The trip to the café was refreshing, and Fiona bathed in the beauty of the morning. The tension she’d woken with began to fade to a pleasant ache. When she made it back to the apartment, Fiona grinned when she didn’t have to wrestle the door to get it unlocked.
She tiptoed into the bedroom and silently placed the coffee and muffins on the bedside table. She realized Meg had moved over and was lying on the side of the bed she had recently vacated. A quiver ran through her when she imagined Meg seeking her out in her sleep. She pushed a strand of Meg’s hair from her face, leaving her finger to rest along her cheek. A small smile made its way to Meg’s full lips, and Fiona almost traced it with her finger. Instead, she withdrew her hand and backed out of the room. God! She was acting like a weird stalker!
She left a key with a note in plain view on the kitchen table and gave each of the kittens a kiss goodbye. Unsuccessfully fighting back tears, she lifted Cardboard last and cradled him against her cheek. He pushed his little front paws against her face, nuzzling her, and her heart broke. She’d miss him so much! Finally she put him back, took a deep breath, and left the apartment. The warm sunshine barely registered this time. She hadn’t expected to fall in love with the kittens. She walked slowly so her tears would dry before she arrived at the office.
Once at work, Fiona hoped her caseload—most of which was still the work of a research assistant because of the transition—would be a good distraction, but she found it difficult to stay focused. It was repetitious and mind-numbing, not nearly challenging enough to keep her mind engaged. Irritation at the partners for not hiring a research assistant to backfill her old position welled within her. She knew her anger was derived from sadness about the kittens, but it didn’t make it go away.
The whir of the printer was hypnotizing as she watched the last few pages drop into the tray. A bird glided by the large window behind her desk and her mind wandered down the path of her unknown future. Her thoughts came to a vision of her playing outside with a little girl. In her daydream, the toddler was raising her arms for a lift into a tire swing, like the one Fiona’s father had put up in her front yard when she was a young child. Wispy, blonde curls haloed a cherubic face, and Fiona saw herself lifting the smiling toddler up into the swing. She gave the little girl a kiss before giving her a gentle push. Fiona smiled at the picture in her mind, and imagined getting an enthusiastic hug around her neck from chubby little arms.
What was going on? Her imagination was running rampant today!
Trying to focus on her work, Fiona’s eyes shifted to the stack of papers lying in the printer tray, but as she went to pick them up, her eyes drifted back to the amazing cityscape sprawling before her. It was then she realized she was going to need to leave the city to raise her child. It was all there was to it. She loved being a lawyer, and she had never envisioned practicing anywhere else but in the city, but now she knew she had to think of her child, which meant moving away. Where would she go, though?
The first places she thought of were rural Pennsylvania and Ithaca. Aside from New York City, they were the only places she knew, but she didn’t want to go back to either of those. She needed somewhere new. A new place to start a new life. In an interesting twist, for once in her life, she didn’t feel like she had to figure it out right then. The details would work themselves out when she needed them to. She laughed at herself. What a strange turn around for a woman who had only recently had her entire life planned out.
*****
Fiona opened her front door after work and automatically looked for the kittens. The box was gone. She knew it would be, but it didn’t stop her from looking. The empty space near the recliner unleashed the sadness she’d fought all day. A sob stuck in her throat as she tossed her cell phone and keys onto the recliner. The apartment seemed empty and too quiet. It had only been a few days, but it felt like the kittens had always been there. And now they were gone. She stopped trying to fight back the tears. She dropped her bag onto the kitchen table and collapsed onto a chair as her grief poured from her.
After several minutes, she spotted the note written on the back of the one she had left for Meg.
Thank you for breakfast this morning! The coffee was piping hot when I woke up.
The kids are safely off to camp. Teri seems to be a very nice woman. She’ll take great care of them. She said you could call or come to visit if you miss them. Her info is below.
If you find yourself feeling a little of the empty nest syndrome, I get off at 6:00 PM.
Many hugs,
M.
