Wildflower (18 page)

“I know sweetie, I know,” he soothed.

“I would have Tommy,” she sniffed softly
against his shoulder.

“What??”

“If she’d asked me to I would have. Tommy I
love that woman so much it hurts. That’s why I ran away from her; I
knew I wouldn’t be able to refuse her anything and so I ran
away.”

“Aw my poor Hazel,” soothed Tommy as he
gently patted her shoulder. “I know you better than that sweetie.
Those just aren’t your kind of games.”

“No they’re not Tommy, that’s why I ran
away,” sniffed Hazel. “I had to get away before she had a chance to
ask.”

“What’s going to become of me Tommy?” she
asked softly a while later, still lying against his shoulder.

“You’re going to be fine sweetie. It will
hurt for a while, but it does go away in time.”

“Please don’t let her find me Tommy,” she
whispered softly. “If she finds me I’m lost for sure.”

“She won’t find you honey, I won’t let her.
I’ll change the phone number first thing in the morning and have
the new one unlisted.”

Getting It Straight

Abby had sunk into the deepest depression of
her life and it had gotten worse each day. Keith and Wanda had seen
Hubby running free several times, but there was absolutely no sign
of Abby at all. “Her car is there, but I haven’t seen a glimpse of
her in days,” sighed Wanda, her voice filled with concern, “and not
a single light in the windows either.”

“The dog seems to be running loose too,”
mused Keith. “Should we go check on her do you think?”

“Yes, I’m going over there right now,”
replied Wanda as she rose from her chair and stepped into her
sandals. She left her house and marched right up Abby’s door where
she tapped lightly.

Only the dog answered and he just bolted past
her, running into the tall grasses to do his business. The door was
still ajar so Wanda poked her head inside and called softly.
“Abby?” She received no answer. Wanda stepped into the kitchen and
called again, a bit louder this time, still no answer.

Just then Hubby returned and pushed the
kitchen door open with his nose. Ignoring Wanda completely, he ran
past her and into the living room where she found him lying with
his head on Abby’s feet.

Wanda put her hand to her mouth to stifle a
cry. There sat Abigail MacKai looking worse than death warmed over.
The girl had not washed in days, nor had she combed her golden
hair. Abby’s eyes were dull, lifeless, and three day old mascara
still streaked her face where she’d been crying. She was still in
her nightgown and it had tea stains down the front.

“Oh my god, Abby what has happened?”

“All gone again,” replied Abby in a flat
monotone voice.

“What’s all gone dear?”

“Lovers all gone.”

“Which lovers dear?”

“Mine,” replied Abby. She still had not
looked up or moved in any way. “Why do they always run away from me
Wanda?” she asked, showing a bit of emotion for the first time. The
dog began to thump his tail on the floor at even this small sign of
life returning to his beloved Abby.

“Tell me what has happened Abby,” Wanda urged
gently.

“Hazel ran away just like Randy did,” wailed
Abby as she burst into tears again.

Wanda held her gently, crooning softly to her
until Abby had cried herself out. “Tell me about it Abby.”

“I went to the dance in town,” sniffed Abby,
“and she was there. Gwen was trying to foist her obnoxious cousin
onto me and, suddenly, Hazel appeared to rescue me. Oh Wanda, you
should have seen her. She was in heels and this active red dress
that could dance on it’s own I swear. She smiled at me like she was
really glad to see me and it made my heart sing. Yes, Abigail
MacKai fell in love with a woman this time, and she ran away.” Abby
started to cry again and Wanda held her, gently rocking her back
and forth until she’d cried herself out.

“Oh Wanda, it was so wild and exciting,”
sniffed Abby as she resumed her tale. “We danced and danced until
well after midnight. No one has ever danced with me like that
before and I loved it. We laughed and sang and danced, and I know
she was enjoying it as much as I was. I said it was time to go, but
she held me back for another waltz. I said I really had to go, but
she wanted my phone number. I went to get my card for her, and when
I turned back, she was gone. I looked everywhere, but she wasn’t
there. Someone finally told me that she’d run out of the building.”
She burst into tears again.

“This doesn’t make any sense at all Abby,”
whispered Wanda as she rocked the distraught woman back and forth
gently. “We need to get you cleaned up and to get some food into
you. Once you can think straight again, we’ll make some sense of
this. Come on now dear, up you get.”

