A Cold Wife, Sweet Husband

At one point, one of the cats ran on her and leaped off of her head. She shrieked and jumped up. She tripped on another cat that darted in front of her. Startled, she fell to the side and reached for the end table to steady herself but it was too light to support her weight so she knocked it over.

She didn't have to see the cat-shaped glass lamp to know that it smashed into a zillion pieces. Veronica bolted out of her seat and cried out, That was a gift to Zipper on his second birthday!

I'm sorry. It was an accident, Jessica stammered. She put her hands on the floor to steady herself enough so she could stand. That was a bad decision, for shards of glass cut into her palms. She brought her hands up and nearly shrieked when she saw that a couple of shards were stuck in her hands.

You're getting blood all over Tiffy's white rug! Veronica gasped. Did it occur to you that I might be in pain? she yelled. The woman and her stupid animals were impossible! Here. Let me help you up, Julie offered as she rushed over to lift Jessica by the elbows. We need to get those out, she said as she inspected her hands.

Fortunately, it looks worse than it is. Turning to Veronica, she asked, Do you have any rubbing alcohol? Get out of this room, before you destroy something else, Veronica told Jessica. We can buy you a new lamp and rug, Julie offered.

Can you replace a memory? Veronica asked. Forget it. Your friend has caused a lot of grief today. At that moment, a bird pooped in Jessica's hair. She screamed and ran out of the room, Julie following close behind as she raced up the stairs. She bumped into another cat on the steps and was tempted to kick it but refrained since she didn't want to hurt the thing.

She simply stepped past it and ran into the first bathroom she saw. After she removed broken pieces of glass from her hands and washed her hair, Julie came in with the rubbing alcohol. Julie gently applied the rubbing alcohol into her hands.

I had no idea a woman could be so attached to her animals. Did you know she has a house for each one, and those houses come with working clocks, a plush bed, and individual addresses? Jessica laughed. She does go overboard in her love for her pets.

Maybe that's what happens when people don't have children. No. I think it's just her personality. Julie finished drying her hands. Thank you, Jessica said. Her friend sighed as she set the bottle down on the counter. Jessica, it was hard to get married without you and Amber there. She nodded. It was hard not to be there. She paused.

I'm sorry I was so hard on you at my wedding. We shouldn't let a man come between us. I'm sorry too. It was wrong for me not to tell you what was going on. I was afraid if I told you, then Harrison's father wouldn't let him court me anymore.

Harrison's father? He's the father who runs his life for him. He tells him what to do and when to do it. He's under a lot of pressure to win this account today. I think he struggled his entire life to gain his father's approval. What do you think of his father? She shrugged.

I don't know much about him. Harrison tries to keep us apart. He says that his father will most likely try to tell me what to do if he got the chance. The reason I didn't say anything when Harrison was pretending to be interested in you is that Harrison said his father made it clear that he wouldn't be honoring him if he didn't go along with his plan.