In order to keep that from happening, David tried to bring Alex home with him at least a few times a month, letting her spend time playing with his daughter. It always brightened Alex’s smile for days afterwards.
Right now, David was watching his daughter wrap her fingers in his partner’s hair.
“Hey, pal. Don’t pull the hair, okay? Yeah, I know, you don’t get to see blond very often, so I’m just too good to play with, huh?”
Arlea gurgled, and yanked on her fists full of hair. Alex patiently pried one hand loose. That hand reached for her face.
“Why don’t we sit down and talk. You can tell me about what you’ve been doing all day with Mommy, and I’ll tell you how funny your Daddy is, okay?”
At dinner, Alex was given the chore of feeding Arlea. They started with a jar of mashed carrots, and mixed in some mashed peas. The two of them appeared to have a great deal of fun, and even Miri had to admit that her daughter ate more than she normally did. Of course Alex and Arlea ended up wearing the same amount on their clothes.
“I think that’s enough, Alex.”
“Okay. You want me to give her a bath?”
“Ah, no, I don’t think so.”
“Aw, why not?”
“Well, two reasons. Number one, the last time we tried that the bathroom ended up looking like a hurricane had blown through.”
“Not our fault. I told you, we got attacked by aliens, and had to fight back.”
“Right. Second reason is, as much as I wish you could stay, I know you want to get home. It stopped snowing, and the salt trucks have been around, but who knows how bad the roads are?”
“You’re right.” She wiped her hands on her napkin, and watched as David picked up his daughter. Arlea squealed, upset at being taken away from her playmate, but once she caught sight of her father, she quieted, reaching for his nose. He managed to avoid the little hands as he carried her from the table.
“I’ll get her bath started. Come get me when you’re ready, and I’ll run Alex home.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
David was still trying carry his daughter and escape her inquisitive hands.
Miri handed a wet cloth to Alex.“Here. You look like you could use a bath yourself.”
“Thanks. I think.” She cleaned her hands better, then swiped at the stains on her shirt. “I look like I’ve been in a food fight.”
“Weren’t you?”
“Oh, hush. Just because Arlea doesn’t like peas —”
“No, ” Miri cut her off. “Arlea doesn’t have any problem with peas. You don’t like them. So, in sympathy, you ended up spilling most of them on her bib.”
Alex gave her a bashful grin. “You noticed, huh?”
Miri just smiled at her.
“Miri, if you’re worried about David driving in this stuff, I can take a taxi to the Metro station.”
“No way. You know better than to even ask that.”
“But I know you worry —”
“Look, I don’t worry about him driving, really. He’s excellent on roads like these, and besides, I’d be more worried about you in that subway.”
“The Metro is nothing like the New York subway.”
“Fine. He’s still driving you home.” She put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. “And I worry more about you and him at work, then I do about his driving.”
Alex slowly nodded. “I understand that.”
“He said you were having a rough time of it.”
“Yeah, I was. I’ve never held someone while they died before. It kind of messed me up.”
“You know, if you need someone to talk to, I’m always here. I realize I may not be the perfect earpiece since I’m married to your partner, but,” Miri shrugged, “if there’s no one else, I’m always here.”
Alex pulled the smaller woman into her arms. “I know, Miri.” They stood in a hug for a minute, then separated. “You know, you guys are my family out here. You three, and Sarah and Maggie.”
“I know. What do you say we get the two halves of the family together in a couple weeks? Maybe have a potluck here?”
“That sounds great. I’ll call Sarah and ask her if she wants to do that.”
“Oh, don’t bother, I’ll call her. She and I will arrange things, and then tell you and David when you need to show up.”
Alex looked warily at her friend. “You guys are friends?”
“Sure. We have been since before the two of you broke up.”
“Oh really? And why wasn’t I ever aware of this?”
“Because you, my friend, can be as thickheaded as my husband.”
Alex shrugged. “Who do you think I learned it from?”
They laughed, and headed up to rescue David from his daughter.
Chapter Eight
Appleby appeared to be considering his options. First, his food dish was still half-full, and he could go eat. Second, his catnip mouse was sitting right next to his water dish, where he’d left it when he finished attacking it in the middle of the night. But it was beginning to lose its catnip smell, and he didn’t fell like batting it around right now. Besides, there was other game afoot.
His human had left a pair of pants and a shirt hanging off the edge of her bed. That in itself was interesting, but what really captivated the cat’s eyes was the belt. It hung off the end of the bed, teasing him. Finally he couldn’t resist, and he attacked, grabbing the belt in his paws and pulling. He was gratified to feel his prey begin dropping towards him.
But what he didn’t know was that the belt was already looped around the waist of the pants on the bed, and as he kept pulling, Appleby looked up to suddenly see an avalanche of material heading towards him. For a split second he hesitated. It was long enough for the pair of pants to land on his head. He was so startled, he took off across the floor, dragging the cloth with him, until finally he escaped its clutches near the bedroom door. He stopped, looking back at the offending item, and slapped a paw at it. It didn’t move.
Feeling proud of himself for vanquishing his foe, and now bored with his former prey, he sauntered off to the kitchen, deciding food sounded good after all.
Alex came out of the bathroom with wet hair, and only her underwear on. She found her pants on the floor. “Appleby! You’re a brat, cat!” Sighing, she picked up her clothes, noting that the belt had now been pulled tight through the loops, the buckle forcing the material to bunch together. She was pulling everything back into shape when the phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Hey, sweety, it’s Sarah.”
“I knew it was you. Only you would have the nerve to call this early in the morning when I’m not even fully awake.”
“Yeah, good morning to you, too. Where were you last night? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for days, and you call in the middle of the day when you know very well neither one of us is home.”
“Yeah, well, sorry, Mom, but I was with Dad most of the time.”
“Alex, just tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah. Remember what we learned about the word ‘fine’?”
“Um, no.”
“‘Fine’ means you’re ‘fucked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional.’ “
“Yeah, that about covers me this past week.”
“And what about now?”
“Now? Are you kidding? I’m great. I got to play with Arlea last night.”