“Well, Erik said, placing the bag of groceries on the table. “How did I do on my world-wide radio debut?”
“Just great,” she said, hugging him. “You did fine. I even missed my favorite soap opera for you,” she teased.
“That was very nice of you. But, really? Did I sound ok?”
“You sure did. I taped the show so you can listen to it for yourself.”
“Great. Than I can hear me embarrass myself on the radio. Now that everyone else has heard.”
Vickie laughed. “But seriously. Even I didn’t realize you know so much about old movies.”
“Just bad ones,” he replied. “I had a warped childhood.”
“That explains a lot of things.”
They both laughed.
“How is Todd? Is he any better?”
“He’ll be all right. It’s just a cold. And he had a scare. He’ll be fine.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“He fell asleep.”
“Not from listening to me on the radio, I hope.”
“No. He listened to a little. I don’t know how much he understood, because we don’t let him watch horror movies,” she teased.
He laughed. “The kid must have a bad cold. It’s not like him to sleep during the day. We’ve got enough trouble getting him to sleep at night.”
“He hasn’t slept much since we moved in. But I’ve been giving him cold medicine. That makes you sleepy.”
“I know. Let him sleep.”
Vickie nodded. “Erik, you haven’t seen Faith around, have you? Did she follow you in?”
“Ah…no. I don’t think so. I haven’t seen her since this morning. Why?”
“Well, I let her out this afternoon right after your show and I haven’t seen her since. It’s been at least an hour.”
“She usually stays out all afternoon, Vic. I wouldn’t worry. Did you call her?”
“Yeah. That’s what bothered me. Todd wanted to sleep with her so I went outside and looked around and called her. It’s not like her not to come when she’s called. You always say she’s like a dog that way. You don’t think she’s gotten lost, do you?”
“I don’t think so. Cats are really good about finding their way home. I read an article once that a cat found its way home all the way across the country.”
“You don’t think she headed back to the old place, do you?”
“No. She’s probably out exploring. Probably stalking a blue jay or something. Or maybe she’s sleeping in the SUV. You left the windows open, you know.”
“Oh, I forgot. Did you close them for me? You never know about those late afternoon showers this time of year.”
“I did. But I didn’t check to see if the cat was inside.”
“Then she might be out there. I’ll have to check. If she is, I don’t want her taking a dump in the back seat.”
“I’ll go check,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry about her. She’ll come in when it’s time to eat. And that should be any minute now.”
Still, as much as he tried to act nonchalant, he had a bad feeling about this.