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Ethan glanced round his apartment. Nothing had been moved since the cleaning service had been there two days previously. Mostly because he hadn’t been here, either. One way to ensure you didn’t make a mess of your home was to never be in it. “Are you sure that’s what she’ll do?”
“Yes. And if you do this it will stop Karen worrying. Madi is her dog.” His sister, sensing weakness, pounced. “The whole family thanks you.”
Ethan knew he was beaten. And truthfully he was too worried about his niece to dwell on the practicalities of caring for a dog. “Call me with an update as soon as you get there. And if you’re not happy with what they’ve told her at the hospital let me know and I’ll make some calls. I know a few people around there.”
“You know everyone.”
“We meet at medical conferences. It’s a surprisingly small world. What time will you be dropping off this dog?”
“On my way to the airport. I’ll walk her before I leave her with you, and we need to arrange for Harriet to meet you later. When works for you?”
None of it worked for him.
“Tonight? I’ll try and get away early.”
“Good. I’ll give her my key to your apartment in case you’re late, then she can go ahead and walk Madi. Practice saying her name, Ethan. Madi. Not ‘the dog.’ Madi.”
“I need to go. I have two hours to dogproof—sorry, I mean Madi-proof—my home.”
“You won’t need to. She’s very civilized.”
“She’s a dog.”
“You’re going to love her.”
Ethan doubted it. Life, he knew, was rarely that simple.
CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_1b5b3678-d0b2-5157-8cdc-eb5c370430cc)
“MRS. SULLIVAN?” HARRIET paused in the doorway of the apartment, the key in her hand, an array of bags at her feet. Her ankle throbbed, but not as much as it had a few days earlier. Hopefully that was a good sign. “It’s me! Harriet. Are you there? You didn’t answer the door and I didn’t want to make you jump.”
“Harriet?” Glenys Sullivan appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, holding tightly to a walker. “Harvey and I were worried about you, sweetheart. You’re late.”
“I’m moving a little slower today.” Harriet closed the door. She was worried about Glenys too. She’d lost weight since her husband had died ten months earlier and Harriet knew she was struggling. As a result she’d taken to dropping in whenever she was passing. And if sometimes “passing” meant taking a detour, that was fine with her. She didn’t often see her clients once the dog-walking arrangements were confirmed, so she enjoyed the interaction. “I took a bit of a tumble a few days ago and I’ve been off my feet. Silly me.”
Glenys had lived in the same sunny apartment on the Upper East Side for almost five decades, surrounded by her books, her furniture and her collection of china dogs.
“You fell? Is it icy out there?”
“Not yet, but it’s coming. They’re forecasting snow and my fingers are freezing. I need to find my gloves.” Harriet carried the bags through to the kitchen, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She’d rested it for a couple of days, icing it as the doctor had instructed. It still hurt but she was tired of being trapped in her apartment and she’d wanted to check on Glenys. “I didn’t want you to find yourself with an empty fridge. It’s crazy out there. People are clearing the shelves and we’ve had around four snowflakes so far.” She bent to make a fuss over Harvey, an eight-year-old West Highland terrier she’d been walking for two years. Often she handed walks to their reliable team of dog walkers, but there were a few she did herself and Harvey was one of them. He was sweet-tempered and smart. Harriet adored him.
“I remember the storm of 2006, we had twenty-eight inches of snow, but even that wasn’t as bad as the blizzard of 1888.”
Harriet straightened. “You weren’t alive in 1888, Glenys.”
“My great-grandmother used to talk about it. The railroads were blocked by drifts. Some of the commuters were trapped for days. You could walk across the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Can you imagine that?”
“No. Hopefully it’s not going to be that bad this time, but if it is you’re not going to starve.” Harriet pushed the last of the canned food into the cupboard. “Did you eat lunch today?”
“I ate a big lunch.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“No, but I don’t want to worry you. Truth is, I wasn’t hungry.”
Harriet made a tutting sound. “You need to eat, Glenys. You have to keep your strength up.”
“What do I need strength for? I never leave this apartment. My bones aren’t fit for much.”
