Mugs barked and then barked again, rolling around on the tall grass right beside her. She reached over, scratched his belly, and then, overcome with emotion and enjoying having him close, she gave him a great big hug. He whimpered and got riled, as he got free of her arms and started to do zoomies on the front yard. She sat here and laughed and laughed, until he finally collapsed beside her, panting. Goliath, far too superior for such displays, had just laid in the tall grass beside her the whole time. As soon as Mugs collapsed nearby, the big cat reached out with long claws and whacked Mugs across the forehead. Mugs yelped and immediately backed up out of reach. And Goliath stretched even farther out in the grass, as if claiming the space.
Doreen smiled, as she looked down at the two of them, but Thaddeus wasn’t here. She hopped her feet and called out, “Thaddeus? Thaddeus!”
At the far end of the garden came his cry. “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”
She walked over to see what he was up to. “Are you getting into trouble?” she scolded.
“Are you getting into trouble?” he said back at her.
She groaned, dropped to her knees, and said, “No, I’m not in trouble. You’re the one that’s been getting into trouble lately.”
“Are you into trouble? Are you into trouble? Are you into trouble?”
“No,” she said. She reached down, and he immediately hopped onto the back of her hand and climbed up her arm. When he sat on her shoulder, he crooned up against her cheek and said, “Thaddeus loves Doreen.”
She smiled and cuddled him closer. “Well, I’m really glad to hear that,” she said. “Because Doreen really loves Thaddeus.”
They sat here in the grass, as a family, and she thoroughly enjoyed the moment. Just then her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and smiled. “Good morning, Nan.”
“Good morning, dear,” she said. “I have fresh warm croissants and clotted cream.”
“Oh,” she said, “clotted cream. I haven’t had that in,” and then she stopped. “Well, let’s just say, in ages.”
“If you come down here with the animals, I’m sure we have a few for you.”
“Any other reason for the visit?”
“Well, I’ve been asking around a bit,” she said, “and there’s definitely some interesting gossip.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” she said, laughing.
She got up, walked through the house, locked up, and this time chose to go out through the cul-de-sac. Maybe it was because of Mathew’s visit, or maybe it was because of finding the USB key out in front of her house. She couldn’t walk past the garden without checking to see if anything else was there. It blew her mind to think that maybe Robin had actually thrown it into the garden on her own.
Was Mack right? Had it been more of an apology from Robin because she didn’t know how to fix things? It seemed strange, given the personality of the woman, at least the side Robin had shown to Doreen when Robin had shown up here. But prior to that, they’d been friends, and that was something else that blew Doreen away. The ranting visit wasn’t the behavior of friends either. Still, Doreen could hardly blame a dead woman, and obviously Robin had had a change of heart somewhere along the line.
“Thank you, Robin,” Doreen whispered aloud. “I’m not sure where this all ends up, but, if, indeed, that will is yours, and it is legal, thank you for thinking of me and trying to make amends.”
A warm breeze drifted toward her just then, and she smiled, as strands of her hair lifted across her shoulders. “Maybe that’s a message from you, Robin, huh?” she asked.
In the distance a horn honked and then another, and sirens roared, and she smiled. “Nope, just another day of business as usual,” she said. “Hope you are well, wherever it is you are. Sorry it all happened so soon.”
Chapter 21
Tuesday, Late Morning …
Doreen crossed the grass, watching as Mugs raced across, heading toward Nan, his ears flapping, as he greeted her with wild enthusiasm. Nan bent down and cuddled the dog, as Goliath, never to be outdone, strolled in like he was some movie star. Nan chuckled out loud and said, “Isn’t he magnificent?”
“He certainly is,” she said. “He makes Mugs look like an impatient puppy.”
“There is something about the way the two of them interact,” Nan said, with a big smile. She reached out and gave Doreen a hug. “Don’t you look fine this morning.”
Doreen looked at her in surprise. “Thank you,” she said. “It has been a very strange morning.”
“Well, you can sit down and tell me all about it,” she said. At that moment, Thaddeus poked his head out from under Doreen’s hair, where he’d taken to sitting on the crook of her neck.
“Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”
“And a good morning to you too, Mr. Thaddeus.” Nan held out her arm, and Thaddeus immediately crossed over and crawled right up to her shoulder, tucked in against her. Doreen was just going to comment on that, when Thaddeus immediately said, “Thaddeus loves Nan.”
Nan placed a hand across her heart and cuddled him close. “Isn’t it so lovely to hear that coming from him?”
“It is, indeed,” Doreen said. “The trouble is, I’m pretty sure he is eyeing the croissants on the table, and that may be the reason he’s doing it.”
Nan burst out laughing. “You know what? I wouldn’t be at all surprised. And can you blame him?” she said. “They are divine.”
“If you say they’re divine,” Doreen said, “it makes me wonder how many you’ve already had?”
“Only one. Only one,” she said. She motioned to the chair beside Doreen, “Sit, sit, sit. It’s so lovely to see you.”
“It’s nice to see you too. Having Mathew in town just reminded me how much I missed during all the years I was married to him.”
“You did miss a lot,” Nan said, nodding her head slowly. “But you also experienced a lot that other people never do as well.”
“I guess,” Doreen said, “but they were all wealth-based things that existed on such a superficial level. I may not have much in the way of money now and don’t go to fancy places and events, but I’m so much more alive, and I mean that from an inside level, beaming outward.”
“That’s a lovely way to put it,” Nan said, staring at her in surprise.
“Well, lately I’ve had some eye-opening experiences, when you consider that river dunking and being shot in the shoulder,” she said. “I’ve really done some thinking.”
“Oh, dear,” Nan said, “please tell me that you won’t move away.”
Doreen looked at her in horror. “Of course not! Why would I do that?” She added, “That would be terrible. You are part of the reason I’m here, and I just found you. I don’t want to lose you now.”
“Oh, good,” Nan said, settling more comfortably into her chair. “Like I said, it’s just so wonderful to have you here. I really wouldn’t want you to move away. Another reason for you and Mack to hook up. At least I know Mack isn’t going anywhere.”