One year ago I’d packed Claudia carefully away in the shed for her long summer’s nap. The dogs and I returned to the house to start stacking the boxes for storage in the basement. I’d decided to do the job myself because I knew it made Andy sad to put it all away. Patti, bless her heart, had labeled each box carefully. I respectfully followed her instructions for putting Christmas to bed for the year. Her organization once again made it easy.
The doorbell rang. Tails wagging, Annie and Jake trotted to the door with a perfunctory woof. I felt so protected.
When I opened the door, I saw a very handsome man about my age on the stoop.
“Well, s**t,” I said, “look what the cat dragged in!”
It was Steve Wagner, one of my former f**k and suck buddies from years ago.
“Get in here, you son of a
