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She turned her back so she wouldn’t have to see him go. Within moments, the door closed. He was gone, leaving her and her wayward, aching heart alone.
Maggie picked up her cell phone and dialed Vera’s number. For the next few moments, she struggled to get intelligible words out through her sobs.
“Jack…leaving…I’m…idiot.”
“I’ll be right over with a pint of ice cream,” Vera said.
The ice creamhadn’t helped Maggie much at all, but it had helped when Vera refused to leave her for the rest of the weekend. Instead, she’d called their part- time worker and offered her an extra shift.
Best of all, after watching a sad movie, Maggie had company in her tears.
“It’s not fair to pull on my heart strings like that.” Vera sobbed as she reached for the last tissue.
They were certainly going through them this weekend.
Even though she hadn’t left the house, Maggie had peeked out the window and noticed that Jack’s truck had been gone for the better part of the day. She wondered where he was, and if it were possible that he’d already left. And then she reminded herself to stop wondering. It was over.
“Do you think he’ll say good-bye?” Maggie sniffed.
“That depends. How would you rate his guts on a scale of one to ten?” Vera asked, picking up the remote.
She’d rate him at an eleven, but that was beside the point. “I don’t think I encouraged him to say good- bye. I ran him out of here. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”
Vera stared at her. “Don’t even think about it. I know where your mind is going. You did the right thing. Clean break and all that.”
“You think?”
She was beginning to doubt everything. They were friends above all, and didn’t friends wish each other the best? Once she emerged from this self-imposed pity party, maybe she’d get her own gut level up into the double digits. The Lord would help her with that.
“What do you want to do? Prolong the agony? Let him go, Mags.”
“I already did.”
She’d said good-bye, in fact. And no matter which way she wanted to cut it, there wouldn’t be an easier or more pleasant way to say those words. Maybe Vera was right.
Once Lexi arrived late on Sunday, Maggie found the strength to put away the tears and put on her Mom hat. Naturally, the first thing Lexi had wanted to know was how Chief was doing and if he was with Jack. That’s when Maggie explained about Chief’s real name and his owners. To ease the pain, she told Lexi that she had their address and they could visit him anytime.
“He was a therapy dog?” Lexi’s eyes widened.
“Jack suspected he’d been trained by someone. We just couldn’t have imagined it was to work with people the way he does. He’s a very special dog. And you knew it.”
“He always seemed to know when I needed a hug.” Lexi smiled, tears in her eyes. “I’m going to miss him so much.”
“I’m sorry, Lex. It was hard for Jack, too. Chief wrapped himself around our hearts. We’re all going to miss him.”
“I wish Grandpa could have met him, too.” Lexi sat with a slump on the sofa.
“Grandpa?”
“You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the box of daddy’s mementos that I was getting ready to bring home. I couldn’t do it. He needs to keep those things.”
“You left it all there? They belong to you. Your dad would have wanted you to have them.” Maggie sat beside Lexi.
“I think Daddy would have wanted me to leave them with Grandpa, and that’s what I told him. He almost cried, Mom. Hugged me really tight. I carry my dad with me wherever I go. After all, he’s a part of me, and I’m a part of him that isn’t gone. We’ll be together again one day. Don’t you think?”
Maggie didn’t have words. Her little girl had grown up, and come into her own acceptance of her loss with the help of the Lord.
Maggie wrapped her daughter in a hug. “Of course you’ll be together again. One day, every tear will be wiped clean. It’s guaranteed.”
