CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Didi glanced at the clock in her office and jolted. Five thirty already? Kristin was off today, and it seemed as if she’d just started to work when it was time to leave. She’d finished her piece on breakups and submitted it to the editorial department. With a wealth of material to sort through and organize, Didi had no trouble firing off a long article full of fascinating information—at least, she hoped it was fascinating. Some of the horror stories she’d heard and read in the past few days made her split with Kevin seem like a day at the playground.

The long week had drained her, and she couldn’t wait to get home, nuke a frozen meal in the microwave, and prop her feet up. She’d been looking forward to Bible study all week, but it didn’t start until seven thirty, and she wanted to relax a while beforehand.

She stretched her aching neck, grabbed her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk, and tugged on her jacket. As she was walking out of her office, her cell phone rang and she grabbed it. Without looking at the screen to I.D. the caller, she answered. “Hello, Didi here.”

“I decided to come tonight.”

“Carol Ann?” Didi reeled back to her desk and thumped into her desk chair.

“Yeah, it’s me. Who’d ya think?”

“Sorry. You caught me by surprise. You’re coming? Tonight? You mean you’re coming to Bible study?”

“You invited me, didn’t you?”

“Sure I did.” Didi was having a hard time grasping the news. She’d been inviting Carol Ann to various church functions off and on for years, but this was the first time she’d accepted. “Well, that’s great. Do you need directions to the church?”

“Believe it or not, I’m driving, and I’m coming up on Airy Ridge. I was thinking we could have dinner first.”

She was almost here? So much for having a few minutes to herself. Though she loved her friend dearly, too much of Carol Ann wore her out.

She swallowed a sigh as a wave of remorse washed over her. What kind of a Christian did that make her? One of her very best friends was interested in coming to church, maybe for the very first time in her life, and Didi was too tired? Despite her frayed nerves, Didi put a smile on her lips, hoping it would reach her voice. “I’d love to have dinner with you. Why don’t we meet at the Main Street Diner? I was about to leave work, so I’ll meet you in fifteen minutes.”

After she ended the call, Didi visited the ladies’ room to freshen up. She splashed some water on her face, combed her hair, and swiped on some lipstick. Now she was presentable.

The restaurant was a short drive, and Carol Ann’s distinctive neon-purple PT Cruiser posed in the vacant corner of the parking lot. She forced a genuine smile, took a deep breath, and opened the diner door. Carol Ann waited in a booth in the corner. Surprisingly, she stood and gave Didi a hug when she neared the table. Normally, her friend wasn’t much of a hugger.

“Thanks for coming.” Carol Ann sniffed, her eyes welling with tears. She brushed them away.

“Hey, you okay?” Didi squeezed Carol Ann’s shoulders, and they sat down. Her friend never cried.

An eager waitress arrived, but Didi waved her away. “Give us a few minutes, all right?”

“Sure.” The server placed two glasses of water on the table and backed away.

Didi turned to her friend. “What’s wrong? You look awful.”

Carol Ann managed a tiny smile and slurped some water. “Thanks for the compliment. I know I look like something the feral cat dragged in, but it’s been a killer of a week.” She looped her napkin into a knot then shredded it into confetti. “I’ve been having chest pains for months. I ignored them. Sunday night, I ended up in the ER.”

“Oh, gosh, Carol Ann. Did you have a heart attack?” Didi stared at her friend, incredulous.

“Not technically, or rather, the emergency room doctor said not yet. Apparently, though, it’s only a matter of time.”

“But you’re only thirty-four.”

“No kidding. Bad genes, I guess, but did I ever get in trouble for smoking. I also have to lose my pudgy middle. Who knew I was shaped like a Fuji apple? Dr. Didn’t-Pull-Any-Punches said I’d better change my ways or I’d be dead before I hit forty.”

The server crept back on timid feet and whispered, “Do you guys need a few more minutes?”

Didi sat back, gulped in air, and smiled faintly. “Thanks for waiting. I can be ready in a minute. You go ahead, Carol Ann.”

