Murder is Academic
Page 24
“Hush, Samantha,” I said sweetly but firmly. She put her head on her paws and yawned. “Go to sleep.” Then I realized I just named my dog.
“Where did you get that name?” Guy slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him.
“I don’t know. It came to me suddenly. It feels just right.”
Samantha slept soundly through the night in her cage. Guy and I got some sleep too, but not much.
Chapter 29
I was sitting on my dock looking across the lake at the finished bridge that spanned the river emptying out of the lake.
“Here’s to you, Guy.” I raised the cup of coffee I had in my hand in a salute to his expert bridge workmanship.
“Talking to yourself, are you, Murphy?” Der began the short walk down from my yard to the dock to join me.
“Just admiring the bridge. There’s coffee in the pot in the kitchen.”
“Found it.” He lowered himself to the dock with a groan. We both sat a while, saying nothing, dangling our legs over the side of the dock.
“It was a great wedding last weekend. Thanks for inviting me. Your son and his wife looked really happy. You, too.”
“I was so happy for David and Sandy. They’re honeymooning in the Adirondacks, you know. Camping. I thought I’d never see the day David would pitch a tent and sleep in a sleeping bag.”
“From what I could see David seems like a pretty solid person, and Sandy does too.”
“Well, he wasn’t always that way. Having Sandy in his life has offset the effects of his grandmother and his father. She’s brought out his sense of fun. It was always there. He just needed permission from someone to use it.” I sighed.
“You miss Annie a little, do you?” Der asked on our way into the house.
“I’ve said good-bye to so many people in this past week that I feel like I haven’t a friend left in the world.” I brushed away a tear that leaked out of the corner of my eye.
Gee, I was emotional lately. I probably should give thought to increasing my intake of chocolate. I left off eating all those donuts in the middle of the Hall case and, with menopause knocking on my door, and no murder in the offing, I felt the need for something to sink my teeth into.
“You’ve got me.” Der put his arm around my shoulders.
“Huh? Oh yeah, you’re right. And you’re stuck with me, at least until my sabbatical begins next year.”
“I know you and Guy are trying to spend weekends together. What are you planning on doing when you leave for your sabbatical?”
“I have no idea.” I shook my head in dismay.
“These things have a way of working out. You’ll see.” He gave my shoulder an awkward pat.
As we neared the house, Sam gave a loud bark from within letting me know she was happy neither at my absence nor at my focus of attention on someone other than her.
“Besides,” Der said as he opened the door and stood to one side to let Sam pounce on me, “you’ve got Sam here to keep you company.”
“You’re oh so right about that.”
Sam’s enthusiasm for life was contagious. She lifted my spirits so much I considered calling her “SamE” after the nutritional supplement for depression.
I scolded her for jumping up and told her to “sit”, which she did for a full second before she began chasing around through the downstairs of the house.
“Time to take her to obedience school,” I said. We watched her run up the stairs and then down again in a frenzy of doggy youthful exuberance.
The phone rang. “Hold on.”
“I’ll take the beast here out in the yard and throw some sticks for her.” Der coaxed her away from the stairs by opening the door and calling her name.
It was Guy on the phone. “Hi. I really miss you.”
“Me, too, you.”
“But, I think it’s a no go for this weekend. The kids really need some dad time with me up here.”
“I think so too. As good as they’ve been about sharing you with me, they do need time alone with you, so I understand.”
“We’re going to have to do something about this relationship. Once winter sets in, it’ll be impossible for us to get together on the weekends.”
“What do you suggest?” My heart was in my throat.
“You could move up here, and we could get married.”
“We’ve talked about this before. Jumping into a marriage just because we miss each other isn’t the answer. Besides, my work is here, not in Canada. And you can’t come here because you can’t leave the kids.” This was all too familiar ground.
“Okay, then. How about I find a job there and have the kids for the summers instead of weekends?”
“It’s an idea, but it would only be temporary. I go on my sabbatical next year, and I’ll be away from here.”
“So I’ll live in your house for next summer with the kids, and we’ll work something else out for the sabbatical year.”
I hesitated. “We’ll talk about it.”
“Getting scared this is one relationship that might just work out right, Laura?” Guy was teasing, but I could hear a note of seriousness in his voice.
I paused before replying. “Yes, I am scared.”
“Good. So am I. At least we’re both being honest. What we have is great. No promises, but let’s see what we can do. Okay?”
“Okay.”
We talked about his kids, the wedding and our work.
“How’s Sam?”
“Oh, she’s just wonderful. She’s out in the yard getting Der to chase sticks for her.”
We talked a bit more, then ended the conversation
“Love ya,” he said.
“I love you too.”
Through the kitchen window I watched Sam and Der at play in the yard for a few minutes before I joined them. Der was perspiring and panting more heavily than Sam.
“Great. Sam’s exhausted you enough that you’ll sleep through the night. That was Guy on the phone. He said to say hello.”
“Well. I’ve got to go. No murders recently but I still do have work to do. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for coffee?” He walked toward his car while Sam picked up a large branch in the yard and began to drag it toward him.
“Now you decide to fetch,” I said to Sam. “Your playmate has to go to work.”
Sam turned toward me and barked as if to say, “You’re next.”
“Der,” I yelled to him before he could pull out of the drive.
“Yeah?” He rolled down the window to hear me better.
“Don’t forget the donuts tomorrow.”
THE END