Chapter Ten

Lori returned two hours later and carried her luggage upstairs and into the master bedroom, figuring she'd unpack later. Whistling a tune she'd heard on the radio, she began bringing in the bags of groceries she’d bought. Carrying the bags two at a time up the steps to the front door, she shifted one on her hip and watched as a can of peaches fell from the top and rolled into the bushes. Sighing, she took the bags to the kitchen and came back to search for the can.

She got down on her hands and knees and felt around for it, her fingers coming in contact with something besides the can. Frowning, she pulled it out and saw it was a dog collar, a brand new one at that. She read the address on it and saw it was nearby. She shrugged and decided to take it back later.

But first she had groceries to put away. When the fridge and the cupboards were no longer empty, she went upstairs and stared at her luggage. Not wanting to tackle that just yet, she tucked her baggage into a closet and closed the door. She thought maybe she would take a nap, but then she decided to explore the neighborhood a little bit. Glancing at her watch, she saw she still had time before her dinner date with Ivan to discuss business. She wasn’t really looking forward to it.

“To walk, or to drive?” she asked her reflection in the bedroom mirror. She turned her head from side to side, looking for any major differences in her appearance. Except for her hair being longer and a little lighter, she still looked the same as she did when she left. Maybe just a tad more unhappy though.

All of her old friends seemed to have moved, leaving behind no clues as to where they might have gone. She was all alone in the big city of Orlando, and she didn’t like it.

She decided to walk instead of drive. It would give her more time to think about what to tell Ivan about the bank. She headed downstairs and spotted the dog collar sitting on the little table in the entryway. Tucking it in her pocket, she closed the door behind her and started off.

The sun was shining brightly and she reveled in its warmth. Switzerland just couldn’t compare to good old Florida. A few minutes into her walk, she began talking to herself, a habit she’d never been able to break.

“What if I find him? Then what? Do we pick up where we left off? What do I say to him? Will he even remember me?”

She stopped in front of a brand new condo and pulled the dog collar from her pocket. A quick look at the mailbox by the sidewalk revealed the house numbers matched.

“Looks like this is the place,” she said out loud.

A huge red truck sat in the driveway beside a purple sports car. Loud music could be heard, she guessed from behind the house. At first she thought about walking around back, but knicked that idea. Who knew what kind of alarm system the residents had hooked up, and if they would appreciate her presense?

She walked up the driveway, then jumped the two steps to the front door and pressed the doorbell. It rang inside and she waited for someone to answer. No one came. She hit the bell again, holding it down longer. Still no answer. She peeked in one of the front windows but didn’t see anyone.

She rapped on the door and called out, “Hello? Anyone home?”

After waiting another few minutes, Lori decided that she’d just leave the collar on the doorstep. The owner was sure to see it. Then she turned and left, heading back to her place.

Howie reached over from his deck chair to turn down the music.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

AJ poked his head up from the pool. “Hear what?”

“It sounded like the doorbell.”

“Maybe you should go see.”

“Yeah. I’ll be right back,” Howie said, setting his glass of iced tea on the table.

“No hurry, I’m teaching Stinker to swim!”

The dog was paddling around with AJ, splashing up a storm. Howie hurried to the front of the house and yanked the door open. There was no one outside, but his eyes fell upon the dog collar at his feet.

“What? I didn’t know she lost it!” he exclaimed, picking it up. He again looked up and down the sidewalk, but saw no one.

Puzzled, he closed the door and walked back to the pool. AJ was just climbing out, Stinker in his arms.

“Anyone there?”

Howie shook his head. “Nope, but lookie what I found!” He wiggled the collar at Stinker. “How come you didn’t tell me you lost it?”

“Boy oh boy, you’re losing it, How. Expecting a dog to talk to you.”

“Oh shut up. I’ve seen you around your dogs. You baby them terribly!”

The two men sat down on lounge chairs, AJ wrapped in a towel.

“You think I’m bad? What about Brian and that damn rat of his? Yikes!”

Howie laughed. “Well, these animals are as close to children as we can get right now, I suppose.”

AJ stretched and folded his arms behind his head. “Any luck finding Lori?” he asked casually.

“No. I tried looking up some of her old friends, but they must have moved. She had no other family besides her father, that I know of anyway. And I don’t know who her family’s lawyers are, or if they’re even based in Orlando. I’m stuck, man.”

“You’d think she would have come back for the funeral, at least. I mean, he was still her old man.”

“Maybe she really hated him for making her leave.”

“Maybe. But I know that as much as my dad and I argue, I’d still go to his funeral.”

Silence descended down around them until Howie coughed.

“I’m thinking of going away for awhile,” he said, patting his lap. Stinker saw the action and immediately jumped up.

“Away? Where? For how long?”

Howie shrugged. “A coupla days, a weekend probably.”

“Where to?”

“Remember that cabin up in Raleigh that Caroline’s family has?”

“The one by Falls Lake?”

“Yeah. I was thinking of disappearing up there.”

AJ stroked his goatee. “Want some company?”

“How did I know you were gonna ask that?” Howie grinned.

“Cuz I’m your best friend. You know me too well.”

“I guess so. Thanks, AJ, but I need some time to myself. I’ve come to the conclusion that my life is not turning out the way I wanted it to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean. . . I expected to be married, have a kid by now. Not single and a millionaire.”

“It’s the biz, man. It’s the way it goes.”

“But it’s not the way I wanted it to go. I thought I had something with Claudia. She was the first one I connected with in a long time, maybe since Lori. But that didn’t work and I ended up alone again. It sucks, AJ. I think it’s me.”

“Howie, dude, listen to me. It’s not you. It’s. . . it’s. . . “ AJ stumbled over his words, unsure of how to answer.

“No, AJ, I think it is me. Look at you. You and Amanda have been together for a long time now. And Kevin and Kristin are inseperable, so are Brian and Leighanne. Even Nick and Mandy are happy. Not all the time, but they have each other. Who do I have?” He held Stinker up to his face. “I have a puppy with a gas problem.”

AJ chuckled.

“I need to do some soul searching, and I can’t do that here,” Howie continued. “The cabin seems like a good place to do some serious thinking.”

AJ nodded and asked, “So when do you leave?”

“I’m not sure yet. I figured I’d search for Lori for a few more days and see what happens.”

“What if you don’t find her?”