More Things In Heaven and Earth by Jeff High

Author:Jeff High [High, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781101618363
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

The Garage

“Dr. Bradford! Get down here and get down here right now!”

Connie’s voice was so loud and shrill, I thought she was standing beside my bed with a bullhorn. It was six a.m. on Monday and I had been dead to the world. Now I exploded out of bed and was tumbling down the steps on my heels, partially sliding and then scurrying toward the entry hall. I arrived to find Connie wielding her umbrella, standing defensively in a corner with a steely grimace on her face. Rhett was several feet away, crouched on all fours in a posture of complete submission.

“Young man, get yourself back upstairs and put some clothes on. This house isn’t some Chippendales review. What did I tell you about parading around in your boxers?”

Only now did I realize that I was still in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. “Well, what did you expect? You sounded like the place was on fire.”

Connie stared at me placidly, her scowling glare leaving little room for interpretation.

“Okay, just hold on a minute,” I said. I stepped into the living room and retrieved a quilt from the couch to wrap around my waist. When I returned to the entry hall, Rhett came over and crouched behind me. The big coward. He’d been perfectly happy to snarl when we first met, but in response to Connie he immediately capitulated.

Connie spoke in a stern, superior voice. “Dr. Bradford, it would have been nice if you had let me know that you had a houseguest.”

“Well, it only happened on Saturday. I found him when I was jogging out Summerfield Road.”

The disdain on her face was so intense it could have withered a plant. “So I take it you’re planning on keeping him?”

I glanced back at Rhett and his imploring brown eyes. I gathered my courage and spoke with as much authority as I could muster. “As a matter of fact, I am. It’s my house and now he’s my dog. I think a man ought to have the right to a little companionship.” I wanted to sound decisive, in control, but something about me standing there in a makeshift skirt didn’t confer the command presence I was hoping for.

Connie stood as if carved from stone. She spoke impassively. “You want to try that again, this time making it sound a little more convincing?”

I stood firm, but my words were strangled, barely escaping from my mouth. “No, I’m . . . uh . . . I’m good.”

Connie placed her umbrella in the corner and continued to stare at me. Eventually she rolled her head, looking down into Rhett’s pitiful face as he peered out from behind me. I was witnessing the slow disintegration of her scornful facade. The tough lines melted from her face and she looked up at me, shaking her head in resignation.

“Oh, come on, Connie. Haven’t you ever had the heart to pick up a stray?”

At first she didn’t respond, just took off her coat and hung it carefully on the rack in the entry hall.

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