Chez Stinky (28 page)

“Earlier in the day can be better. Ethel is a little more alert then. I think she might be slowing down by now.”

“I think so. I have to do some other errands, so you can have my place in line.”

Cindy stepped forward as Kat moved away. “Thanks! Wait, come back! You never told me if you’re sleeping with my brother or not!”

Kat just waved and ducked her head, trying to ignore all the people in line staring at her as she scuttled out of the building. Walking back to her Toyota, she refused to cry. After all, nothing had really changed. She crawled into her car, squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her forehead on the steering wheel, trying to block out the vision of Alli’s face, which she’d seen on thousands of magazine covers.

Kat returned to the house with no post office box, but lots of dog and cat food, since she’d stopped by the store. That would make her popular at home. Joel was apparently still at the library, and she was relieved to have the place to herself for a while.

She took the dogs for an extra-long walk to try to clear her head. Maybe the forest would work its magic to calm her racing thoughts. Now that the glow of last night’s incredible love-making had worn off and Joel wasn’t nearby melting her brain, she had time to think about what Louise had said. What did she really know about him? The answer was not much. And why was he interested in her? He was dating a super model for God’s sake. The guy could certainly do better. He already
had
done better.

It reminded her of growing up with her sister Kim. On one particularly memorable first date, the guy had come to pick her up, then ended up talking to Kim. Her date and her sister decided to stay at the house to hang out. Kat had gone upstairs and hid in her room until he left the house. Kim had dated the guy a few times and then dumped him. The whole experience had been humiliating and demoralizing.

Cindy was right. Joel had the perfect set up. A gorgeous woman who didn’t want to tie him down. What could be better?

Where did he even meet a model, anyway? Super models don’t hang out at aerospace companies. Maybe he wasn’t really even an engineer. Maybe he’d lied about everything. But why would he lie?

Maybe sleeping with her was just convenient. Or maybe he was getting back at Allison. But if that were the case, why would he be willing to work on Chez Stinky? Kat’s brain whirled with more questions, stories, and possibilities, leaving her feeling even more confused and sad. So much for clearing her head.

She went in the back door and unhooked Tessa and Linus. Seeming to sense that Kat was upset, Chelsey leaned on her and accepted some affection before returning to her spot under the table. If anyone knew about brooding, it was Chelsey.

Kat slowly went up the stairs. Because of Joel-related distractions, she had never put Murphee back in the bedroom to keep her away from the other cats. Where were Dolly Mae and Louie?

Louie never seemed to have much of a problem with anybody, but as far as she knew Dolly and Murph had not resolved their issues. She looked into the bedroom and found two cats sleeping on her bed. Dolly Mae and Murphee had each claimed a pillow for her own. Murph had even tucked her nose under a front paw and was curled up in a tight ball snoring quietly. It appeared some form of feline detente had developed while Kat was gone.

Kat made herself some tea and was sitting at the kitchen table clutching her mug, when the clattering rumble of Joel’s truck came from the driveway. She looked up as he came in through the front door with Linus, Lori and Lady.

“How was the library?”

“I’m guessing better than the post office. You don’t look happy.”

“I learned that the post office is the social mecca of Alpine Grove. And that I need to go earlier. Ethel was moving extra slowly. I gave up.”

“Sorry. Some people drive to Gleasonville to ship packages. It can be faster, even with the extra drive.”

Kat looked up at him. “Good to know.”

Joel sat down in the chair next to her and gazed into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Kat shook her head. “While I was in line, Cindy found me and wanted to talk. I probably shouldn’t talk to your sister too much.”

“You won’t get any argument from me.”

“She told me who your girlfriend was. Is. I don’t know.”

“I told you about Allison.”

“You didn’t tell me she was
Alli
. You were dating a super model? How does an engineer even
meet
a super model, much less sleep with her?”

Joel frowned. “I’m not sure what difference that makes. We broke up. I think if you almost incinerate someone’s home, it’s over. But why do you care? I’m not with her anymore.”

“But why not? Cindy said you had the perfect arrangement. Get hot super-model sex whenever you like and go to parties with other super models. It’s like every warm-blooded male’s wet dream!”

“We didn’t get along. You may recall, she has a temper. She throws things.”

“Okay, fine. But she’s beautiful. She’s on magazine covers! Last night must have been a major step down for you.”

Joel looked surprised for a moment, then angry. He pressed his lips together and said quietly, “Is that what this is about? Are you regretting last night?”

“Well I have to figure
you
are. I’ve looked in a mirror. No one is putting me on magazines, are they?”

“Isn’t that for me to decide?”

Kat slumped in her chair, put her elbows on the table, and put her face in her hands. “I just can’t imagine what you could possibly see in me when you’ve had…her.”

