Page 117 of Married With Lies

Sadie loves that picture. I’m here in her room where the walls are painted lemon yellow, random piles of books threaten to topple over and a throw pillow shaped like a bunny rabbit wound up getting cuddled tightly in my arms while I slept.

I’ll bet my sleeping brain assumed the pillow was her. The last thing I remember is having insanely hot sex atop the covers and then curling my arms around her sweet body. An owl-shaped alarm clock beside her bed says it’s now one in the afternoon.

I didn’t mean to fall asleep for five hours but sleep has a way of catching up to you whether you want it to or not.

As I sit here blinking, I have no clue what might have woken me up so suddenly. God knows I could have slept far longer and aside from the barely audible ticking of Sadie’s owl clock, there’s only silence.

Whatever the reason, now that I’m awake I’m restless to see my girl again. I roll off the bed and start hunting down pieces of clothing. After I make a quick pit stop in the bathroom, I jog down the stairs and come to a dead stop.

There’s smoke. I don’t see it. I only smell it.

I’m not the only one. Zeus and Apollo are circling by the front door and whining. Cracking the blinds on the nearest window, I see only afternoon sunshine. The barn is untouched. The Doghouse looks fine.

If there’s smoke, it’s coming from inside the house. This isn’t the season for the fireplace to be active.

Being the son of a firefighter means having a strong respect for fire.

Being the son of a firefighter who died from fire-related injuries means harboring a fear of what fire can do.

“Sadie!” I shout with fresh alarm. “Sadie!”

Apollo and Zeus jostle each other and whimper. In a flash, I sprint down the hall to the den, which Sadie refers to as the hospital. There are no humans in sight. The only hospital patient at the moment is a tired yellow lab who lets out a single bark and then goes back to sleep. There’s no sign that anything is wrong.

Just the vague smell of burning. And a gut feeling that grows stronger with each passing second.

Apollo barks. Or maybe it’s Zeus. I run back down the hall and find them sniffing at a door. This time it’s the door that leads to Peggy’s adjoining apartment.

The door is unlocked so there’s no need to kick it down. The first thing I see is a pile of colorful dishtowels going up in smoke on the counter beside the sink.

One of Peggy’s vibrant homemade sweaters hangs across the back of a chair. I grab it and use it to beat the flames into submission. When there’s just smoke left, I toss a glass of water over the mess and transfer it to the sink.

The culprit appears to be an overturned candle. There are cats milling around everywhere. One of them must have knocked one of the lit candles over when Peggy stepped out. There are two more candles burning and I blow those out in a hurry.

The room is now filled with smoke. And cats. At least five of them are crawling on the counters and darting across the floor. Zeus and Apollo walk in, sniff the air, and promptly walk out. I guess for them the excitement is over. The fire is out. It could have easily mushroomed into a serious tragedy.

Maybe that’s why I woke up so suddenly. The human brain works in mysterious ways.

If I open the door then all the cats will go running out so I settle for pushing open a window. A low growl vibrates from the floor to my right. The little brown dog whose liberation cost me three grand is huddled against the wall and baring her teeth.

“Tinkerbell, it’s all right.” I’m trying to copy the voice Sadie uses when she’s trying to soothe the dog.

Tinkerbell is not persuaded. She growls again. I drop to the floor and hold my hand out. If I get bitten then I’ll deserve it. But her teeth can’t be that big. Hopefully she’s had a rabies shot.

The dog quits growling. Her little black nose twitches. She gives me a doubtful look and I say her name again. She inches forward on her paws and allows me to gently pet her head. Two seconds later she gets spooked and darts under Peggy’s kitchen table. It feels like a victory anyway. No doubt Sadie will be impressed with my animal skills.

The stench of the burning dishtowels is still heavy. Hard to believe my father used to willingly charge into burning buildings. For years I’ve avoided wondering what he’d think of me as a man. Now my hope is that he would have understood the choices I’ve made.

He would have liked Sadie, that’s for sure. She would have made him laugh and he always loved to laugh. Luca inherited that quality from him. I hope he’ll be able to keep it but I have my doubts.

The chaos I’ve escaped from has swallowed my brother. That grief isn’t going to disappear with ease. Luca made his own choice yet that fact doesn’t help much right now.

I’ve always done the best I could for my brother. What I never saw coming is that he’d pounce on the chance to do the best he could for me.

“Cale, there’s one more thing I want you to know…”

“I’m listening, Mom.”

“Your father is waiting for me. I’ll be seeing him soon.”

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