The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel - By Katrina Kittle Page 0,39
asked, but she didn’t want to do anything to prolong the torture of her arms straining to hold up the horse’s many pounds.
He groaned a low note that ended in a whimper.
When Cami released his leg and stepped away, Helen let go and shook out her arms.
Cami brushed the dirt off her hands. “Tomorrow we should do this again, ready with a hoof pick. We could soak him. While he’s like this, I might be able to clean him up.”
She reached in her jeans pocket and produced a sugar cube.
“Do you always have sugar in your pants?” Helen asked.
“Sugar, dog treats. You don’t want to know.”
Helen studied her friend’s drawn face while Cami stared at the horse before them. “When you’re ready,” Helen said, touching her shoulder. “I’ll tell you about some of the truths I found.”
Cami looked at her with bloodshot, hollow eyes. “Truths?” She frowned. “About what?”
“About divorce.”
Cami blinked. Oh, sweetie, your eyes. You need sleep.
“You were divorced?” Cami asked.
Helen nodded. A million emotions flashed over Cami’s face. Pissed she didn’t know this, disbelieving, skeptical, then . . . baffled, Helen thought.
“Hank’s not your first husband?”
Helen laughed. “Nope. And he’s not my second husband either.”
“Whoa, wait. You were divorced twice?”
That wasn’t really fair of her, but she laughed again. “No, no, no. Married once, divorced once. Hank and I aren’t married.”
Cami’s mouth hung open. “H-how did I not know this?” she finally mustered.
“Please don’t take it personally that I never told you.” Helen loved this woman. They’d vacationed together, with Hank, Bobby, and the girls. Cami had every right to feel confused and a little miffed. “It’s not the sort of thing that just comes up, you know? When I first met you, I wasn’t going to say, ‘Hi, I’m Helen, and I had a husband before Hank,’ any more than you were going to say, ‘Hi. I’m Cami. I used to be anorexic, but I’ve been fine now for decades.’ ”
When Helen took Cami by the shoulders, everything under Cami’s skin jangled. Maybe it was too early to tell her anything. “I’ve been where you are,” Helen said, as gently as she could. “My husband left me in a way very similar to what Bobby did. Don’t go holding your breath that Bobby is going to figure it out and be able to explain his insanity to you. Because you know what? Skip hasn’t really gotten his act together yet, and that was, like, almost twenty years ago.”
Helen saw the flicker of disbelief and curiosity at Skip. But Cami didn’t ask.
“Do you still see him? Skip?” Cami said it as if to try out the name.
“I kinda have to on occasion. He’s the father of my only child.”
“He’s Holly’s father?” Her voice was so shrill, the devil horse snorted.
Helen tried hard not to laugh, but, really, Cami acted like Helen had just told her she had a hidden third arm or could fly. “Hank’s acted more like her father. Holly adores him, but she was four when I met Hank.”
Cami kept staring at her, which was getting a little creepy. She said, “You know, I heard you sometimes refer to ‘Holly’s dad,’ but I’d always assumed it was just a silly semantic trick you played when you were pissed at Holly or Hank.”
“Look, I’m telling you now because I think it’s important for you to know that I’ve been where you are. And it gets better.”
Cami shook her head. “I thought you were one who got it right.” She sounded so sad.
“I did get it right . . . eventually.” Did she ever. She’d struck gold with Hank. “Don’t get all swept up in that ‘we failed’ bullshit. I swear, one day I’m going to write a book about my good divorce. My divorce made four lives happier, maybe five if you wanna count Skip’s new wife.”
Cami looked at her as if every word she’d said was bullshit, but when she spoke she didn’t contradict anything; she just asked, “Why aren’t you guys married?”
Helen hated that question. “You know, no one ever asks, ‘Why are you married?’ of married couples, so why am I always expected to have some brilliant answer? Most married people have no damn clue why they’re married.” Helen shrugged and admitted, “I’m afraid of the marriage jinx.” Before Cami could ask, she explained, “Skippy and I were great until we got married and then it turned into a disaster. I see it happen day in and day out in my line of work.