Lost and Found (6 page)

Her lawyer
,
Peter Sullivan, an older, balding local lawyer
counseled
her briefly on their first meeting. If she lashed out in anger and tried to lie or cheat Richard, she’d have to find another lawyer. Maybe some lawyers played that game, but he believed in fair play. That got her attention, but not her SUV back. It was pointed out that the house, the vehicles,
and
credit cards were
,
after all,
in Richard’s name. The joint bank account had
ten dollars
left in it. Smart man, he stashed his money somewhere else.

She
had a savings account with a few thousand in it—one her mother set up for her years ago. She bought her older junk yard
Topaz
for a few hundred dollars. It ran and got her from point A to
point
B. Richard agreed to child support and minimal spousal. Although not generous,
it was enough for
her
to buy food and pay rent. Ryley would go back his
dad’s
on weekends,
and
weekdays he would live in Gardiner with
her
. The agreement was created by lawyers and signed in a cold
,
sterile legal office on a bleak day filled with torment, blame
,
and a fine line between anger and love. How did it turn so ugly?

She wiped her face with her ripped shirt and left Lily’s room
.
Only
this time
,
she didn’t shut the door. She hurried to the master bedroom next to Lily’s, the one she’d shared with Richard. Nothing had changed. The same light green floral duvet covered the large bed flanked by the same oak night tables. The wide dresser was still flush against the wall
where
she’d shoved it five years ago.
She
was drawn to the large bare windows, no curtains, just the way
she
once preferred.
Now,
her rented house came complete with blinds and heavy drapes to shut out the world.

She glimpsed her
red
,
tear
-
stained eyes in the dresser
’
s large mirror. Limp
,
tangled
,
dark hair. And her ruined blouse—thanks to Richard.
She
rested her forehead against the mirror and squeezed her eyelids shut. “We
’
re as good as divorced. What were you thinking
,
Maggie?” She pushed away
,
gazed at the
disheveled
stranger in the mirror
,
and was shaken from her confusion by the soft murmur of voices downstairs. She dropped her torn shirt on the floor, yanked open the closet door
,
and reached for a bright red sweatshirt stacked on the shelf. Richard was right
;
she’d left many clothes behind.

Maggie pulled the warm sweatshirt over her head and dashed down the stairs into the dim living room. How late was it? Maggie stumbled and grabbed the railing when she heard Ryley laugh. Pots banged and clattered, utensils rustled as she watched from the shadows
.
Father and son illuminated in the kitchen. Richard hovered beside Ryley. They were chatting, laughing, and Ryley was chopping what? This wasn’t her quiet shy boy. He was relaxed and joking with his
dad
. Ryley never joked with her. He hadn’t laughed since…well
,
since she couldn’t rightly remember.

Ryley didn’t help in the kitchen
;
Maggie did all the cooking for him. They had a routine
:
eat, homework, watch TV,
and
then bed. And whatever this was with Richard, there was no place for her.

“Hey, are you making dinner?” She tried to sound happy.

They both looked up. Richard blinked
,
and she wondered for a moment if he’d forgotten she was here. Unease filled the room.

“Umm, I should go.” She pointed to the back door. Her hand shook. Where did she put her coat?

“Maggie.” His voice was soft and low when he touched her shoulder and rubbed his hand down her arm. “Stay for dinner.”

She looked up. Awkwardness lingered. He dropped his hand and stepped back. A fork clattered on the counter. Maggie blinked. “Richard
,
I should go.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. She couldn’t look at him. She stepped around Richard and attempted a smile for Ryley—something that felt more like it was painted on.

“Are you staying
,
Mom? We’re making tacos.” He held a wooden spoon hovering over the fry pan and looked almost hopeful, for a second. Then something flashed in his eyes that had him stepping back. That carefree easiness he’d had moments ago with his
dad,
before she walked in, was gone. He appeared nervous and uneasy.

Was it just her? A knot tightened in her stomach
,
and she felt the dark basement swooping up to drag her back to the pits of despair. She couldn’t bear to lose another child. She reached out and hugged Ryley. He was stiff and pulled away. She looked down before she spilled any more tears. She forced a fixed smile again for Ryley. “No, not tonight. I got to go. But you have fun with your
dad
.” Maggie turned and froze. Richard held her coat and helped her into it. This time his hand didn’t linger.

“Ryley
,
I’m going to walk your
mom
to her car. Turn off the burner till I get back.”

“Okay Dad.” She heard a relaxed carefree ease back into his voice as if everything was all right. So of course
,
she
wondered if it was because she was leaving.

Richard’s hand touched the small of her back when she walked out into the dark night. The porch light glowed softly lighting her way as Richard walked her to the car. He didn’t say a word as he opened her door. Then
he
rested his hand on the roof of the rusty car. “Maggie
,
about earlier…”

She couldn’t bear to hear regrets. “Please Richard
,
I just need to go
.
Please
let me go.” She climbed in and pulled the door closed. Starting the car
,
she watched him step back before he turned
,
hesitat
ing
a second
,
and walked back in the house. Maggie drove away and glanced in the rear view mirror just as the porch light went out, feeling a dreadful loss. Except this time
,
the loss was different, and she didn’t know why.

