The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel - By Katrina Kittle Page 0,22
as we’re eighteen!”
Davy made a choking sound. He knew as well as I did that she’d been saying that since middle school, back when she’d filled the covers of notebooks and the margins of schoolwork with hundreds of “Gabriella Reed”s (which struck me as odd since I’d kept my own name). Bobby always said, “Over my dead body,” and Gabby would laugh and kiss his cheek.
Before I could speak, though, Davy said, “There they go!”
Olive and Nick strolled down the street holding hands. The little bit of rain didn’t seem to bother them at all.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said. We crossed the street and approached the apartment. As soon as Nick and Olive rounded the corner, the three of us broke into a run, me cradling my arm.
It struck me, as I climbed the stairs to Olive’s apartment, I’m laughing. My husband left me and I’m laughing. Is this okay? Something dreamlike hovered around the scene.
I unlocked Olive’s apartment with trembling hands, the fingers of my injured arm numb, bumping her “Licensed Massage Therapist” sign so hard it nearly fell.
“You go out on the balcony,” I told them, “and keep an eye on the street.”
I ran into Olive’s bedroom. She was still the slob she had been in college. Her bed was unmade, the crazy quilt Mimi had made her in a rumpled ball, the top sheet falling off one side. Her closet stood open, clothes heaped everywhere. I unzipped Olive’s gym bag and tossed the sneakers, sports bra, and towel to the floor.
Okay. Pink dress. I’d decided on her pink dress. I saw it, still in a dry cleaner’s bag. Perfect. I laid it on the bed. The dress was strapless. I dug through drawers and found a strapless bra and sexy panties. I selected a necklace and earrings that matched the dress.
“Hurry up!” Davy pleaded.
“Are they coming?”
“No, but it’s taking you forever!” Gabriella said.
More adrenaline surge. I found a vintage, beaded cream cardigan and folded it into the bag in case she got cold. In the bathroom, I threw in everything—her shampoo, her lotion, her entire makeup kit. Her curling iron. Her hair spray. A million different hair clips and pins.
“Come on!” Gabriella called.
“Stop it! You’re freaking me out.” My fingers felt clumsy as I zipped the bulging bag.
When my cell phone rang, I yelped as if I’d been stung by a bee.
I checked to see who was calling, fearful it was Nick, hoping it was Bobby.
It was Vijay.
The phone rang again. I didn’t know what to do. I’d said emergency.
I answered. “Hey you. Can I call you back in like, ten minutes?”
“What’s going on?” His deep, velvet voice was a balm.
“I’m in the middle of something crazy. Everything’s okay, but—”
“What’s the emergency?”
“Oh. Well, I mean, everything’s not okay, but there’s something else going on . . .”
“Why are you out of breath? Are you all right?”
Davy stood in the doorway. “Who are you talking to?” he asked in his sternest teacher voice.
“I have to go, Vijay. I’m sorry. Thank you for calling. I will call you back in just a little bit.”
“You’re on the phone?” Gabriella appeared beside Davy.
A noise in the hallway startled all of us. “Someone’s here,” Davy whispered.
“Shit,” I said. “Vijay, I gotta go. I’ll explain everything in a minute.” I clicked the phone shut and thrust the gym bag into Davy’s arms, then picked up the dress.
But someone knocked on the door we’d left open. “Hello?” a female voice called.
It wasn’t Olive. I recognized the voice but couldn’t place it.
“Olive?” the voice called. Slightly frightened.
I carried the dress out to the living room, following Davy and Gabriella.
Zayna Arnett stood in Olive’s doorway. Seeing her here, out of context, added to the surreal quality of this morning. I normally saw her assisting the vet techs in my clinic.
“Davy? What are you— Oh, hi, Dr. Anderson!” She looked, for a second, as surprised as I was, and I thought she might turn around and run away. Zayna was a spunky, fun, twenty-two-year-old theater major. She was completely footing her own bill through college because her parents disapproved of her “wasting her time” on an acting degree. I’d convinced Bobby to give Zayna a job waiting tables at Tanti Baci, too, even though he’d sighed and said, “You can’t rescue everyone, Cam.” Here in Olive’s doorway, Zayna looked from Davy to Gabriella to me. “Where’s Olive?”
Had Olive taken off and forgotten about an appointment? How did she stay in business?