P.S. Did you know you laugh sometimes in your sleep?
Fiona smiled through her tears. It was just like Meg to try to allay her sadness. Knowing she could see the kittens again made her feel a little better. She went to her room to change into some warm up pants and a T-shirt. She stopped in the doorway. She looked at the bed and it occurred to her that there was no reason for Meg to stay the night with her now that the kittens were gone. It made her feel their absence even more.
52
By now, Meg could tell time by the ebb and flow of the customers at Helga’s. It was almost five and the shop was mostly deserted, with only two customers in the back who had been heads down over computers at separate tables for the last two hours. It would soon pick up when the caffeine addicts checked out of their day jobs. Meg was wiping down the espresso machine while Betty, who had the closing shift, sat casually on the back counter, swinging her legs in time with the music playing over the shop stereo, topping off the creamer and sweetener dispensers. Betty had picked the music that day, and it was an all-girl rock band Meg had never heard. She listened with half an ear to Betty describe opening for the band in the Village over the weekend.
“The bassist was wildly hot. Thor. Wicked name, huh? Her girlfriend did not appreciate me talking to her. How was I to know she was attached?” Betty chuckled. “Thor didn’t seem to mind, though.”
“Mmmhmm.” Meg wondered how Fiona was doing.
“But I draw the line at married chicks, you know?”
“Yeah.” Meg remembered how good Fiona felt in her arms last night.
“I should have paid more attention to the lead singer, though. Redd got cozy with her and I’m sure the bulge in the jeans under her leather chaps was not a roll of socks. Girlfriend was packing. I’d bet my tips for the month on it. I’ll have to get the deets from Redd tonight at rehearsal.”
“Interesting.” Remembered threads of the erotic dreams she’d had of making love to Fiona floated through her mind. Her body responded much like it had in her dreams. She hoped she hadn’t let her hands wander too much in her sleep. Fiona had brought her breakfast, so she probably wasn’t upset if they had. Had they?
A minute or two went by and Meg realized it was quiet. She looked over her shoulder. Betty was sitting there, hands dangling between her knees, staring at her with a contemplative look.
“What?” she asked.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying, have you?”
Meg turned and leaned her butt against the cabinet. “Bassist. Thor. Hot. Lead singer. Bulging leather pants. I was listening.”
“Uh huh.” Betty nodded with a smirk.
Meg heard the jingle of keys hitting the granite surface behind her and turned to see Fiona standing there.
“How long have you been here?”
“Let’s just say I can’t wait to hear more about the bulging leather pants of which you speak.”
Betty snorted behind her.
“Shut up.” Meg threw the cleaning rag at her. “I’m sure Betty’d give you every horny detail if you give her the chance.”
Betty hopped down. “You watch the register and me and Fi—”
Meg blocked Betty’s exit. “You stay here, hot stuff.”
All interest in singers who packed was forgotten as Meg went around to join Fiona.
Fiona’s smile brightened considerably when she approached. It made Meg quiver.
“Hey gorgeous,” Meg said and then tried not to grimace. Had she really called her gorgeous out loud? She blamed Betty. “How was your day?”
Fiona pushed her hair behind her ear. “My day was okay, but it’s better now.”
She didn’t seem to mind the gorgeous comment. Meg was captivated by Fiona’s sparkling eyes.
Betty, who was again sitting on the rear counter, put her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag before she slid off her perch. Meg rolled her eyes and Fiona turned to look.
“Why don’t you two love birds go sit down or get a room or something?” Betty twirled the rag Meg had tossed to her.
“Love birds? You’re high.” Meg snorted, but her face grew hot.
“Whatever.” Betty threw the rag at Meg. “Take your googly eyes somewhere else. I’m getting nauseated.”
Meg caught the rag. “I have an hour left on my shift.”
“I got it. Get out of here.” Betty motioned with her hand to the nearly empty coffee shop. “Somehow, I’ll manage the hoards on my own.”