“Okay. I’ll take a side salad with light ranch dressing, and a turkey burger—no mayonnaise, no cheese, no bun.” Carol Ann smirked. “And, no doubt, no taste as well.”

“Coffee?” asked the waitress.

Carol Ann made another face. “Decaf.” She sighed. “No cream.”

Nixing any thoughts of fettuccine Alfredo, Didi ordered the same. “Except make my coffee regular, not decaf, please.” If she was going to make it through the night, she needed the caffeine.

After the server left, Didi looked her friend in the eye. “So, you were in the hospital on Sunday night. Who was with you?”

“Nobody.”

“You didn’t call me?” Didi shook her head. “I’d have come if you’d called me. Don’t you know that?”

“Yeah, I know.” Carol Ann finished tearing her napkin to pieces and filched Didi’s. “That’s why I didn’t call. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Didi let out a long sigh. “You and Jake are two of a kind.”

“Huh?”

“Both of you are way too independent. Sometimes people have to ask their friends for help.”

“Look who’s talking,” Carol Ann retorted. “Who’s the girl who came close to marrying a jerk who treated her like dirt? I tried to tell you he was a worm.”

Didi’s face heated. “Okay, you have me there. You were one of the few people who spoke her mind, and I should have listened.” Didi had been deceived, but she was learning. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

The server arrived with hot coffee and poured two cups—one regular, one decaf.

Carol Ann reached over and patted Didi’s hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I have a big mouth sometimes.”

“No, you’re right. If I’d paid attention to you, it would have saved me a lot of heartache. Promise me you’ll call me the next time you need me, okay?”

Carol Ann hung her head and peeked at Didi through her lashes. “Okay.”

“So, what happens now?”

Carol Ann added a spoonful of sugar to her coffee, took a sip, and scowled. “Needs cream,” she muttered. “I have to go to an outpatient clinic for an angiogram. The most likely scenario is that I have a blockage in my ticker. I might need a stent or, worst case, a bypass.”

The turkey burgers arrived, and Didi asked the server for some extra napkins. They ate for a while in silence, and Didi wished she’d been a better friend. Carol Ann had been carrying this burden all alone for months.

Didi chewed on her bottom lip. “I’ll take you. To the outpatient clinic, I mean. Then we’ll figure out what to do after that.”

“Hey, you have Jake to take care of. You don’t need me horning in on your time.”

“First of all, I have a hunch he’d be the first one to say I should be there. Second, I want to be there. So we have a plan. Give me the date and the time, and I’ll be your taxi service.”

Carol Ann’s bleary eyes teared up again. “Thanks. So…let’s change the subject to something more entertaining. What’s going on with you and the muscle man?”

Didi filled her in, and they spent the rest of the meal talking about Jake. As they left the restaurant, Didi stood by Carol Ann’s car. “You still want to go to Bible study?”

“Absolutely. Not only did you invite me, but your friend Kelly called me last night, too.”

“Kelly? Really? That was nice of her.” Didi was pleased. Kelly was full of surprises. Wouldn’t it be great if her friends started to pal around?

“Yeah, it was kind of her to care, and then I thought, why not go? I have nothing else to do with my pitiful, lonely life.” Carol Ann donned a shy smile. “Plus, I’ve already met Samantha, Fanny, and Maria, so it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.”

A thought popped into Didi’s head. “Would you mind if we prayed for you at the meeting? Pray for your heart problem, I mean?”

Carol Ann thinned her lips and lifted a brow. “You’re not going to believe this, but I think I’m okay with that.” She pretended to look stern. “Don’t get all weird and churchy on me, though. I’m coming because I like your friends. Not to get converted.”

Didi laughed. “No weirdness. I promise. But just so you know, we give out free cookies with conversions.”

Carol Ann guffawed, and her eyes rolled heavenward.

To pray for a friend was a privilege under any circumstances. Didi was very glad she’d answered her phone.