“I’ll need a happy pill first,” sighed Abby
sinking back into her lifeless state.

“A happy pill?”

“Happy pill,” repeated Abby, nearly catatonic
once again. “In the medicine cabinet, top shelf.” Wanda started to
rise, but Abby caught her arm. “The bottle on the left is sleeping
pills. Swallow them all and sweet sleep takes away the pain
forever.”

“Oh Abby,” whispered Wanda in a soft choking
voice. Her heart was breaking for this poor girl who was in so much
distress.

“The smaller bottle on the right is the happy
pills,” Abby went on softly. “Take one of those and the MacKai rise
to do battle once again. I’ll need at lest two of them.”

Wanda was up the stairs in a flash. She was
back in just a moment with two of the pills and a glass of water.
Abby sat gazing at the magic bullet for a long moment. “No sweet
sleep for Abby this time,” she sighed as she swallowed the pills
and drained the glass of water. “It takes a little while,” she said
softly as she sank back into her chair. Wanda sat with her and
waited patiently. She didn’t have all that long to wait.

It was only a short while before Abby started
to get restless and squirm in the chair. Soon she was up and pacing
around the room, Hubby right on her heels, his tail slowly wagging
back and forth. “I’ve got to have a shower,” she muttered. “I smell
like a goat and I’m sure I look worse than last week’s left over
dog food.”

Wanda smiled with pure delight to see the
fire returning to her friend’s eyes. “Wanda, I can’t thank you
enough for this. Can I be a real bag and ask another favor of
you?”

“Of course Abby, what do you need?”

“Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up then
make me something to eat?” asked Abby.

“You go on Abby,” smiled Wanda, rising to her
feet, “I’ll put on the kettle and get some breakfast ready for
you.”

“Thanks Wanda,” called Abby as she ran to the
stairs, “you’re a love.” She raced up the stairs with the dog close
on her heels.

Wanda soon heard the shower going and she
smiled as she began to tidy up the kitchen. There was dog food
everywhere, but precious little left in the bowl. Wanda swept the
kitchen floor, and, as soon as the shower stopped, she put on the
kettle for tea. Listening at the bottom of the stairs, Wanda heard
the hair dryer stop, and smiling, she returned to the kitchen. A
few moments later a freshly scrubbed Abby danced down the stairs,
dressed in her sweats and smiling radiantly.

“Wanda, I can’t even begin to tell you how
good that shower felt,” she sighed as she plopped into a chair at
the table.

“I can guess,” laughed Wanda as she set a
huge plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of Abby. “Eat your
breakfast now, then we’ll get to work.”

“Work?” Abby asked around a mouthful of
eggs.

“Yes, work,” smiled Wanda as she poured
herself a cup of tea and joined Abby at the table. “Something
terrible happened for you and it makes absolutely no sense to me at
all. I suspect we are both missing something important here, and,
with a bit of effort, I am sure we can figure out what that
is.”

“I certainly hope you’re right,” sighed Abby
as she finished the last of the toast. She took a long sip of her
tea and sighed with contentment. “Ok, I’m ready, what do we
do?”

“Start over where it was still beautiful. Go
very slowly and try to see it all in your mind exactly the way it
actually happened.”

“I said I should be going,” murmured Abby as
she closed her eyes and smiled. “We were laughing about something
clever she’d said, a play on words I think. Anyway, the music
shifted to a slow waltz, and as I was reaching for my coat, she
opened her arms and smiled at me with that sweet look on her face.
I laughed and shook my finger at her as I stepped into her arms.
She held me close and laid her cheek on my hair; we danced the
whole dance that way.”

“That sounds so romantic,”

“It was;” replied Abby, still smiling, “so
sweet and so romantic. Once the music stopped I said I really had
to go and she wanted my phone number. I went to the table to get a
card from my purse, and when I turned around, she was gone. I
searched and searched everywhere, but she’d just vanished. Gwen’s
cousin told me Hazel had run away.” There were tears in Abby’s eyes
again.

“It still doesn’t make sense,” said Wanda,
shaking her head slowly. “It sounds as though Hazel was enjoying
you as much as you enjoyed her. Why would she run away? Abby, when
the music stopped, exactly what happened, exactly what did you say?
Go slow now.”

