“The Wild Bunch.” Gail groaned.
The next two hours were frantic as back-to-back classes came through the petting zoo. Kelvin didn’t improve after he got to Callie’s section. If anything, the sugar in the soda had only wired him more.
Kelvin pulled the cat’s tail, then cried when Miss Kitty spat at him. The he chased the duck, until the duck turned and chased him, while he screamed and yelled. The kid had a great shot at being an opera star. He could already shatter eardrums.
Then the baby goat butted him, knocking little Kelvin on his keester, and Kelvin screamed and yelled some more. Before Callie could take a deep breath, they left, and the next group arrived. Little Kelvin morphed into little Julie, and everything repeated.
And then they were gone, and for a moment, there was blessed silence. Until her cell rang. She reached in her pocket and brought it out, flipping it open.
“Hello?”
“Callie, DeeDee.”
Gail made a motion of eating, then went inside. Callie nodded, and relaxed against the fence.
“What’s up?’ she asked.
“What’s up?” DeeDee mimicked. “As if you didn’t know, you sly fox.”
“Have you been drinking?” It was early but…
“No, I did stop by your house, though.”
Callie straightened. “Why would you do that?”
“I was dropping off your birthday present. Happy birthday.”
Callie put her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment. With every thing that had been happening, she’d totally forgotten today she turned twenty-seven. Was that all? She felt so much older.
It was probably too much to hope that DeeDee hadn’t seen Rogar. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Thanks. You…uh…shouldn’t have.”
“This is your friend from your college days, right? You told me he’d left. I’m hurt that you couldn’t share all the juicy details.”
So much for hoping. “He’s not staying long.”
Her sigh came across the line. “If I were you, I’d keep him as long as I could. Yum-yum.”
“What exactly did you two talk about?”
“Not much. Oh, hey, I’ve gotta run. Big meeting in a few minutes and I’m a little late. I just wanted to tell you happy birthday.”
“Thanks, but…” The phone went dead. She knew DeeDee well enough that this didn’t bode well. They’d been friends a long time. The girl lived in a fairy tale of her own making. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t very astute when it came to business. DeeDee just believed in happily ever after.
Callie, on the other hand, had grown up in the real world. The one where prospective parents came looking for a child of their own. They didn’t want the odd kid. The one who lost herself in daydreams and heard voices.
Callie had eventually learned to tune out the voice inside her head, and not talk to her like they were best friends. But by then it was too late. New parents didn’t want someone her age, they wanted babies. Cute little babies with their toothless smiles and that sweet baby smell. Not that she blamed them, but still, it might’ve been nice living in a real home.
Gail poked her head out the door. “You better eat while you can. June called to warn there’s another class coming our way.”
Callie straightened. Had she been lost in thought that long? Apparently.
The rest of the day went downhill. She was so exhausted that she didn’t even stop by to tell Sheba good night. After finishing her paperwork, she and Gail walked through the employee’s gate, and headed toward the parking area.
She glanced around, hoping Rogar would be inconspicuous when he picked her up, but he wasn’t even there. At least, she didn’t see him, or her junker car. But what she did see was a shiny new red Jaguar with an even bigger red bow on it.
“Wow, now that’s one fine looking car,” Gail said.
“Yeah, it is.” She was pretty sure she was going to throw up.
“Let’s go see who it’s for,” she whispered, dragging on Callie’s arm.
“Oh, no, we might spoil the surprise.”
But Gail wasn’t one to wait. She hurried over and walked to the back of the car. Her hand flew to her chest. “Callie, it’s for you! There’s a sign with your name on it. Hey, look everyone, Callie has a Prince Charming!”
Prince Charming was going to die a slow and painful death just as soon as she drove the car back to her house. She couldn’t afford a taxi. But as soon as she got home, she’d throw the keys in his face!
But it was a really sweet car.
Chapter 11
This was her house, wasn’t it? Callie slowed, but didn’t pull in the driveway. It didn’t look like her house. The ones on either side looked the same, but this didn’t look like her house. Not even close.
Flowers bordered both sides of the driveway and the sidewalk. There was even a small three-tiered fountain with water splashing over the sides. A bench sat beside it.
It looked nice. She had a feeling DeeDee had something to do with all this.
Callie finally pulled into the driveway, parking next to Rogar’s black Jag, and shifted into Park. Before she turned the key, she lightly caressed the steering wheel. The car was sweet. But she couldn’t keep it.
She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, willing the voice of reason to return, but it really, really didn’t help when the new car smell filled her senses.
Rogar would probably tell her that her guide was talking to her, but that was so not true. It was the voice of greed asking why she couldn’t keep the car.
What if the IRS came snooping around? Not to mention gift taxes, higher car insurance. No, she couldn’t afford to keep the Jaguar. At least, not more than a week or so.
She got out of the car, then slowly walked to the front door, inhaling the strong fragrance of the colorful flowers. It was so pretty, she almost felt like skipping, well, except her feet were killing her. But everything was so nice, it sort of eased the ache.
The fountain played a peaceful melody as water over-flowed from one tier to the next. More flowers surrounded the ancient oak, framed by stacked rocks. She could learn to enjoy coming home to this.
But it wouldn’t last. Nothing ever did. Weeds would creep into the flowerbeds, algae into the fountain. Rogar would leave.
Her heart skipped a beat. No, she didn’t want to think about that. No bad thoughts on her birthday. She wouldn’t allow it.
She turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. She probably should tell him about locking doors when living in the city.
Once she stepped inside, her nostrils filled with the smell of cooking—really bad cooking. Her nose wrinkled. What was he doing? She was almost afraid to go into the kitchen, but she forced her feet to move forward.
Rogar had his back to her, and he was mumbling. She couldn’t make out the words, but she recognized the tone. He didn’t sound happy as he stood in front of the microwave.
Her gaze took in the rest of the room. It was a shambles. There was flour everywhere, empty boxes, plastic bags that held more food, some spilling onto the counter. Her stomach sank at the thought of cleaning the mess. She sniffed. It was her birthday, and she shouldn’t have to clean.
But the table looked nice. It had been set with new dishes and stemware. In the center of a new red tablecloth was a pair of candlesticks with white tapered candles.
