Saving Grace

30

"She's healing well," Dr Campbell said, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of her glossy mouth. "Only a few more weeks, and I'm sure she'll be back to normal."

Grace rubbed the top of Dani's head, scratched her behind the ear.

"Thank you," she said, grinning as Dani stared up at her with adoring eyes. "Really, thank you."

Dr Campbell's face softened. She cleared her throat, ready to say something when Grace's phone rang. She excused herself and stepped outside with the excited German Sheppard.

"What?" She snapped.

"Grace," I said.

I was outside her house, staring at the top windows from the front lawn.

"Where are you?"

"None of your business."

"Grace, please, this is important. Jack's missing."

I heard the shift in her breathing, the tightening of her throat.

"Richie, I swear to God if anything has happened to him – "

"It wasn't me," I snapped. "It wasn't Godric either. We don't know what's happened."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he's gone and nobody knows where he is. Did you tell him about Godric?"

"No, I haven't spoken to him since the party."

"Fuck. Look, can you meet us at his house with a key?"

"And why on earth would I do that?"

"Because if he's missing and it wasn't Godric or my doing, then something else is going on, and it might be much worse than our little deal."

Grace paused, the line rumbling with the sound of cars passing her on the street. I could hear the anger in her voice when she replied.

"Fine. Give me half an hour. I need to drop Dani off home."

Grace, red-faced and white-knuckled, hung up in mid-turn and damn near bulldozed a stranger.

"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed, jittery and absentminded.

She turned her head up to look him in the eye.

"Grace," he said, a bemused smile on his face.

"Albert," she recalled. "Um, are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. Fine. How about you?"

She nodded, noticed the Rottweiler sitting on his left foot. Dani's eyes suddenly hardened. She crept forward, belly to the concrete as her lip curled upwards to bear her sharp teeth. Grace tightened her grip on the lead.

"Funny running into you here," Albert went on. "Bruno and I were just dropping in for our annual check-up. How about you?"

"Um, Dani got into a fight and hurt her leg. Broke it in three places."

"Ouch, the poor thing."

Dani snarled, snapping her jaws shut.

"Danica," Grace hissed.

She looked down, eyes sharp and impatient. They soon softened into tingles of fear when she saw that Danica wasn't barking at the Rottweiler, but at Albert.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, looking up at him.

Albert was silent, lips still in that bemused smile, but his eyes were locked with Dani's and the skin around his mouth was pulled tight.

"That's alright. Dogs are funny creatures."

He looked back at Grace and she cleared her throat.

"Well," she said. "I have to go. Just got an emergency phone call from a friend of mine."

"Oh," he said. "Please, go."

Grace smiled stiffly, gripping the lead tight as she dragged Dani away from the stranger. Five seconds later, she heard his voice call out to her.

"G-Grace," he stuttered.

Grace paused, looked back as he scrambled up to her.

"G-Grace, I-I-I was wondering if, um..." his eyes, once piercing and unflinching, now darted to every corner of the world. His hands that had never shaken were now trembling. Even his lips, curled into a bemused smile mere seconds ago, now quivered. "Grace, I was wondering if you would like to maybe get d-dinner, some time."

Grace, eyebrows furrowed and voice uneven, felt her throat close over.

"Look, I'm really sorry. You seem like a really good guy but my love life is up the shit right now and I'm not really looking for a relationship."

The stranger let out a muffled choke, muscles tightening, eyes filling up.

"I'm sorry, are you... are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I have to go now."

He suddenly turned on his heels and scurried away, past the Rottweiler he'd left tied up at the bike rack.

"Albert," she called. "You left your dog – "

A lovely young couple then emerged from the shop next door and sauntered up to the Rottweiler, untying him and going on their merry way. Grace paused mid-sentence, mouth agape as heavy confusion set in. Then, a little stunned, she turned and kept walking, ready to meet me at the house of the missing.

© A.G. Travers 2018