Joel got up and kneeled next to her chair. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “Kat, what happened to you that makes you so down on yourself? Did you ever think that maybe I
want
to be with you? Sure, Allison is pretty, but she’s not a person I could ever spend any real time with.”

“Why not?”

Joel smirked. “Well as you probably guessed, we have different…and extremely incompatible…personalities. You haven’t thrown anything at me yet, after all.”

“I guess I get extra credit points for that.” Kat looked down and picked a tuft of dog hair off her pants. “But I’m not beautiful. My sister is. But me? No.”

Joel touched a tendril of Kat’s brown hair that was hanging in front of her face and smoothed it behind her ear. “I think you’re beautiful. But it’s more than what you look like. I feel good when I’m around you. Not just last night, which don’t get me wrong, was amazing. And I’d very much like to do that again. But just being with you, too. I can be myself around you.”

Kat looked up into his eyes. She was slowly starting to believe him. “But I hardly know you. I started to wonder if everything that’s happened over the last few days wasn’t real. Maybe it’s all a lie. Maybe you’re not even an engineer.”

“Well, not anymore, if you want to get technical about it. Do you want to see my resume? If I ever get my new computer, I’ll print it out for you.”

Kat smiled as the painful lump in her throat started to dissolve. “I suppose I’m not a technical writer, either. Maybe you can print my resume while you’re at it.”

Joel stood up and pulled her out of the chair into his embrace. “I think you were right about talking to Cindy. It’s not a good idea. If you have questions about me, ask me.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just everything is so confusing. My life here. Unemployment. You. I have all these feelings and I guess I’m a little scared.”

He smiled and locked his hands behind her spine, drawing her closer. As he angled his head down to kiss her, he whispered, “Me too.”

Later, Kat was awakened by a thump on the bed. She was lying on her side with Joel curled up around her, one arm hugging her around her waist. When she opened her eyes, she found herself nose-to-nose with Murphee, who was staring at her intently. The cat’s yellow eyes glowed in the moonlight. “Hi, Murph.”

Kat shifted position, since her neck was twisted in an uncomfortable way. The cat-hair infested pillows had been thrown on the floor and various articles of clothing were strewn around the room. She reached out to stroke Murphee’s smooth black fur. “Can I do something for you?” Murphee mewed plaintively and curled up in a ball in front of Kat’s stomach.

Kat stared into the darkness. She was a little embarrassed about her meltdown earlier. Joel had asked her why she was afraid, and she had told him about her sister’s date-stealing ways, a few embarrassing stories about past relationships, and Mark’s new obsession with pretty people. Joel had pointed out that those things shouldn’t affect their relationship.

Kat continued to pet Murphee, who had moved into feline power sleep and was snoring surprisingly loudly for such a small animal. Joel was right; she usually let self-doubts cloud her mind. That little voice in her head had an unfortunate habit of sabotaging her confidence. But the effects of feeling like the dark gray sheep of her family ran deep. It would be good if she could keep her rampant insecurity from ruining what was turning out to be a remarkably good thing. She closed her eyes again, and her stomach fluttered as she tried not to dwell on the fact that she was falling in love with Joel.

During their conversation, he had somewhat obliquely given her the answer to the question every woman wonders about but is too scared to ask: was the prior girlfriend better than she was in the sack? Kat smiled as she reflected on their conversation. He said that being beautiful and on magazine covers wasn’t always as glamorous and wonderful as people might expect. Allison never knew if people liked her for who she was or if they wanted something else from her. Joel thought that was at the root of a lot of her anger and other issues.

Joel had also volunteered that he didn’t like parties. They were exhausting to him, and he and Allison had repeated fights about his preference for solitude. He even answered the question of how a lowly engineer meets a super model. They’d gone to the same junior high school and Allison had recognized him when she attended a ribbon-cutting for a new building at the aerospace company where Joel worked. He also had no love for his former employer. Two months after dedicating the building, they had laid off a bunch of people, including him.

Kat rolled over, dislodging Murphee, who meowed in protest but resettled herself in the small of Kat’s back. She looked at Joel’s sleeping face, which was bathed in moonlight, and stroked his cheek gently. He opened his eyes and smiled. “Hey, there. I thought you’d be tired.”

“A little. Murph woke me up.”

He shifted to wrap Kat’s body more closely in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled his head back to look at her. “Suddenly, I’m not so tired anymore.”

Kat smiled slowly. “Me neither.”

As the covers shifted, Murphee was dislodged from the warm spot she had created. With a mighty “meow!” of disgust, the cat jumped off the bed and sauntered off into the moonlight. She knew that whatever happened next, it obviously wasn’t going to involve feeding her breakfast.

The next morning, Kat resolved to get to the post office when it opened. She made a valiant effort to keep Joel from distracting her again and left the house with time to spare, so she was only tenth in line. Ethel was operating with blazing speed (for her) and Kat was pleased that at last she was the proud owner of Box 164.