Spurs and Heels (24 page)

Chapter Twenty-one

Juliana cranked open the fresh can of coffee before going hunting for a filter in the pantry. When the coffeemaker was gurgling and hissing, she unlocked and opened the sliding door that looked out onto the canal and pulled closed the screen door so the clean, cool gulf breeze could blow through the stuffy house.

She found the skillet in the cabinet and made herself breakfast, opting for breakfast tacos since that’s what she’d been in the mood for when she’d stopped at the grocery store on the way out of Divine. She fried hash browns with onions and once they were browned, poured the beaten eggs into the skillet with them.

Even though there was a chill in the air, Juliana decided to eat out on the back deck. After wrapping up in a thick blanket, she took her coffee and breakfast outside. The cool, cleansing breeze made her feel better. She pulled the cover off of a deck chair and took a seat then put her steaming coffee cup on the deck railing and looked out over the gulf.

It smelled like rain on the breeze, but Juliana didn’t feel any as she snuggled down into the blanket and wolfed down her breakfast.

She’d just laid the plate on the deck and lifted her coffee mug to her lips when she heard the inquisitive meow of a cat. A split second later, a huge, charcoal-grey tomcat with brilliant green eyes made an appearance on the railing, beside her chair.

“Well, hello to you, too, big boy,” she said softly.

He meowed loudly in response to her in a gravelly, old tom cat voice then began to purr loudly when she reached out a tentative hand for him to sniff. He smelled the food on her fingers and licked them

209

before turning his attention to her plate on the deck. After he’d licked it clean, he meowed before plopping heavily into her lap.

“Whoa, dude! Who’s been feeding you?” she asked as she scratched his head, trying hard to ignore the shudder that went through her stomach at his landing and the slightly nauseated feeling that followed. “Evidently the whole neighborhood.”

Obviously a lover
and
a fighter, the hefty tomcat meowed noisily again then brushed her on the cheek with the side of his head, showing her his ragged left ear, probably damaged in a fight with another tomcat.

He brushed against her other cheek with the other side of his head before licking her chin. He turned on her lap in circles, “making biscuits” as he purred and pushed her blanket around with his big paws until he had a nice, comfortable nest which he curled up in. He meowed in that gravelly, rough voice one more time before resting his head over her hand so she could scratch his chin. He purred in appreciation when she complied.

Smiling down at him, Juliana sat there scratching his chin until he drifted to sleep then rubbed and caressed the back of his big head. She tried to ignore the fact that she needed to pee as he slept peacefully in her lap.

Finally, after a half hour or so, he raised his head, meowed again, stood, and stretched. He bashed her in the cheeks a time or two then leapt gracefully to the railing, using her bladder as a convenient launching pad. He meowed once more and then was gone. Juliana sped into the house to pee before she wet her pants.

When she returned to wash the dishes, she realized she’d left the screen open when she heard the cat meow again. He greeted her as he leapt onto the kitchen counter, bashing his face against her shoulder as she watched him in amusement and scratched his chin.

“You’re a pushy guy, aren’t you?” she murmured, smiling when he purred in ecstasy and meowed in affirmation.

210

His ear was torn up on one edge, but otherwise, he looked to be in good health. She imagined he must make the rounds of the neighborhood and decided to ask about him when she visited the neighbors that morning.

Bill and Gladys Hawkins had owned the house next door for many years and moved there permanently after Mr. Hawkins had retired from his job in San Antonio. They’d watched Juliana and Allen and their various siblings grow into adulthood over the years. It had been much too long since her last visit. Allen had said he would let them know Juliana was on her way out, so they could look out for her since she was staying there alone.

After putting the cat outside, she closed the screen door. She started the shower and gave it a chance to run for a little while, thankful she’d remembered to turn the water heater on when she’d gotten there in the middle of the night. Once undressed, she stepped into the shower and was startled when she heard the cat in the house again.

“Dang it, how are you getting inside?”

“Meow!”

“You’d better not spray in this house, you hear me? My Aunt Vi will
kill
me if you do!”

The cat came in the bathroom and hopped up on the toilet seat and sat there watching her through the transparent shower curtain.

“Did you figure out how to get Happy’s doggy door open?”

“Meow.”

She washed her hair, keeping an eye on him, but he just sat there watching her and eventually curled up on the toilet seat. The nausea she’d experienced earlier had faded, but as her mind wandered back over the last day, the sadness she felt was suffocating. She was dressed and toweling her hair dry when her depressing thoughts were interrupted by a voice at the back door.

“Knock-knock!”

211

“Just a second!” The cat followed her to the kitchen as she went to the back door and greeted Mrs. Hawkins.

“Honey! It is so good to see you!” The older woman greeted her with a hug after Juliana opened the screen and welcomed her inside.

“It’s good to see you too, Gladys. Where’s Bill?”

“When Allen called us last night and told us you were coming, Bill decided that you might like to go for a ride like we used to. He’s getting the boat cleaned up and gassed right now. I came over to see if you’d like to do that. Are you okay, honey? You look tired. Uh-oh, I see that old toot has laid claim to you,” she said, squatting down to pet the cat’s head. He ran right to her.

“Is he yours?”

“No. He’s laid claim to the whole neighborhood. He roams at will.

