A Paw-sible Theory

“Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God.”

––Unknown

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: Unpleasant Memories Revisited

Alyx stayed in bed the rest of the day and part of the next. Her brother and sister-in-law were there to take care of her needs and ours. Bernice stopped by with food one day, and the next day just to see if she needed anything, giving Maggie a much-needed break.

I stuck as close to Alyx as she allowed. Sunday morning, Alyx’s ex, Bob Hille, called to check on her as he promised Ethan he would do.

“I know you hired the lawyer and you don’t have to tell me anything, so thank you for authorizing David Hunter to keep me up to date on any new developments and for being there for Ethan. I know it means a lot to him.”

There was an awkward silence and Alyx looked uncomfortable.

“I love Ethan and always have, though, I admit, for a while I foolishly lost track of the important things in life. I haven’t been much of a father, I know, and I’m sorry for that. I just hope it’s not too late to make amends.”

“You’re right; you have been a jackass, and it has been longer than a while. For his sake, I hope he can forgive you, but only time will tell.”

Then Bob told her that the investigation on the theft of her purse had so far led nowhere. I imagined she must have felt helpless. I hoped her outburst hadn’t change his mind about keeping her in the loop.

The conversation ended, Alyx tossed off the covers and slid out of bed. “I need to get out of here,” she said to no one in particular.

My housemates, anxious to reveal what we knew, started meowing impatiently, swarming around her as she made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Clearly distracted by her emotions, she didn’t try to figure out what we wanted.

“I need some air. I have to get out of here,” she said again.

I realized that it probably wasn’t the right time to tell her; there were other things going on that I needed to unravel in order to keep her safe.