“That’s wonderful, baby.”
I relax against the couch cushion. “Yeah, I think it will be.”
“Exciting, right?”
“Yeah.” I pinch my bottom lip between my fingers, working up the courage to ask the question that’s weighed heavy on my mind. “Mom? What do you think Dad would think?”
“Of what?” Her tone hardens.
“Of me, singing with the band?”
“I don’t want to talk about your father right now, okay? I don’t mean to be—well—I just can’t right now, okay?”
“Yeah. I understand.” I shouldn’t have brought it up while she’s trying to decompress from the news about Byron. She’s with her new love in a magical place, and she needs to be relaxing. Getting better. I have to get her back on track. “Hey, those pictures you sent of your room and view from the balcony looked beautiful.”
“Oh, it is, Lyn. It’s so peaceful here. I’ll be emailing some pictures from the excursion we took yesterday. Watch out for them.” She’s smiling again—I hear it in her voice.
“Great. I will.”
“Well, I’ll call in two days and you’ll have to tell me more. You can always email me. I’ve got to go. Six more days.”
“Six more days,” I whisper with a smile. “Love you.”
“Love you, baby.” The lightness has returned to her voice. “Bye for now.”
I end the call and close my eyes, letting the remaining afternoon sun bathe me in its warmth and soak in the moment.
Mom’s safe and happy.
Mom’s okay.
When I open my eyes again, the sun is gone, and everything in the room is cast in a cool, blue hue. My heart races as I sit up.
What time is it?
Chapter 6
At my time to testify,
I looked him dead in those dead eyes,
and told the judge I’ll never be the same.
And they locked him away.
The smooth, rounded tip of my eye pencil glides along my lash line with ease. I apply pressure at the outer corner, finishing the dark look, and toss the pencil back in my bag on the washroom counter. I smudge the lines with a cotton swab, earbuds in, singing the words to the final song on Haddonboro’s set list along with Pascha. It’s like we’re the ones with a duet whenever I sing along with her.
Casting a glance at my cell phone, I throw the swab in the bin.
I lost track of time with my nap this afternoon. I have to leave—now.
I grab my bag from my room and descend the creaky stairs. “Stevie!” I need to let her out for the last time, even if it makes me late. “Where are you, girl?”
I drop my bag on the armchair in the living room with my light moto jacket and walk down the hall to the dark kitchen.
“Stevie?” I flick the light on, and the kitchen’s empty.
Did I let her out already just after I woke up? Is she in the back yard? Maybe I forgot I let her in.
I open the back door and step outside into the cool early evening air, pink sky on the horizon, scanning the empty yard as a huge pit forms in my stomach. My palms break out in a sweat as I peer around the corner of the house. The side gate swings slightly in the breeze.
I run down the side of the house, through the open gate, my heart pounding in my ears.
If she was inside, she’d have come when I called. She’s out here. She got loose.
“Stevie!”
If she got out, she could be anywhere. She could be on the road. No, please, no.
Sprinting to the front yard, I scream her name, looking left and right down the quiet street. I spin around in a dizzy pink haze as the horizon melts with the long shadows from the maple on the neighbour’s front lawn.
Stevie emerges from the side of their house with their cocker spaniel, Ace, following close behind.
“Stevie!” I run to meet her on their driveway as Alex and Carol Hilden emerge from the side of the house.
“She wandered into our back yard somehow.” Carol jogs past the gate on their side, stopping a few feet away from me. “We were just about to bring her back, but then Ace kept egging her on to play.” The laugh in her voice relieves some of my tension.
I share a smile with them as I bend down, my knees weak, and hold Stevie’s face in both my hands. “You can’t wander off like that,” I whisper and kiss her soft cheek before I stand again, legs still shaking beneath me.
Stevie has a big smile on her face. She doesn’t even realize she did anything wrong, and she didn’t—not really. The gate was open, but how? I never go through it. It’s always closed, latched properly. Maybe the storm yesterday afternoon? But it wasn’t a storm—just rain.
“We heard you out here screaming,” Alex says, and my cheeks flush with heat. “Sorry to have worried you. I bet they’d have fun playing in either our yard or yours once in a while, if you’re okay with that.”
I nod and rest my hands on my hips, barely able to focus. “Thanks for bringing her back.”
“Sure.” Alex rests his hands on his hips. “Hey, really, that was some great music this afternoon.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry, I have to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow for the Shop Vac?” I tap my hand against my leg and Stevie follows me across our driveway.
“See you then.” Carol waves goodbye.
I wave and jog up the steps with Stevie, closing the door behind us.
“Stevie, you scared me.”
She wags her tail, standing in front of me. As I slip into my boots, she moseys over to the living room, circles her bed beneath the windows, and lays down. She knows I’m leaving. I march to the kitchen, lock the back door, and rush back to the front door.
“I’m sorry I forgot you out there,” I call to her, though I still can’t remember letting her out. “I don’t know how I did that. I
