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“First Methodist on Graven. Reverand Stoker is a nice man. He just don’t know nothin’ about dogs. I’m sure he thought he was doin’ somethin’ good.”
“You’ve been very helpful,” said Otto.
As the three men got back in the SUV, they stared at one another, contemplating a drive to Algiers. Being so late in the day, the men were probably gone, even if they were still there after the warning yesterday.
“That’s all we can do for now. We’ll head over there in the morning before we hit the next lab,” said Baptiste.
“Damn, this shit doesn’t seem to end. Maybe we need to follow up on putting out a bulletin wanting puppies,” said Pork. Baptiste laughed, shaking his head.
“We do, and Sniff and Lucy will have a hundred dogs at the center because they damn sure can’t turn anything away.”
“Lucy and Sniff? Brother, you need to worry about your mama. I swear that woman is starting her own potential ark.” The three men laughed, then Pork looked at Baptiste with a serious expression.
“Hey, you don’t think she actually might be doing that, do you? I mean, we all suspect something strange with your folks, but could they be building an ark?”
Baptiste stared at Pork, laughing and shaking his head. Otto chuckled but waited for a verbal response from their friend.
“An ark,” laughed Baptiste. “No. No, she wouldn’t… An ark. No, no, no! She would never do anything so foolish without telling us.”
“You don’t sound very convincing,” said Otto.
“Yeah, I know,” smirked Baptiste. “Honestly, brother. My parents are capable of anything. They have more money than Midas, more resources than the federal government, and more connections than I can possibly dream of having in my lifetime. I almost don’t want to say ‘never’ or ‘no’ when it comes to them. I’m just not sure.”
“What about the couple that visited Katherine?” asked Pork. “Didn’t that seem strange to you? I mean, we know that your mama suffered a miscarriage years and years ago. But the fact that Katherine thought they looked exactly like the couple who’d come to see her seems suspicious.”
“But how would they look so young?” asked Otto.
“I don’t know,” said Pork, shaking his head. “I’m just trying to make sense of it all. Then again, maybe I don’t need to. Maybe I’m not supposed to.”
“What do you mean?” asked Baptiste.
“Listen, when I was a kid, my parents made us go to church every Sunday. Nothing crazy, just church once a week and be present. When I was about thirteen, I started questioning things. How do we know God is real? How could he have made the world in seven days? What if miracles aren’t real? My folks weren’t mad at me at all. They said they thought it was good that I was asking questions.
“Then my father asked me a question. How do you know the air is real? You can’t see it. You can’t touch it. You can’t taste it. But you know there is air because you require it to breathe. Then he said, how do you know that the stars are real? You’ve never been to visit them. You’ve never seen them up close yourself. You’ve never touched them.”
“Your father sounds like my father,” smirked Baptiste.
“That’s kind of my point. Maybe we’re not supposed to question any of this. Maybe we’re just supposed to be okay with the life we’re given, the life we see.”
“You know, Pork,” grinned Otto, “sometimes you’re fucking brilliant.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rose, Robin, and Katherine were waiting at the cafeteria for their men to arrive home. The meal tonight was being cooked outside on the open pits. Steaks and grilled fish, along with baked potatoes, grilled vegetables, and grilled fruit. For dessert, Dylan, Sara, and Casey had outdone themselves. Bananas Foster. The Belle Fleur recipe.
“This food is amazing,” said Katherine, shaking her head.
“It gets better every time we have a meal,” smiled Rose. “I’ve been here longer than I’d like to admit, and yet I never get tired of the food.”
“Bree said you saw a few patients today,” smiled Robin.
“I did! It was wonderful to see people face-to-face again. I lived so far out I was really starting to only do virtual appointments. Not something ideal for what I do. It helps if you can see people’s body language and their anxiety around certain words and conversations.”
“Is it really possible to improve someone’s sex life just by talking about it?” asked Rose.
“Well, that’s the only way to truly start,” smiled Katherine. “The physical contact, the emotional pieces are important. For instance, the client I saw today had been a victim of child abuse. Those are internal wounds that are difficult to find and difficult to heal. The spouse was completely unaware. They’d been married twenty-one years, and this was the first time it was spoken aloud.”
“Wow, that’s crazy,” said Rose, shaking her head. “I was sexually, verbally, and physically abused by my first husband. Baptiste was an absolute saint about it all. He never pushed me, never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. I was terrified before I walked onto this property, then it was as if all my fear left my body. In fact, I was the one that made the first big move on him.”