* * *

Two hours later, Didi drove home from church and coasted into her driveway. She yawned loudly, stretched, and climbed the stairs to her apartment. Her clock declared it wasn’t even ten yet, but the vision of a nice hot bath and a good, long snuggle with Maisie kept her moving.

Ten women had shown up, and Carol Ann had kept them in stitches. She’d particularly enjoyed the Christian relationship book they were studying, Men Are Like Waffles - Women Are Like Spaghetti. In fact, they all had, and peals of laughter had echoed around the classroom.

At the very end of the gathering, the women sent up fervent prayers for many concerns, but they’d taken special time and care to include Carol Ann’s upcoming procedure. Before she’d left for home, Carol Ann squeezed Didi in a hug and promised to call her next week. Didi was overjoyed her friend had talked at length with the vivacious Kelly. Her longtime buddy needed people who truly cared. Carol Ann planned to come back for the next meeting in two weeks. Didi’s heart warmed.

Despite Carol Ann’s distressing news, it was a good night. Still, after her long, draining week, Didi was plumb out of energy. Luxuriating in the bathtub with a novel always did a lot to lighten her mood. She lit some lavender-scented candles and sank down in the warm water. How she loved a good book and a long soak.

Maisie purred nonstop, obviously thrilled with the late-evening’s activities. While Didi immersed herself in the tub, the silky-haired cat curled up prettily on the bath mat, closed her eyes, and tumbled into catnap nirvana. Forty-five minutes later, Didi wrapped herself in her fuzzy robe and vegged out in front of the TV.

Didi half-watched a TV show and doodled on a scratch pad. She’d talked to Jake at length during her lunch break that day, and she missed him. As she lounged on the couch, she daydreamed about their time together on Sunday afternoon. He’d been so sweet, and now that she’d seen where he lived, she could picture him sitting in his easy chair, a slender Lucy posed nearby on the windowsill. As she imagined the scene, an idea for a poem flitted in her brain.

An hour later, delighted with her effort, she named her composition “Uncommon Cat.” She captured something of the elusive feline, and someday she might share her poem with Jake. She draped her arms around the sofa pillow and covered herself with a blanket. What a joy to think about the man she loved. She wanted to be with him and longed for his touch, but for now, she was content to be by herself.

Her cell phone rang. She glanced at the clock. Almost midnight. She smiled as she reached for it. Who else but Jake would call at this late hour?

In disbelief, she stared at her phone. Kevin’s name glared from the screen. Her chest pounded. Her phone rang five times before going to voicemail.

Thirty seconds later, it rang again…and again. She turned her phone off, checked every door and window in the house, and slunk off to bed to hide under the covers. Tossing and turning amid the shakes, she found sleep eluded her.

At two a.m., Didi downed a sleeping pill and waited in vain for it to kick in. At three, she gave up any pretense of sleep, crawled onto the couch, and tried to read. At five, she finally drifted off to the vibration of dear Maisie’s snoring. At seven thirty, she awoke to her alarm going off in the bedroom. At eight thirty, she dragged herself to work with dark circles under her eyes. She could barely keep those eyes open, but going to work was a great deal better than being home alone with her fears.

At noon, she broke down and left a tremulous message on Jake’s cell phone.

Twenty-seven minutes later, Jake called her back, his voice full of love and concern. He said he was on his way the moment he was finished with his last class. He’d help her deal with this nightmare. Didi remembered to breathe again.

At four o’clock that afternoon, Didi and Jake met at the District Court Commissioners’ Office. With Jake by her side, she filed a petition for protection against Kevin Francis Cabot.

Kevin called fifteen times in the span of eight hours. His messages ranged from syrupy-sweet to mean and nasty. He’d called her “his Venus” in message number six and a “skanky bimbo” in number seven. In message number eleven, he’d told her she was a “sex-starved whore” and that she’d never find another man to love her. In number twelve, he wanted his “cuddly pussycat” back and promised he would love her forever. Each message made her cringe, but Didi had had the presence of mind to save every single one.

Officer Anderson had been right. Kevin was abusing her. Didi had to find a way to make it stop.