“Hazel loosened her arm around my waist,”
Abby mused thoughtfully, “but she held onto my hand as I started to
drag her back toward the table. She asked for my phone number and I
was getting one of my cards for her.”

“Go slow now,” cautioned Wanda softly.

“Hazel said she’d give me her number too,”
Abby went on. “She asked if I really had to go. I said that I
really did as I’d left Hubby alone far too long as it was.”

“Whoa,” exclaimed Wanda stopping Abby,
“exactly what did you say to her?”

“I said I had to go as I’d already left Hubby
alone far too long,” said Abby slowly. Slowly the light of
understanding came into her eyes. “Oh dear sweet lord Harry, with
all the noise and the loud music, she must have misunderstood and
thought I’d said....”

“Uh huh,” agreed Wanda, slowly nodding her
head. “Now it starts to make sense.”

“Dumb blonde, dumb blonde, dumb blonde,”
raged Abby as she smacked herself on the forehead with the palm of
her hand. “She must have thought I was married and trying to set up
a threesome or something like that. Dear god, no wonder she ran
away.” She began to pace about the room, cursing softly under her
breath.

“So the question remains, what are you going
to do now?”

“I’m wide open to suggestions,” sighed Abby
as she stopped pacing.

“Call Hazel?”

“Don’t have the number,” replied Abby softly,
her shoulders beginning to sag.

“Phone book?” suggested Wanda.

“Right, phone book,” cried Abby as she leaped
toward the phone in the hallway. She was back a few minutes later,
completely dejected. “Phone’s out of service. She must have changed
the number and had it unlisted. She really thinks I’m a bag of shit
and doesn’t want me to find her Wanda. Now what am I going to
do?”

“What do you want to do Abby?”

“I want to get her back,” sighed Abby as she
plopped into a chair. “May the gods help me, but I have fallen
deeply and completely in love with Hazel Fillmore, and I want her
back. The question remains, how am I going to make that happen? I’m
completely lost here Wanda, what do you think Bride Murphy would do
in this situation?”

“That’s an easy one,” laughed Wanda. “Bride
would dress up in her best outfit, one that she knew the object of
her desire would love, and then she’d head for town and hunt her
up, even if it took all summer to find her.”

“Good plan, I like it,” declared Abby
decisively. “I’ll start first thing tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” asked Wanda, a bit surprised.

“Tomorrow,” Abby replied firmly. “For days
now I have ignored the most loyal friend I have ever had, and that
has to stop, besides, this darn medication has me a bit hyper. I
will take my Hubby here for a long walk then we will drive to the
store for the mail and a bag of dog food. After that I need to put
my house in order. I also need a good night’s sleep so I can think
straight in the morning.”

“Now that sounds more like my Abby,” smiled
Wanda.

Abby swept Wanda into a fierce bear hug. “I
love you to bits Wanda my friend,” she whispered softly. “I will
never be able to repay you for this.”

“Yes you can dear,” replied Wanda as she
returned Abby’s embrace. “The next time you feel like the bottom
has fallen out of your world, you must call me at once, do you
hear? I don’t care if it is the middle of the night or not, you are
to call immediately.”

“Yes Mom,” smiled Abby contritely.

“I mean it Abigail MacKai,” admonished Wanda
softly, still hugging Abby.

“I know, I promise Wanda, cross my heart,”
replied Abby as she continued to hug her friend closely.

“Alright then, you and the man can walk me
home then off you go,” laughed Wanda as she released Abby.

Abby scooped up her beach bag and dropped her
purse and cell phone into it before heading out the door after
Wanda. Tail wagging at incredible speed, Hubby stayed right at her
heels until they dropped off Wanda and reached the beach where he
raced away chasing sea gulls.

Abby laughed delightedly at his antics. He
would never catch one of those birds, and in truth, she doubted
that he even expected to. The combination of the medication, the
fresh air, shower, and a solid meal were swiftly bringing Abby back
to herself. “Oh Hazel, I swear I will find you girl,” she sighed as
she threw another stick for Hubby to fetch. “I love you Hazel
Fillmore, and I swear, no matter what happens, you are going to
look me in the eye and listen to what I have to say. You are going
to have to listen to me speak those words to you.”