NINETEEN:

Carolyn finally pulled into her driveway just before midnight.    Tired, but in a good mood, she climbed out of her car.  

Seeing Jenn and her Mom together made Carolyn homesick for her own family.  She and Jeff hadn’t been home for almost four months now; she was going to insist they plan a long weekend very soon.

Even though they argued, Carolyn knew Jenn and her Mom loved each other more than anything; she wasn’t the least bit surprised when Mrs. Keeler showed up.    Chuckling, she remembered the look on Jenn’s face as her Mom tucked her into bed, fluffed her pillows and adjusted the sound on the TV for the fourth time.   Seeing that her friend was in more than just capable hands, Carolyn said her goodnights to make the thirty minute trip home. 

As she entered the house from the garage an excited JuJu met her at the door.  The poor little thing hadn’t been out for more than twelve hours; she wiggled with happiness because her mommy was finally home. 

Carolyn opened the sliding glass door in the kitchen and JuJu raced out into the yard.   Opening the front door, she pulled the mail out of the mailbox, then returned to the kitchen to spread it out on the counter.

JuJu came back into the kitchen, her toenails tick-ticking on the stone floor as she ran to her pink bed.   She snuffled along the edge of the bed, then thrust her nose under the pillow and finally came out with an uneaten dog treat.

Carolyn bent over to scratch JuJu behind the ears, then her eyes went to the treat JuJu had placed adoringly at her feet.  Picking it up, she turned it over in her hand.  “Now where in the hell…JuJu, where did you get this?”  It was a quarter sized round brown treat.  It looked nothing like the small brightly colored biscuits she always bought for the dog. 

As if in answer, JuJu ran back to her bed to push her nose under the pillow.   Once again she pulled out a dog treat.   Carolyn slowly walked over and picked up the pink pillow.  She counted two dozen of the strange treats.  She had obviously found JuJu’s stash; the question was where had they come from?

Carolyn’s mind searched for a logical explanation, but try as she might she couldn’t come up with one.   She was still on her knees looking at the dog bed full strange biscuits when the phone rang.

TWENTY

Jeff was packing his second bag, his cell phone caught between his shoulder and chin, when Carolyn finally answered the phone.   Tomorrow morning after breakfast he was heading home and he planned to put everything he didn’t need for tonight in the car.

“Sorry to be calling so late, baby.   Did I wake you?” he said.

He heard Carolyn take a deep breath before she said, “No, I just got home from Jenn’s, but Jeff, something’s wrong here.”  She proceeded to tell him about JuJu bringing her the dog treat, then finding more under the pillow in the dog’s bed.  Jeff could tell how frightened she was by the quiver in her voice.

“Honey, why don’t you go spend the night at Jenn’s house.   I’ll be home by noon tomorrow at the latest.   I don’t think there’s a thing in the world to be worried about but till we have time to figure this out together why don’t you just go over there,” Jeff tried to soothe her frazzled nerves as he talked calmly to her.

“Jeff, someone has been in this house.  I don’t know who or how, but someone has been here!  We’ve never given JuJu anything like these things, how else could she have gotten them?”

She considered going back to Jennifer’s house, but she knew Mrs. Keeler would be spending the night in the spare bedroom.  She wasn’t scared enough to spend the night sleeping on a couch, at least not yet.  Taking a deep breath she decided the best thing to do would be to calm down and get some rest.   Tomorrow…..Jeff and I will worry about this tomorrow.

“I’m just going to take JuJu upstairs with me and go to bed.   I’ll lock us in and take a sleeping pill, honey.   I’ll be alright,” she was beginning to feel a little silly about the whole thing. “Just stay on the phone with me till I check things out, okay?”

Jeff had finished packing his second bag and was reaching for his coat as he said, “Sure baby, I’ll stay on the phone all night if you want me to.”  He had already made the decision to head home.   He was four and a half hours away, and with a quick stop for coffee and gas he could be there in five hours.  

 CHAPTER TWENTY ONE...........

