“Why so early? I slept like shit.”
Cluck cluck.
“What’d I do? Something foolish.”
Cluck.
“I kissed Odette Chambers.”
It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, but certainly not the first time I’ve thought about it.
I replayed our kiss all night. Over and over, trying to figure out what made it so different. All I could come up with?Her.
Cluck.
I look back at Tootsie, who is staring up at me.
“Where is she? She ran away.”
Every part of me wanted to chase after her last night, but I didn’t. I knew she didn’t want me to follow her.
Instead, I stared after her for far too long. It wasn’t until Pork meowed that I realized I was still standing in the middle of the barn, wet and cold and in desperate need of a drink.
So I bundled the kitten in the towel, trudged through the rain to my truck, and drove home.
The kitten, who has been by my side since, pushes to his feet and looks down at Tootsie.
I expect his hair to rise or for the hen to react poorly, but none of that happens.
No, the little cat jumps off the porch swing I’ve been sitting on since before sunrise and walks right up to the chicken like they’re best friends.
Tootsie is apprehensive as Pork sniffs at her, trying to figure out exactly what she’s looking at. But the chicken doesn’t react. She just lets the cat explore and sort it out for himself.
After a few minutes of uncertainty, Pork sits beside Toots and meows. The chicken clucks in response, and that’s what they do. They sit side by side as I sip on my coffee, the early-morning sun showering the land in light, chasing away the fog that flits between the evergreens.
I wish I could have slept better last night. Based on the limbs and debris in my yard, I can’t imagine how rough it looks up by the cidery, which means it will be a long day of cleaning.
Maybe it’s what I need, though—something to distract me from the thoughts that won’t seem to leave my mind.
I pick up my phone to check for a response to the last text I sent Odette, but there isn’t one.
I read through the messages from last night instead.
Me:At least tell me you made it home safely.
Me:Come on, Odette.
Me:If you don’t answer me within five minutes, I’m driving to your apartment.
Her response came swiftly after that threat, though I wish it hadn’t come at all.
Odie:Home. Don’t send the cavalry. Need time.
And that was it.
I texted her again this morning to ask if she was okay, but all I’ve gotten so far is silence, which I’m sure I’ll continue to get.
Fuck. I messed up. I messed up so damn bad, and now I don’t know what to do.