A pop similar to a gunshot vibrated underneath her car just as Maggie pulled into her driveway. She pressed the brakes and stopped as the passenger front end tilted down. Maggie clutched her keys and pushed open her door. But could do little more than glance at the dilapidated
Topaz
in the shadows and
see
how it didn’t seem to sit quite right. Daisy barked and scratched from inside the house. “Just a minute, I’m coming
.
Don’t
panic.” She unlocked the door and was welcomed by a licking
,
tail
wagging Daisy who pranced against
her
legs.

She
stumbled and pushed Daisy with her knee as she flicked on the outside light. Daisy continued to step in front of Maggie, her tail wagging
,
and her muted brown eyes attempted to pour guilt in Maggie’s heart. “Sorry girl
,
I know I left you too long.” With both hands
,
she rubbed Daisy until she purred like a cat. “Now let me get the flashlight and check out this mess.” This time Daisy dogged her heels when Maggie went outside. She wondered if maybe she’d driven over a big inflatable toy. That would explain the pop, but she couldn’t remember if Ryley had any.

She shone the flashlight on the front of the car and
then
underneath. “Well crap.” The front end on the passenger side leaned heavily
,
so far
it nearly touched the ground.

“Everything all right
,
Maggie?” June
,
her
eighty-eight-year-
old neighbor
,
walked her poof ball of a mutt up the street. She was a kind
gray
-
haired woman who knew all the dogs and their owners on this secluded cul-de-sac. Always stopping to chat and offer home baked dog cookies
to
Daisy. She
loved animals and
was known as the cookie lady to all the dogs
’ owners
on the street. Three times a day
,
she set out for a walk with a
Ziploc
bag full of fresh baked dog cookies. Daisy had this inborn sense of knowing exactly when June was coming. She’d bark and jump up and down to be let out. Then she’d race out the front door skidding to a halt in front of June
to
wait for her well-earned treat. On more than one occasion June had remarked, “Don’t you feed this dog?” But as Maggie thought to herself, I’d do the same thing if someone took the time to bake fresh treats for me.

Only now in the dimness of this cold December night, June was not her warm friendly self. It was the way she approached Maggie and absently reached a shaky hand into her pouch for Daisy’s cookie. Daisy leaped around excitedly gobbling down the cookie
and
then sat and waited for more.

“You doing okay
,
June?”
She
found it helped to focus on someone else. June shook her head and glanced up the street.
She
shut off the flashlight and touched June’s shoulder, “June, what’s going on?”

“Oh Chester’s under the house again.”

Then she remembered hearing June call out for the cat
last night
.

“How long’s he been under the house?”
She
dropped her hand when the older woman’s shoulder appeared to stoop. Lines on her creased face appeared to have deepened.

“Two nights. I call him
,
but he won’t come. I’m getting so worried, he hasn’t eaten
,
and it’s getting pretty cold at night.”

She
bit her inside cheek
,
so she couldn’t say anything about the cat and his spoiled childlike behavior. Although she had nothing against cats,
she
preferred dogs
.
They
were unselfish by nature and rarely caused the same worry. Chester was at least
twenty pounds
from
lazy days and overeating, and in
her
mind
,
could stand to go a few days without a meal.
She
sighed. June’s health wasn’t great, and another night of worry…well
she
hated to think what it would do to her.

“I’ll get the cat out.”
She
said it with a sarcastic edge in her voice. But June’s face brightened
,
so she apparently didn’t pick it up.

“Are you sure dear? I mean she’s all the way under the house.”

She
nodded. She didn’t trust her voice or what might slip out.

Side by side
,
with both dogs following
,
she
and June walked to the old woman’s
home,
two houses down
. This time
,
June’s stride was light and peppy as if that little bit of hope was all she needed.

“Oh thank you so much
.
You
know I called the
fire
department, but they said they don’t come out for cats under houses. They said
not to
worry
,
it’ll come out when it’s hungry. That’s terribly rude
,
don’t you think
,
Maggie dear?”

She jammed her teeth together to hold back what she really thought. Truth be told
,
it was along the same lines as the fire department. Except now she had to get the cat. “You’re right
.
That’s
not very nice of them.”

The foundation of June’s bungalow was old fir post and beam. Maggie’s stomach flip flopped
,
and her hand trembled when she accepted the flashlight June handed her. She dropped to her knees and slid away the lattice board
covering
the opening to the crawlspace. She peeked into the pitch black, but could see nothing. Her heart pounded
,
and for a minute
,
she found it hard to breathe, but that was after her imagination dumped a preview of what else might be under the house. “Shit, don’t go there.” Maggie tapped the flashlight to her forehead. “Get those thoughts out of your head. Fucking cat.” For a woman who never swore, she was surprised at how easy it slipped out.