Her stomach dropped. “And?”
“The new headquarters are here. All my flights will now be between Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, and they fired three pilots.”
She swallowed hard. “So that means …”
“Yeah.” His voice was grim. “I have to move here.”
“When can you come and see me?”
“I don’t know.”
CHAPTER 28
Jannie
“Go away,” Jannie muttered, giving Rolf the hand signal to stop barking.
This was the third time someone rang the doorbell this Saturday, and to say she was irritated would be an understatement. No, she didn’t want to buy a set of steak knives, and no, her queen palms in the back did not need pruning.
At least her period had finally ended today, and she no longer had to deal with the cramping and all that went with it. She glanced at the teacup cabinet, where she had positioned the hideous stuffed German Shepherd so she could see it from anywhere in the huge family room. He looked ridiculous among the delicate floral chintz Shelley cups and saucers, and that made her smile.
Hardly anything made her smile lately. Her days were filled with endless patients, endless paperwork, and not much else. The gym helped, and so did Rolf, but every day that passed made her feel as if she were merely existing.
She reached the front door and peered out through the lights.
No one.
She yanked open the door in time to hear giggles and running feet.
Ding-dong ditch again.
Jannie snickered, remembering the times she used to do that with her brothers. Life was so simple back then, filled with family, fun, and laughter. She would give anything to go back in time for just a day, even if her brothers would annoy her.
She pushed the door closed and locked it, feeling as if she were lockingherself inside a perfect prison.
“No one there,” she said to Rolf, who gave her a tail swish and a doggie smile. She reached to caress a velvety, pointy ear. “Just you and me.”
The dog lowered his head, pushing it affectionately into her legs.
“I know,” she said. “I’m not much fun these days.”
Suddenly, her eyes burned, and she furiously blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She refused to cry. Crying was for people who couldn’t control themselves, and she was determined to hold it together.
Jannie cast a glance around.
A good house cleaning. That’s what she needed to do. Getting everything spotless always gave her a boost. After deploying all three Roombas to their designated sections of the house, she donned rubber gloves and proceeded to scrub, wipe, and polish for a good half-hour until she ran out of her favorite spray cleaner.
“No problem,” she told Rolf. “I’ve got two more in the garage. Let’s go.” She headed down the hallway, Rolf trotting close by her side.
She passed her parked Porsche, smiling at the car. Every time she saw it, she still got a little thrill. Maybe she’d go for a drive later and splurge on some Twistee Treat since she hadn’t eaten ice cream in a while.
But first, cleaning.
Opening the largest metal cabinet, she scanned the rows of sprays, boxes, bottles, and gallon jugs, ranging from floor degreaser to window cleaner. And then, her gaze landed on her stash of the little German laundry sheet boxes, arranged in four neat stacks in the front: color catcher, sheets for blacks, blues, and whites.
She remembered giving one to Nick, and how hot he had looked in his blinding white uniform shirts. Seeing him in them on FaceTime was not the same, and these days, he always seemed stressed.
She wondered what he did during his downtime. Unable to stop herself, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed, “Are there sex clubs in Asia?” in the search bar.
