Once I get home, I find one of my Vera Bradley bags and start packing. Vera Bradley is my weak spot. I love those bags! I even find a small one for Squeakers stuff so that she has some of her own things down at June and Earl’s. It feels weird to call her June, but I get it. I don’t think I would like to be called something so formal as Mrs.
“Well, Squeaker, I think everything is packed. And we did it in record time! It’s only 8 o’clock!” My stomach rumbles. “Huh, I didn’t eat, did I?” Panic and adrenaline seem to be great appetite suppressants.
I decide to eat something light. I grab a red bell pepper, slice it up and sprinkle some salt on top. And then I made a salami sandwich to go with it. I really didn’t want to eat the salami but if I’m not going to be home for a while, I should eat it before I have to throw it away.
“Let’s go outside, Squeaker. I need some quiet time before this trip.” I quickly make a cup of peppermint tea to help me sleep and head out the backdoor to sit on the back steps. I probably should get a lawn chair or something, but this is just as easy, if not easier. I don’t have to put it away or get it out. The back steps are always there.
The steam from my cup floats away in the summer breeze as I slowly sip on it. I’m not really a fan of peppermint tea but I’m a bigger fan of sleeping. Chamomile tea makes my face swell up, so peppermint tea it is.
Squeaker trots around the backyard, making little deposits here and there. Thankfully the food that she’s on makes her deposits decompose pretty quickly. The thought of anything decomposing always brings me back to Mike. I really hope Viv’s cleaning crew can take care of him. How are they going to get him out of there? He’s a pretty big guy and they aren’t going to have the adrenaline pumping like I did. But maybe there’s a lot more of them. And maybe they’re big and strong. What kind of person does this for a living? And doesn’t tell the police?
Is Viv part of the mob?
Did I just sign on to be a hitman for the mob?!?
I can’t think about this right now. I swig down the rest of my tea and call to Squeaker. “We need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be kind of eventful for both of us.”
I usher Squeaker back in the house, close and lock the door, and then put my cup in the sink. I go to walk away but if I leave the cup until I get back, my favorite green jade cup with have a healthy tea stain. It’ll only take a second. This is why I got that scrubby wand thing that has dish soap inside it. Just for times like this.
Once my cup is clean and set upside down on a towel, I grab a carrot and head to bed. I’ll have to pack some carrots. I don’t want June or Earl to have to use any of their food for my dog.
Squeaker is in her spot on the bed before I even get there. I hand her the carrot, ruffle her fur, and then head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. With toothpaste foaming out of my mouth, I try to reassure myself. This trip will be fun. At least, I hope so. I’ve never spent this much time with Kendra. I really hope she doesn’t ask me too many questions about my new position. I’d like to not have to lie to her as much as possible. After all, I do consider her my best friend. Even if she is a coworker and kind of my boss.
When I get back into my bedroom, Squeaker is all snuggled up under my covers. It is kind of nippy in here. I think I lowered the air conditioner down a little too low, but it’ll be great to be able to sleep under all the covers. I slip under the comforter, snuggle up to my furry little furnace, turn off my lamp on my nightstand and let the peppermint tea do its job.
The next thing I know, my alarm is going off. No dreams that I can remember and a decent night of sleep. I should drink peppermint tea on a regular basis. At night. Can you imagine if I drank that at work? If I drank it while I was editing this last book, I would’ve never made it through!
Thankfully I packed almost everything the night before. Now I just have to pack my everyday essentials like makeup, toothbrush, Squeakers bed that she never lays in and there was one more thing. What was that?
Carrots!
I drop my everyday bag onto the Vera bag in the living room that’s part of the pile I have to take with me. Anyone who’s anyone will be able to tell right away that I don’t travel. I have my pillow and every item that I could think of that would help me feel comfortable. I hate sleeping in a weird bed. And hate it even more if I have to sleep in a weird building but I guess I’m going to have to get used to this. Either that or my new bed will be behind bars.
Once I get a ziplock bag of carrots, I check the clock. It’s 7:30am. Kendra will be here in about 30 minutes, give or take. When she doesn’t have a camera clocking her in or a boss watching her every move, she tends to run a smidge late.
I grab Squeakers bright pink harness and put it on her. She’s so excited that she runs to the front door. I feel awful that she’s not going with me, but I do really think it’s for the best. I’m finally able to hold her still long enough that I can get her leash snapped onto her harness, pick up her bag of goodies and her bed, and try to get out the door without dropping everything.
I open the door and Squeaker bolts down the steps, pulling as hard as she can, while everything that is balanced precariously in my arms bounces on the door and then the rail on the front step. I slip her leash onto my forearm and that gives me just enough arm room to pull the door shut behind me. June’s house is just two houses down from mine and across the street. If I didn’t have some strange watcher out there, I would just leave my door open. But now, there’s no way.
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Once I get down to the bottom of the step, I start pulling Squeaker to the left, toward June and Earl’s. At first, Squeaker looks confused but then she just goes with it. “C’mon sweetie. We’re gonna go play with Jake for a little while.”
I can feel a tear start to well up in my eye at the thought of leaving her behind. I’m such a crybaby, but she’s my everything. When I get to June and Earl’s house, the screen door is closed but the solid inside door is open. The smell of coffee drifts through the screen and I feel the desperation creeping in. I haven’t had any coffee and it’s going to be a long drive.