“Did you get to the doctor? Did you tell him your pain is worse?” She unloaded the bags into the fridge, automatically checking the dates on the few items already in there. She ditched a cheese covered in mold and some tomatoes that looked as if they were about to turn themselves into puree.
“He said the pain is worse because my arthritis is worse. He also said I need to keep moving. Which makes no sense. How am I supposed to keep moving if my arthritis is worse? They don’t know anything, these doctors.”
Harriet thought about the doctor she’d seen in the emergency room and the way other people had deferred to him.
He’d known plenty.
Dr. E. Black.
She wondered what the E stood for. Edward? Elliot?
She grabbed a carton of eggs and some fresh cheese and closed the fridge door. “If your doctor thinks you need to move, then you need to move.”
Evan? Earl?
“Easier said than done. I’m afraid my legs might give out on me. If that happened, I’d drop on the sidewalk and everyone would just step over me.”
“So you need to walk with someone you know. Like me. It would give you a little confidence to have someone to grab if you needed to.”
“You’re here to walk my dog. Not me. You’re a dog walker, not a human walker.”
“I walk some humans. Exceptional humans, like you. We can take Harvey together.” Harriet broke three eggs into a bowl and whisked them together with fresh herbs she’d grown on her windowsill. “He’d love the attention. Can you imagine him out walking with two women? What a boost to his self-esteem.”
“His self-esteem doesn’t need a boost. He already thinks he’s king. What are you doing?”
“I’m making you a delicious omelet. I’m not taking you walking unless you have food in your tummy.” Harriet tipped the eggs into a skillet and turned up the heat. “I’m adding a little cheese and spinach. Good for your bones.”
“My bones are beyond help. I don’t think I can walk today, honey.”
“Just a short walk,” Harriet coaxed. “A few steps. One block.”
Glenys sighed. “You’re a bully.”
“I know.” Harriet punched the air with her fist and Glenys laughed.
“You shouldn’t be wasting your time with a decrepit old lady.”
“I love your company and I love to cook. Since Fliss moved out, I only have myself to cook for and it’s boring.” Harriet tipped a perfect omelet onto a plate and added a chunk of crusty bread. “Now sit down and eat.”
“I hate eating alone.”
“You’re not eating alone.” Harriet cut a slice of bread for herself and tried not to think what it would do to her thighs. It wasn’t as if anyone but her was going to see her thighs. Suppressing that depressing thought, she reached for the butter. “I’m eating too.”
“So did you take your ankle to the doctor?”
“I went to the ER. And wasted their time as it turned out, because it wasn’t broken.” She took a bite of bread and made a mental note to bake some chocolate chip cookies for her next visit. Everyone loved her chocolate chip cookies. The original recipe had been her grandmother’s but Harriet had made a few small adjustments over time. It was as close as she had ever come to rebellion.
No I will not use one spoonful of vanilla. I’m using two, so take that.
Pitiful.
Glenys poked at her eggs. “That’s not a waste of anyone’s time. What if it had been broken?”
“My life would have been made difficult.” She thought of the array of people in the waiting room. It had been horribly crowded and it wasn’t even snowy yet. “I’m guessing that department gets super busy in the winter so I’m going to watch where I tread.”
“Tell me more about the sexy doctor in the emergency room who looked at your ankle.”
“I never said he was sexy.”
“Doctors are always sexy. Doesn’t matter how they look, just being a doctor makes them sexy. Was he dark or blond?”
“Eat your eggs and I’ll tell you.” She waited while Glenys ate a forkful. “Dark. Black hair, blue eyes.”
“The best combination. My Charlie had blue eyes. It was the first thing I noticed about him.”
“It was the first thing I noticed too.” That and the fact that his eyes had been tired. Not tired from lack of sleep, more tired from life.
Maybe that was what working in the ER did for you. It had to take a toll. It would have drained her, dealing with so many people in trouble. Handling all that pain and anxiety.
“Maybe it’s a sign.” Glenys took another small mouthful of omelet. “The start of a perfect relationship. Maybe you’ll be together forever.”
