A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

down. In the city, raw sewage is leaking into people’s homes. It’s
awful.
Suddenly I hear movement in the hall behind me. I turn to see Bea
making her way to us through the arched doorway that cuts between
the kitchen and foyer. Bea is barefoot as always, the calves of her
jeans wet from the rain. “I thought I heard voices,” she says, smiling
down on me because Bea is tall. I haven’t seen her since I left for
work this morning. Today was long, nearly twelve hours spent on my
feet. There were surgeries, a euthanasia. Then, just as I was about
to leave, a dog walked in with a rectal prolapse. I could have sent the
owners to the after-hours emergency clinic, but I didn’t, prevailing
instead on a couple vet techs to stay and help me push the tissue
back in and suture it up, saving the owners hundreds of dollars.
Those emergency clinics aren’t cheap, and they didn’t have the
money for it. I doubted they would go. I imagined the dog in that
condition all night, how uncomfortable he would have been.
Bea was in her studio when I came home; I didn’t want to disturb
her. Most days Bea and I are like ships that pass in the night,
because even tonight, long after Bea goes to bed, I’ll be working on
my records. Leave it for the morning, she always says, wanting me
to go to bed with her. But if I leave it for the morning, I’ll forget.
A cold gust blows in from outside. It’s late May. It should be much
warmer than this, but it’s an El Niño year. The summer is expected to
be cooler than normal, and wet. So far, the weather forecasters have
been right.
Bea tugs the sleeves of her shirt down to the wrists. Her hand
settles on my lower back. It’s warm, a nice contrast to the cold air.
She kisses me on the top of the head.
I look at Bea. “Josh can’t find Meredith and Delilah,” I say. “You
haven’t heard from them today, have you?”
Bea thinks. “Meredith came by this morning,” she says. She looks
at Josh. “You were out of milk,” she says, and he asks her what time
that was. “It was early, maybe eight o’clock. The kids wanted cereal
for breakfast. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, wasn’t it, Leo?” she asks,
smiling down on him. He smiles shyly back. “Meredith left them at
home and ran over to grab a cup.”
“Did she say anything about Delilah being sick?” he asks.