“Fine. You won’t have me to kick around anymore.” Meg teased, taking off her apron.
When she and Fiona were outside, Meg automatically turned in the direction of their street, but Fiona grabbed her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction.
“I’m taking you to my favorite hole in the wall pizza joint. I’ve been craving it all day. Plus, the apartment is depressing.”
Meg stopped and Fiona turned around. The sad look on Fiona’s face made her heart ache. She missed the kittens, too. “Come here.” She opened her arms and Fiona walked into them, molding against Meg, as if she’d craved the touch for a long time.
“I’m not gonna get snot all over you again.” Fiona laughed and stepped back after a couple of minutes. She wiped her eyes and sniffed.
“I’m a vet. Believe me, I’ve had worse.”
Fiona held up a hand. “I won’t ask. I’m starving and I refuse to ruin my dinner.”
“What’s the name of this hole in the wall pizza joint, anyway? And what if I already ate?”
“Hole in the Wall Pizza Joint,” Fiona said, walking again. She didn’t say “duh”, but it was implied in the tone of her voice. “You can watch me eat then. I’m starving.”
“It was a hypothetical question. I haven’t eaten.” Meg grinned.
A block and a half later, they stood before what, from the outside, seriously did look to be a hole in the wall. Nestled between two buildings was one of the narrowest restaurants Meg had ever seen. When they entered, it barely accommodated a single row of small tables down one wall, with just enough room to walk along the other to get to the back bar to order. What the restaurant lacked in width, it made up for in length, and Meg wondered how they passed fire inspection. They walked single file past the mostly occupied tables and walls filled with framed black and white headshots of celebrities who had eaten there, all the way to the back counter where they placed their order of one large pepperoni, mushroom, and black olive pizza with extra cheese.
A table freed up as their order was ready and they snagged it.
“This smells amazing.” Meg placed the pie on the table.
“I think this looks good.” Fiona placed Meg’s beer next to the pizza as she took a sip of her own lemonade.
Meg sighed after taking a long drink. She didn’t want to rub it in, but the beer—actually a porter—was delicious. “I’ll buy you several after… you know.” She nodded at Fiona’s middle.
Fiona frowned, but shrugged. “So. The kittens are in foster care.” Her shoulders sagged as she took a bite of pizza.
“Yes.” The first bite of pizza filled Meg’s mouth with heavenly flavor. She may have moaned. “I want to curse, this is so good!”
“I know, right? I should own stock I come here so often.” Fiona bit into her pizza. Meg wanted Fiona to look at her like she looked at that slice.
“Huh?” Meg watched Fiona wipe her mouth. What had she said?
“I asked about Teri, the kitten foster lady. How was she?”
“She seemed very nice. I could tell she knew her way around a kitten.”
“Did you see her hold them? Did she love on them?” Fiona rubbed her eyes. “Listen to me. I’m crying again and acting like it was an interview, or something.”
Meg took Fiona’s hand. “I get it. She was confident with them and she treated them as if they were precious.”
“That’s how you treat them. The first time I saw you with them, I thought the same thing about you.”
Meg glowed with pleasure at the compliment, and was about to tell Fiona how much it meant to her, when a voice cut into their conversation.
“Fi? Is that you? I knew it!” A woman approached the table.
“Maureen!” Fiona jumped up and hugged the woman. “It’s been ages!”
“Due to no fault of my own, Ms. Never Returns Phone Calls.” The tall redhead peered over Fiona’s shoulder, looking Meg up and down. “Who’s your friend?”
Meg wasn’t sure she appreciated the scrutiny. Who was this woman? She put down her pizza and stood. “I’m Meg.”
Fiona laughed and let go of her friend. “I suck. Maureen Mallory, my dear friend from law school, meet Meg Jordan…” Fiona searched Meg’s face, and Meg wondered what was going through her mind. Who was she to her? “Meg is my dear friend from the coffee shop.”
“Dear friend” was good, right? She could live with “dear friend”. Couldn’t she?