“Knock knock!” I holler through the screen door.
“Oh! C’mon in Effi! Earl, Effi’s here. Put your paper down for a minute.”
I let myself in through the screen door and drop Squeaker’s pile of goodies on the floor. Jake comes barreling out of the kitchen and the two dogs are off rolling around and playing before I can say another word. “Well, I guess I was worried about her missing me for nothing.”
“Oh, ha ha! Come on over here and have a cup of coffee. We just made a new pot.” June reaches into the cupboard next to the sink, grabs a mug, and then pours coffee into an old white ceramic mug with golden flowers on the front.
I walk into the kitchen and see Earl sitting at the table, one ankle crossed over the other knee, paper wide open. A billow of smoke rises from behind The Daily Tribune. “Mornin’ Effi. Welcome to our home.” Earl grumbles from behind the paper. He sounds like a grumpy old man, but he’s really a nice guy.
“G’morning Earl.” June hands me the cup and motions for me to sit down at the kitchen table. “Oh, I really can’t stay long. Kendra is going to be at my house soon so we can go. Oh! I brought these for Squeaker.” I hand June the gallon size bag of carrots. “Squeaker gets one at bedtime. Um, and I can’t guarantee that she will sleep in her bed. She’s kind of spoiled.”
June takes the carrots and puts them in the fridge. “What a good idea! Aren’t carrots good for their teeth?”
“Yeah, I think so. I actually give them to her for some extra fiber.” I sip the steaming hot coffee and feel the heat race all the way down to my belly button. Strange how that happens.
“Well maybe we should be doing that for Jakey poo! And don’t worry if she tries to sleep in our bed. Jake sleeps there too. I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve had an empty bed. Isn’t that right, Earl?”
“Mm-hmm,” comes the grumble from behind the paper as the page turns.
June rolls her eyes and then looks back at me. “Where are you two off to?”
“Niantic, Connecticut.” I take another sip and can feel the coffee working on my bowels.
“Oh, I’ve never heard of that place.”
“It’s the place where Ingress and Pokemon Go was started.” I finish the mug of coffee and then take it to the sink to rinse out my cup.
“Hmm, I’ve never heard of either of those. Are those games?”
“Yeah, there games for smartphones.” My stomach starts gurgling to let me know I better be cutting this short. “Well, I gotta get going. Thank you so much for watching Squeaker and for the coffee too!”
“You are more than welcome, dear. And don’t you worry. I know you said you didn’t know how long it was going to take you. Squeaker will be just fine here, and we have your phone number if we need anything. You just have a good time.” June pats me on the shoulder as she walks me to the door.
The screen door creaks as I walk through and then slams behind me. “Oh geez! I’m sorry!”
“No worries, dear. Ha ha! Happens all the time. Have a good time!” June waves at me through the door as I race back to my house. And my bathroom.
I run through my front door and am starting to unbutton my pants on the way to the bathroom. I sit down on the toilet just in time. I’m surprised coffee hasn’t been listed as a laxative.
Just as I’m washing my hands, I hear the front door open.
“Knock knock! Can I come in?”
It’s Kendra.
“Definitely!” I dry my hands on a towel, spritz a little air freshener just in case she needs to use the bathroom before we leave, and head down the hall to the living room.
Kendra is standing near my giant pile of stuff that I’m taking with me. “Uhhhh, you said you were going to pack light.” She starts to giggle.
“I did! This is me packing light! Girl, I do not travel! I go to work, and I come home. That’s it!” I’m smiling even though I know this all looks ridiculous. Nobody packs this much for a few days.
“Where is Squeaker going to sit with all of this stuff, wait, where is Squeaker? Did you put her in your luggage?” Now she’s really laughing as she pretends to look through my pile of stuff.
“You were right. I talked with the neighbor lady last night and she said the same thing that you did that I shouldn’t take Squeaker with because it would be too hard on her. So, she’s actually going to stay at the neighbor’s house. They have a dog named Jake who Squeaker loves and they get along great so it’ll be okay.”
I know my face is showing all of my anxiety because Kendra gives me a token smile and pats me on the arm. “It’ll be okay. And we’re right. Plus, you’ll have a better time too. Now let’s get loaded up!”
We grab armfuls of luggage and pillows, blankets, jackets, every crazy thing that we couldn’t fit into a bag and haul it outside. I lock the door behind us and then we drag it all to the car. I open the hatch to my Vue, and we get all of Kendra’s stuff in the back.
“Huh, good thing I did take Squeaker down the street! There really wouldn’t be any room for her!” I close the hatch and then open the back door, cramming my stuff into the backseat. It barely fits and there’s absolutely no way all of our luggage would’ve fit in Kendra’s tiny car.
We hop into the front seat, and I plug my GPS into the cigarette lighter. My car didn’t come with navigation so I make due with my old Garmin. “Huh, I probably should’ve updated this.” The GPS comes to life and I get to the menu where I can type in the address to the hotel that we’ll be staying in.
“Yeah, and if you would’ve listened to me sooner, instead of having to hear it from your neighbor too, we’d be flying right now and wouldn’t have to worry about any directions.” A little smirk flashes across her face and I know she’s just giving me a hard time.
“About that, I’ve never flown either.”