Harriet laughed. “Unless I break the other ankle, I won’t be seeing him again. And maybe he was sexy, but he didn’t smile enough for me. He was a little intimidating if I’m honest.”
“That’s probably the way he handles the job. They deal with such a range of problems in the emergency room. I know because my Darren used to be an EMT and the stories he told would make your toes curl.”
Darren was Glenys’s oldest son. He lived in California and Glenys hadn’t seen him since the funeral.
Harriet often wondered how it was that families came to be so scattered. It felt wrong to her. She longed to belong to a big family who lived close enough to be in and out of each other’s lives all the time. Drop in for coffee? Yes, please. Find yourself cooking dinner for twelve? Harriet couldn’t think of anything better. This Christmas Fliss would be spending Christmas Day with Seth’s family in their home in upstate New York, her brother Daniel was traveling with Molly to see her father for the first time in ages and their mother was traveling the world. Harriet was the only one not traveling anywhere.
She’d be in Manhattan. On her own. Perusing the glittering store windows. On her own. Ice-skating. On her own. Eating Christmas dinner. On her own.
She watched as Glenys forced down another mouthful of omelet. “What are you doing for Christmas Day?”
“Staying in and waiting for Santa.”
Harriet grinned. “Do you want to come and wait for him in my apartment? I’m a good cook.”
“Well, I know that.” Glenys took another mouthful of omelet. “Are you inviting the handsome doctor?”
“No, I’m definitely not inviting the handsome doctor. Judging from the questions he asked me, he thought I was either a hooker or an addict.” And she didn’t blame him for that. It hadn’t been her best evening and her two hours spent in the waiting room of the emergency room hadn’t enhanced it.
“They get a lot of those in the emergency room too. I bet you were a breath of fresh air. Show me your ankle.”
“I can’t. It’s buried under four layers of wool because it’s cold out there.”
“But he was attractive?”
Harriet sighed. “Yes, he was attractive and yes part of me wonders why I can’t meet someone like him in real life.”
“The ER is about as real as it gets.”
“You know what I mean. In a situation that could actually end in a date. Not that it would work out because if it ever happened I’d be too shy to open my mouth. I can’t get past that first awkward meeting stage.”
“You say plenty to me.”
“But I’ve known you for years. I feel relaxed with you. Most men aren’t willing to stick around for that long while I get comfortable enough to actually engage in conversation.” She put her fork down. “I need to find a way to skip the ‘getting to know you’ part.”
“That’s why so many of the best marriages happen between friends. People who have known each other forever. Friends to lovers. It’s my favorite theme in books and movies.”
“It sounds like a great theory, but unfortunately I don’t have any male friends I’ve known for thirty years who might be willing to marry me.”
“Didn’t your brother have any friends?”
“They always hit on my sister. I was the quiet one.”
“Oh, honey, quiet can be good. Quiet doesn’t mean you don’t have important things to say. Just that you might take your time saying them.”
“Maybe. But most people don’t wait around long enough to hear it.”
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve never had boyfriends?”
“I’ve had a few. Couple of boys in college. Uneventful and definitely not exciting. Then I dated the accountant who moved into the apartment above ours.”
“And how was that?”
“He seemed interested in every figure but mine,” Harriet said gloomily. “And since then—do you count the guy at Molly’s Salsa dancing class she tried to set me up with?”
“I don’t know. Do you think he counts?”
“We danced twice. I enjoyed it because dancing meant I didn’t have to talk to him. I did warn you that my dating history isn’t impressive.” She watched as Glenys ate the omelet, each mouthful slower than the last. She knew that since Charlie died Glenys had to force herself to eat. Force herself to get up in the morning. Force herself to get dressed. “Do you have a warm coat and gloves? I’m going to take Harvey out for a short walk, and you’re coming with me. No arguments.”
“You’re supposed to walk my dog, not care for me.”
“You’d be doing me a favor. It’s easy to talk to you, and I could use the company.”
“Harriet Knight, you’re such a sweet girl.”
Harriet winced. “I don’t want to be a sweet girl. I want to be a badass.”