Bill is mad at me over him right now, actually, Old Charmer.” Gladys scratched his chin, and he purred loudly then twined himself around her ankles, nibbling on her toe lightly and making the older woman giggle.

“Why is Bill mad at you over a cat?”

“Bill found the bag of dry cat food I had stashed in the pantry.

I’ve been feeding him, like several of the other neighbors who have cats. That’s why he’s so healthy looking. We’re all feeding him. I haven’t seen any pests since he’s been around, and I figure I might as well make him welcome if he’s performing a community service.

“Speaking of community service.” Gladys chuckled as she lifted his floppy, purring body into her arms then lifted his tail, “I’ve been thinking about having him neutered but…” She looked into his big, green eyes and let him bash her in the cheek with his head. “I haven’t had the heart. Being the man about town is part of his charm, you know? Plus, it won’t stop him from marking his territory. He’s too old. There is a whole new generation of big, charcoal-grey tomcats that are kittens right now. Many in the neighborhood would be happy to see him go, but I think he’s just so sweet, don’t you?”

212

The cat looked over at Juliana and meowed softly as if to say,

“Who loves you, baby?” and rubbed her hand when she scratched under his chin again.

“He likes you, Juliana! So tell me how you’re doing. It’s been ages since we saw you.”

Juliana fixed her a cup of coffee and sat down for a talk with Gladys, skimming over more recent developments and generally convincing Gladys that she was fine and merely in need of some rest and relaxation. Bill came and collected his wife a while later, greeting her happily.

Juliana agreed to a boat ride later that day, after she’d had a chance to get settled, agreeing to come over when she was ready.

After the Hawkinses departed, she unpacked and then lay down on the bed, hoping to relax a bit. Juliana loved the Hawkinses, but she needed a little more time to unwind before she had to pretend to be okay for them. She closed her eyes, facing the feelings she’d had to stuff down earlier.

What was she going to do?

She had gotten to a point in her life where she was ready for a change. She’d felt brave, and that had been due to her time spent with Ash. He’d made her feel good about taking chances, where before she’d just wanted the status quo. Status quo was how she’d managed to bob along with old what’s-his-face for as long as she had. She didn’t want that any longer.

But now, taking chances might have to be left behind in favor of maintaining a little stability. It crushed her heart to think of having a baby at this point in her life. She’d hoped to leave the job behind before she had kids because she knew if she continued working in her current position that she’d hardly ever see her baby.

Her savings were substantial, but she’d have to keep working to put a roof over their heads. The thought of a daycare worker being the one to see her child’s first step and to hear his or her first word was the thought that put her over the edge as the dam burst on her tears.

213

The betrayal she felt was like an anvil on her heart as she remembered watching him be drawn onto the dance floor and the proprietary way in which one of them had removed his hat and put it on her own head. The tears flowed and sobs broke from her as she remembered the cold way he’d pulled back from her and used her name instead of any of the familiar endearments she’d become so comfortable with.

Juliana woke later when her stomach rumbled. Judging by how the light had changed, she must have slept a few hours. When she glanced up at the clock, she was surprised to see that the cat had hopped up on the bed and curled himself into a little ball, sleeping up against her. She made a mental note to figure out how he was getting in the house. He woke when she patted him and came to her, loving on her cheeks and her hands some more.

“You know, you remind me of someone I know. Or thought I knew. Turns out he was a tomcat, too. Maybe I should call you Ashes since you’re such a pretty, dark grey color. Would you like that?”

“Meow.” Bash on the cheek.

“Ashes it is, then.”

“Meow.” Bash on the chin.

“I’m hungry. Let’s make some lunch.”

It was after one o’clock when she put the washed dishes in the drainer, put on her shoes, and locked up the house. She went around to the Hawkinses’ back door, and Ashes was hot on her heels until he saw Bill. The cat beat a hasty retreat, stopping to look back at Juliana, seeming to wink at her before he disappeared through the hedge, purring.

“I think you’ve found a lifelong friend there, Juliana,” Bill said.

“Any chance you’d take him with you when you go back home?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Bill. I’m not home much. It would be cruel to have a pet like him cooped up in the house all day long. I couldn’t give him the care and attention with the kinds of hours I have to work.” She grinned at him and added, “Nice try, though.”

214

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“I guess he’s claimed me.”

“Do us all a favor and claim him right back?”

“Bill, will you stop!” Gladys said, trying to hide her laughter behind an admonishing tone. “The poor girl just got here.”

The Hawkinses were thoughtful and seemed to sense her quiet mood and so didn’t press her too much during the boat ride, letting her enjoy the cool, quiet afternoon. They fished for a little while, but nothing was biting, so they rode over to a restaurant that had a boat dock and had supper together.

The water was peaceful in the canal as Bill motored down to his boat dock and lift. He helped the girls from the boat, and then they helped him get it secured and winched back out of the water.

Juliana felt better for having been in the company of good friends, and being out on the water always helped her to feel loose and relaxed. She was pleasantly surprised that the motion of the boat over the water had not bothered her stomach at all, especially after eating, and for that she was especially grateful.

After thanking them for dinner and hugging them both good night, Juliana walked back to the house. She unlocked the back door and reached inside to flip on the light.