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“Lost Henry?” she squeaked. “Your big pig?”
Ashton didn’t seem to notice. “Yes,” he said sadly. “He just vanished and no one has seen him anywhere. It was a blow, for sure.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Lily did her best to sound sympathetic, but she was sure it sounded fake.
“I’ve been so worried about him,” Ashton went on. “But of course, someone might’ve turned him into ham by now.”
“Er … maybe not,” Lily replied.
Ashton looked at her sharply and she realized she’d slipped up.
“Well, you just don’t know, do you?” she added hastily, trying to cover up her error.
Ashton looked at her thoughtfully. “No, I guess not,” he agreed. He took a deep breath. “Uh, Lily, I wanted to ask you something.”
She looked at him warily as she arranged cookies on a platter. “Sure.” Her heart hammered; she was certain he was going to ask about Henry.
Ashton lowered his voice and leaned closer. “I’d like us to be friends again,” he said quietly. “You know, hang out together and watch movies and have dinner. That kind of thing. Would you like that?”
Lily gaped at him. It was the last thing she was expecting. “Uh, sure,” she replied cautiously.
Ashton beamed. “That’s great, Lil. I’m getting some work done on the kitchen at my place, but I could come over to yours. Does this weekend work?”
Terror flooded through Lily’s heart. “Definitely not,” she said firmly.
Ashton looked bemused at the rebuff. “Oh. Okay. Whenever you’re ready, then.”
“It’s … it’s not that I don’t want to,” she began, then realized that anything else she said would be incriminating. “I just … can’t,” she finished miserably.
“It’s all right,” Ashton replied graciously. “If you ever decide you’re ready, let me know.”
“Sure,” she whispered as her heart sank.
“Well, I’ll catch you around, then,” he said, taking another cupcake as he headed off to talk to a farmer friend.
Lily watched him go as misery flooded her heart. There was no way she could have Ashton around with Henry there. And her ungracious reply to his polite question had just ensured that he’d probably never ask her again. She’d never felt more out of sorts.
“That rotten pig,” she muttered under her breath. “He’s ruining my life.”
“Oh?” queried an elderly female voice nearby. “If he’s that bad, you should probably just dump him. He doesn’t deserve a nice girl like you.”
Lily looked up to see the sympathetic older woman standing beside the buffet table. “If only I could.”
12
Lily stared at the note on the doorstep in dismay. She bent and gingerly picked it up as a sinking feeling filled her heart. Whoever had written the last one had come back. She opened the piece of paper to see the same scrawly handwriting as last time.
Dear Lily and Bec
I’m lonely. I miss my ladies and my babies. I want to go home.
Of course, I could always try my luck at finding my own way home, but it would be much easier if you nice humans would just send me back to where I came from.
Lovingly yours,
Henry
Lily took the note inside with shaking hands and showed it to Bec, who read it in silence.
