less depression and have lower blood pressure,” Andie chided playfully. “Shouldn’t you know that?’

  Denise laughed back. “True…but you named him Templeton? Wasn’t he a rat?”

  “Yes, but he helped Charlotte saved Wilbur, too, so he was a hero,” Melody defended, her voice sliding back to its practical courtroom quality. Before she’d gone into law school, Melody had been a literature major. “He’s great, Andie. I love him. If you ever need a cat-sitter, you got one.”

  “Thanks, Melody. Well, let’s get the party started I guess. I’ll get some more glasses.”

  ***

  Once everyone had settled in and had some wine, Andie couldn’t wait any longer. “Okay guys. What’s up?”

  “What do you mean?” Elizabeth asked innocently. Her eyes darted to Tandy.

  Some things never change. “Seriously. What is going on?”

  Tandy set her glass on the table. “We’re your friends, Andie. I know it may not have seemed like it, but we do love you. And we’re sorry. Especially me.”

  “She’s right.” Melody nodded. “We handled everything terribly. Then when we saw the news this morning…”

  “Ugh,” Andie groaned, searching for the nearest pillow to smash her face into. “I already heard about it from Scott. I’m fine. I don’t know what’s going on with Guy, and we haven’t talked about it.”

  “Fair enough,” Denise picked up, “but with that, and the dean talking to you, and what we did to you about the gala…well…” She shrugged and looked around for help.

  “It seemed like a bit much for anyone, even you, Andie,” Elizabeth said. “And we wanted to fix our share of the mess, and at least be here to support you for the rest. That’s what friends do.”

  “By getting me drunk, fat, and teary-eyed?” Andie asked.

  “Is there any better way?” Tandy cooed, pouring more wine. They all laughed and raised their glasses together. Andie could toast to that. Templeton, however, decided he had enough of the commotion and jumped off the couch.

  “So Thelma and Louise or Steel Magnolias first?” Melody asked, heading to the television set.

  “First,” Andie interrupted. “I want to talk about the gala.” Terse silence fell across the room. Templeton could be heard crunching on some chow at the end of the room. “Making amends is one thing, but I want back in. It means as much to me as any of you. I don’t need a break.” She suddenly had an idea. A delicious idea that was either really good or really terrible. “And, we need a key-note speaker—I think, I hope, I can get Guy to do it.” It was a long shot and Andie knew it, but if they could reunite over a common cause, maybe they could find their way back to each other—and in a way that would help them both mend their soiled headline reputations, too. Either that or she had lost her damn mind.

  Tandy and Denise almost choked at the same time. Melody stopped abruptly and turned around, staring at Andie.

  “Andie, honey, did you really see the pictures of him this morning?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I know he had a bad night. But the gala is still two weeks away,” Andie insisted. This could work.

  “Why the sudden change?” Melody asked. “I mean you were pretty dead set on it being wrong to even consider asking him, and now you’re volunteering him.”

  “Because I’ve had a chance to think about it. My first instinct is, it would be like using him. And it is, but what I’ve realized is, that doesn’t make it necessarily wrong.”

  “I’m not following,” Tandy said.

  “It’s like this,” Andie said. “Denise you’re a doctor. I mean, I know you do research, but you’re still a doctor, right?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “So if someone started choking or having a heart attack in a restaurant, it wouldn’t be wrong to expect you to help, as a doctor right?”

  “Well, no of course not. Although the Heimlich is—”

  “I see where you are going, Andie,” Melody broke in. “Guy is entitled to be a normal guy, but he is still a celebrity. There’s nothing wrong in using his fame and
name recognition to do some good for the community. And a little bit of good goes a long way—it’s good for the soul.”

  “Exactly. That’s where I have landed,” Andie said. “Sure, it’s gray. But so much of life is. And here’s the other thing. I met him by accident. I still don’t even know why he wandered into my classroom. So it’s not like I just went after him to be our keynote speaker at the gala, or like I would dump him after his speech rolled in the bank for us.”

  “Hell no. Dump him the next morning,” Denise laughed.

  “I’ll drink to that!” Tandy said, raising her wine glass.

  The girls erupted in laughter and toasted together.

  “So?” Andie asked. “Can I be back in and try to get our keynote speaker?”

  All eyes met one another and nodded.

  ***

  It was almost eleven p.m. when everyone left. Andie carried out pizza boxes and wine bottles to the dumpster, came back in, and flopped on the bed. She needed to shower, but Templeton was curled in a ball on her pillow, and she couldn’t resist taking a moment to snuggle with him. He cracked an eye at her touch, yawned, and turned on his little outboard motor. “How could anyone not want you?” she asked him affectionately. Want him. Guy was never more than a thought away. She remembered her phone and reluctantly got up and went back out to the living room. Powering it on, she set it on her nightstand, and went into the bathroom to shower.