Carolyn tucked her purse under one arm and JuJu under the other as she headed up the steps with the cordless phone clutched in her hand. She pushed open the door to her darkened bedroom, reaching in to flip on the light switch.

Light flooded the room. JuJu tried to wiggle free as she stepped in, looked around, and closed the door. She didn’t want to chase JuJu through the rest of the house, but she wasn’t about to lock the door until she had satisfied herself that things were okay. Jeff kept up a dialog about his day as Carolyn started her inspection of the suite.

She finally set JuJu down and the dog bounded onto the bed, snuffling all over the bedspread like a hunting dog on a rabbit trail. Carolyn ignored her as she opened the closet doors, looked under the bed and pushed both bathroom doors open. From time to time she would stop, put the cordless phone against her shoulder, and just listen for any strange sounds…..nothing. After turning on every light and looking in every potential hiding place she satisfied herself that there was nothing to fear. Locking the bedroom door she signed with relief.

“Okay, everything is alright up here,”Carolyn said. “I don’t know; maybe she’s stealing food from the neighbor’s dog or something, do you think?”

Jeff replied, “If she is we need to teach her to bring home money instead."

Carolyn gave a weak chuckle as she felt the coil of fear in her stomach slowly begin to unwind.

"I don’t have a clue, KO, but I promise we will figure it out and we’ll get that burglar alarm installed before I have to leave town again.” Jeff didn’t tell her that he was on his way home, that he’d likely be there before she woke up.

“Well, JuJu and I are going to bed. Thanks for talking me off the ledge sweetheart,” Carolyn said.

“I’ll be home before you know it, now get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go buy you something pretty,” Jeff said. That was his 'I’m trying to make you feel better, baby' phrase, and she smiled.

“I don’t need anything, just you. Did I tell you how much I love you?”

“No, but you can show me when I get home. Get some rest, baby. Sweet dreams,” Jeff said.

He wished he could shake the uneasy feeling that nagged and pushed him to drive all night to get to her. Now, with a full tank of gas and two styrofoam cups of hot coffee secured in the cup holders, he turned onto the highway. He set the cruise control for 80, hoping to buy a little time by stepping up his speed. It was one a.m.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO...........

Marco was working hard, loading trucks as an iPod filled his head with country music. Railroads, beer joints and honky tonk women, all the songs he liked. The other guys talked and joked with one another, but always Marco kept to himself. He seldom talked to anyone, and he knew most of the men he worked with thought he was an odd duck. If they only knew.

By three a.m. the work was nearly done, and Marco’s boss came by to tell him he could leave early if he wanted to. Since Marco had been good enough to work on his day off it was only right to give him the first chance to take off if he wanted to. Marco jumped at the chance; ten minutes later he was in his car heading to his house on Brainard Road.

Half way to the house Marco pulled into the lot of a 24 hour grocery store. He knew Carolyn loved flowers because she brought some home every week when she bought groceries. Several times he had even changed the water or replaced some flowers in the vase when she had forgotten.

Mario went into the store to check out the floral department. To his right there were coolers of fresh cut flowers, pots of small rose bushes, and beautifully colored orchids. Last week Carolyn had carnations, so Mario decided on a pot of orchids. They would last longer, and it would be the first thing in the house that she would know he had put there for her.

Back in the car Marco debated whether or not he should stop at his apartment for a shower or just go on to the house. He imagined crawling into the big bed beside Carolyn, maybe spooning into her as she slept.

He decided to freshen up at the house before he headed up to bed with his wife. Now that he had made the decision that this was the night to share the plan with Carolyn he was impatient to get there. He would lie beside her and wait until she awoke to find him there. She would be surprised at first, but he knew their tie was so strong that the surprise wouldn’t last long. Once she understood how well he knew her, once she realized they were meant to be together and it had always been that way, she would look at him with new eyes…..loving eyes. Marco’s skin tingled with excitement as he got back on the road. He was headed home at three thirty a.m.