“Fran, about that. I owe you an explanation.”
He waited for Fran to say,
“I told you about Annie before.”
“Who’s Annie?” Duncan had shuffled even closer to Josh, their legs now touching.
“She was the woman I was going to marry, but she got really sick. Before she died, she made me promise something.”
“What was it?”
“She made me promise that I’d live a long life.”
Josh pictured the hospital scene in his mind, holding Annie’s hand, her last wish that he wouldn’t die young like she had. He felt his eyes well up.
“That sounds like a big promise,” Duncan said.
Josh cleared his throat. “It was. And I took it very seriously. But then I became a fireman and planned on becoming a paramedic. I wanted to move to Madison, or Milwaukee. Someplace where I could make a difference.”
“But you make a difference here in Safe Haven,” Duncan said.
“How many fires have there been in Safe Haven? Well, before tonight?”
“None.”
“Exactly, none. So I wanted to go to a bigger city, where I could really help people. Save some lives. But because I made that promise, I decided I would stay here.”
“When was this?”
“About a year before I met you and your mom. And I kept my promise to Annie, I didn’t go to the big city. But I realized that was wrong. I wasn’t happy. I needed to go someplace else, someplace where I could do some good. So I started taking paramedic classes, and as soon as I finish I’m going to move out of Safe Haven.”
“Is that why you stopped dating Mom? Because you were leaving?”
“That’s why.”
“Mom said it was because you didn’t know a good thing when you saw it.”
Josh glanced at Fran, who was trying to control a smirk. He said, “Sometimes we know good things, Duncan, but we run away from them anyway.”
“I think—JOSH!”
Josh reacted instantly, slamming on the brakes, his hand shooting out in front of Duncan so the child didn’t pitch forward. The Roadmaster fishtailed, tires screeching, and then skidded to a stop on the gravel shoulder. Josh stared at the road, wondering what animal he’d almost hit. A possum? Raccoon?
Whatever it was, it hopped onto the hood and screeched, making all three of the car’s occupants jump in their seats.
“It’s … a monkey!” Duncan said.
A small, cinnamon-colored monkey, no more than a few pounds. It walked up to the windshield, knocked on it, and waved.
Duncan clapped his hands together. “That is so cool!”
Woof stuck his head over the back of Josh’s seat and woofed at the monkey. The monkey began to hoot, sounding a lot like an owl. Woof’s ears went up, and he began to howl, low-pitched and earnest. The animals continued this off-tune duet until Fran told Woof to sit down. The dog licked her face and complied, curling up into a ball on the back seat. The monkey clapped its hands, apparently pleased with the performance.
Duncan scooted forward, putting his hands on the dashboard. “We need to catch him.”
“That’s not a good idea, Duncan.” Fran rolled up her side window, even though it was barely open a crack. “Monkeys bite. And they carry diseases.”
“But look, Mom! He’s got a collar! He belongs to someone. I bet he’s lost.”
The monkey nodded his head, like he was agreeing with the boy. Duncan poked Josh on the shoulder.
“What do you think, Josh? Should we help him?”
Josh didn’t know of anyone in town who kept a monkey or any place in the area that sold them. Perhaps some tourist had lost him during summer vacation. Ultimately, it didn’t matter where the monkey came from. They had more pressing things to do than chase someone’s missing pet.
“I think we should leave him here, Duncan. Maybe his owner is nearby, looking for him.”
“But you said you wanted to help people. He needs our help. He’s all alone out here.”
Josh looked at Duncan and felt his will bend.
“Okay, we’ll help. I’ll check to see if he’s tame. Wait in the car.”
If the evening hadn’t been surreal enough, chasing a monkey put a nice capper on everything. Josh exited the vehicle and closed the door behind him, gently to avoid the loud noise. He smiled at the monkey and slowly held out his hand, feeling more than a little ridiculous.
“Hey, little fella. My name is Josh. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The monkey walked up to Josh, stuck out his own hand, and gripped Josh’s finger.
Josh stiffened. His first inclination was to shake the creature off, as he would any strange animal that latched on to him. But this monkey didn’t appear hostile. If anything, it seemed completely at ease. Josh kept still while it climbed up to his shoulder. Then it sat there, tiny hands running through Josh’s hair.
“I think he’s tame!” Josh heard Duncan yell through the car door.
Josh stood there for a moment. The monkey made no attempt to bite his ear off and didn’t seem sick or lethargic. Josh glanced at Duncan’s face, which had lit up to 120 watts.
“He seems safe,” Josh said to Fran. “But I won’t bring him in the car unless you say it’s okay.”
Duncan spun on Fran and began hitting her with mile-a-minute begging. Josh watched Fran sigh.
“Okay. But only until we locate his owner. And if he gets uppity, he goes.”
Fran received a big hug from her son, and then Duncan was opening up Josh’s door.
Josh sat down carefully, trying not to jostle the primate. Before he’d gotten halfway into the car, the monkey had leapt off his shoulder and into Duncan’s lap.
“Easy, Duncan,” Josh warned. “Don’t try to grab him. Let him get comfortable with you.”
The monkey held out a hand, just as he had with Josh. Duncan took it.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Duncan.”
After a customary shake the monkey reached out for Fran. She grasped his tiny monkey paw with two fingers and introduced herself. He pumped her hand up and down. Fran’s laughter filled the car, sweet and musical. Josh grinned.
“He’s got a tag on his collar,” Duncan said. “His name is Mathison.”
Upon hearing his name, Mathison chattered in an obviously social manner. It sounded like a bird chirping. This prompted Woof to stick his nose over the seat for a sniff.
“Be good, Woof,” Duncan commanded. “He’s our friend.”
Mathison extended a hand to the dog. When it wasn’t shaken, he patted Woof on the head. Woof apparently decided the proceedings weren’t that interesting, because he withdrew and went back to sleep.
“Mathison is a New World monkey,” Duncan said. “We studied them in school. They come from South America. You can tell because he has a tail. I think he’s a cappuccino.”
“That’s capuchin,” Fran gently corrected. “And it looks like he’s got a scar on his head.”
Fran moved to touch it, and Mathison screeched at her, batting her hand away.
“Sensitive little guy.”
“I bet he’s hungry,” Duncan said. “Capuchin monkeys eat fruit and bugs. We should stop someplace.”
Josh marveled at Duncan’s resilience. Earlier he’d been shot at by his babysitter and almost burned alive. Children were remarkable. Josh and Annie had talked about having kids. If things had turned out differently, he would have wanted one like Duncan.
Josh started the car, checked his rearview, and then pulled back onto JJ. The turnoff onto the main highway was in a mile or two. Then, on to the ER. Josh wondered what would be open this late where he could get some monkey food. A gas station, probably. Pick up some peanuts, or raisins, or maybe fresh fruit. There was a Farm and Fleet that sold livestock feed. Maybe they would have—
