I stepped up to the front door and rang the bell, gripping the handle of my bag in both hands while I waited for Esther. After several moments when there was no movement that I could hear coming from the other side of the door, I tried knocking, a bit louder than I normally would in case she was at the back of the house.
When there was no answer, I walked around the side door and tried that instead, just in case.
Still nothing.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. Another five minutes had already gone by. I now had only ten to complete the appointment, and even then, I’d only just be back on time.
There was no fence, so I walked farther back, poking my head into the yard to see if maybe Esther was taking a quick break. Nope. Since there was a window on the door to the garage, I peeked inside. Empty.
Well, that was just fantastic.
With a sigh, I leaned back against the door and called April. It rang once before going to voice mail.
If you’re calling for me personally, hang up and send a text like a normal person. If you’re a patient and are calling for Dr. Bowman, please note that my lunch is from noon to one, and I do not answer calls during that time, even while I’m working from home.
“Dammit,” I said under my breath and ended the call.
It was now twenty minutes into her hour-long lunch break—something I’d kill for right about now. Or even just five minutes to scarf down some food. The meal Beck had made and packed for me was languishing away on his kitchen counter because I’d forgotten it in my rush to leave. And I was using a new purse since my last one was destroyed, which meant I didn’t have any long-lost stash of snacks stuck in a pocket somewhere.
My phone rang, a picture of Beck and me at Movies in the Park lighting up the screen. I was leaning back against his chest while I cheesed for the camera, and he was looking down at me, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. It wasn’t perfect, but I loved it. I swiped to answer as I headed back to Beck’s truck, frustrated and hungry and still smelling faintly of pee, and now I was missing a patient. “Hello?”
There was a pause, then, “What’s wrong?”
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes for no good reason. “How do you know something’s wrong?”
“Sunshine.”
With a heavy sigh, I opened the door to his truck and climbed in. “It’s just…today’s not going how I thought it would. Everything’s screwed up and taking longer than usual, and now Esther stood me up for my appointment after we squeezed her in today because she said it was imperative.”
“And you’re hungry.”
I breathed out a laugh. “You found my beautiful lunch on the counter?”
“Yep. Come by, and I’ll make you something.”
“God, I wish. I don’t have time, though.”
“Where are you?”
“In front of Esther’s house, being stood up like a chump.”
“You’re at her house? Why are you there?”
“Um…because we had an appointment?”
“But it’s Monday.”
“I mean, I get that Mondays are awful, but that doesn’t give her an excuse for standing me up.”
“No, I mean, she runs bingo at the senior center on Mondays. Brings Jingles there, too.”
“What? Why the hell would she schedule an appointment for when she wasn’t even going to be home?”
“I’m guessing she figured you’d know where to find her.”
Well, I probably should have since I’d lived here for two years. And if this was as routine as Beck said, that was over one hundred instances that I’d never noticed. God, I still felt like a newbie around here. Hell, Luna seemed to be acclimated more than I was, and she’d only been here a couple months.
“Okay,” I said, though my voice wasn’t very strong. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’ll head there. Thanks.”