So, this was one of Fiona’s friends from school. Aside from Mike, the baby daddy, Fiona hadn’t said a whole lot about her friends but everything she’d said had been good.
“Coffee shop friends, huh?” Maureen looked amused.
Meg wondered why Maureen was amused. It seemed a bit condescending toward Fiona. She seemed nice enough, though. Nevertheless, a protective urge welled up within her. “Helga’s. It’s down the street from Fiona’s apartment.”
Maureen chuckled. “I know where it is. But I wasn’t aware Fi had been making new friends there.”
Fiona seemed to think it was funny. “Meg, don’t hate my rude friend, she’s only sizing you up to make sure you aren’t a serial killer or something.”
“I’m definitely not a serial killer. Nice to meet you.” Meg held out her hand. She wasn’t sure what she expected, or if she even had any expectations, but the stunning redhead before her was a surprise. She had nothing on Fiona, and she wasn’t her type at all, but Meg could see why half the heads in the restaurant were turned in their direction.
Maureen took her hand. “You look awfully familiar.”
“Probably from Helga’s,” Fiona suggested. “Meg’s helping out while the owner is away.”
“That’s probably it.” Maureen studied Meg before she turned back to Fiona. “You look more beautiful than ever, Fi. Being out from under all those books seems to agree with you. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in weeks!”
Fiona looked away. The good cheer she’d exuded at seeing Maureen dimmed. Meg knew then that Fiona hadn’t told her about the baby. “Sorry. I’ve been tied up with things.”
“I’ll bet.” Maureen gave Meg another appraising look like she was looking at a prize squash at a county fair. “We need to catch up. I want to hear more about what,” she raised an eyebrow, “or who, has you tied up.”
Fiona blushed and Meg wanted to laugh. Maureen’s inference was clever, even if it was off-base. “Do you want to join us?” Fiona asked.
“I can’t. Josh is waiting for me back at the apartment.”
“Don’t you mean Robert?” Fiona asked.
Maureen grimaced. It was her turn to look away. “Yeah, um. No. I meant Josh.”
Fiona frowned and tilted her head. Meg watched the inter
action with interest. She knew Josh from the coffee shop, if Maureen was talking about the same Josh who’d been there with Fiona and liked to call himself Harpo. From the look on Fiona’s face something pretty major was being discussed.
“Is Robert out of town?”
Who was Robert?
Maureen studied her fingernails. “I’ve been meaning to call you. Like you, I’ve been a little tied up.” She looked up. “With Josh.”
Fiona looked confused. “What about Robert?”
Maureen shook her hair back. “Robert moved out.”
Fiona’s eyebrows shot up and grabbed Maureen’s arm. “Wait. What? I’m sorry about Robert, but you and Josh? I knew he had a thing for you, but… whoa.”
Meg told herself to get the details later. This was good.
Maureen bit her bottom lip and wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. We’ve been seeing each other since right before we got our results back, actually.” She obviously worried about Fiona’s reaction.
Fiona mimicked Maureen’s expression. “But Robert…”
“We’re not proud of it. It just sort of happened, and you know Robert and I weren’t happy. If I had to do it again, I’d have broken it off with him first.”
“I see.”
Maureen pinched her eyebrow and studied Fiona like Fiona’s opinion would define everything going forward. “I suck. I know.”
Fiona ran her hand up and down Maureen’s arm. “I’m not judging you, Maureen. We could all see how unhappy you were.” She bounced. “Oh, my gosh! I can’t wait to tease Josh. This is great. I mean, I’m happy for both of you.” Fiona hugged Maureen.
Maureen laughed. “God! I’ve been wanting to call you, Fi. But, I didn’t know how to tell you and, well, we hardly get out of bed. The sex is phenomenal and—”
Fiona put her hand over Maureen’s mouth and made a gagging sound. “Okay! Okay! I get it.” Meg found the exchange juvenilely adorable. Maureen laughed.
Without a Net Page 23