Too hurt to be of any help, Reggie had said nothing. Not taking her back when he had a shot at doing so.
I missed that opportunity. But was I right to keep the door closed?
He stared at a picture of Amy laughing while Rachel made a face, the pair standing with Reggie’s arms around them both.
Happier times.
Or was that all in his head?
A vision of cute Emily and her mom struck him, familiar patterns forming when he knew better. Had he really seen Maggie’s blushes as interest? As potential attraction and a beginning?
A beginning of what? The end?
Reggie snorted and packed up all the photos but the one he held in his hands, the fake perfection he’d imagined a harsh contrast to his reality.
He took the boxes out to the trash, determined this time to really get rid of them. But that one picture of the three of them he’d keep.
He went back inside and found Frank out back, looking pitiful while whining to come inside.
“Come on, Frank. Just a few steps, little guy.”
Frank blinked up at him, unmoving. Reggie sighed and lifted the tiny pit into his arms before taking him back inside. They watched TV later in the evening. But before Reggie turned in for the night, he had to take out the recyclables.
He set the bin next to the trash can, the boxes of neglected toys and pictures among the refuse. He wanted to go back inside. Reggietriedto go back inside, but something in him refused to go without once more looking through the photos.
It was close to two hours later before he went back inside with two more pictures. One of Amy, and the other of her and Rachel. But at least he’d let most of the memories go. If not the pain and tears that went with them.
Chapter Five
Tuesday morning at work, Reggie tried to explain to a dizzy octogenarian why she really needed to get to the hospital. Then Mack stepped close, and the woman on the gurney froze, staring at him.
“Mrs. Parson? I really think you need to get seen by a doctor,” Reggie was saying.
“Oh, my Lord, it’s really you.” She continued to stare at Mack, her grin turning to a leer.
“Um, Mrs. Parson?” Reggie tried again.
“I stuffed twenty dollars down your shorts, and you never did give me that show you promised,” she accused Mack, who just stood there with the woman’s husband, looking shell-shocked.
“Well, then. I’ll drive,” Reggie said, gleefully helping Mack lift her into the aid vehicle. He couldn’twaitto tell the others about this. “Mack, you and Mrs. Parsons can sit in the back on the way to the hospital.”
Her husband narrowed his gaze at Mack. “Hmmph. You better keep your hands to yourself on the way, buddy.” He walked off to his Cadillac, ready to follow them.
Reggie watched Mack get in the cab and saw the older lady pinch his butt when he passed her. The poor guy banged his head on a cabinet.
Reggie couldn’t help laughing, especially when Mack glared at him.
“Now, now. Hands to yourself, Mrs. Parson.” Mack leaned closer to the older woman and in a loud whisper, said, “Be nice and you just might get that dance you wanted.”
She tittered and leaned back on the gurney.
Not wanting to see any more, Reggie closed the doors behind him.
He delivered the woman to the hospital after calling in her details, and once he and Mack handed her over to a waiting nurse, they left in silence, driving back to the station.
Mack kept watching him. Waiting. Finally, he blurted, “Just say what’s on your mind, already!”
Reggie burst out laughing. “Really? What exactly did you promise her for twenty bucks?”
