Moonlight Over Manhattan(33)
He was fairly sure his ex-wife wouldn’t have known that, either.
But Harriet knew.
“I always feel if there’s a problem the best way to handle it is conversation, and conversations are best conducted in a comfortable environment not in a drafty corridor. So I invited her in.”
“You told me you find it difficult to talk to strangers.”
“I do, but in this instance we bonded over our concern for Madi. Did you know Judy has a Shih Tzu?”
“A—what?” Was that a disease he hadn’t heard of?
“A Shih Tzu—it’s a breed of dog.”
“No. I didn’t know that.” Ethan flung his coat across the nearest chair. “I’m learning from you every day.”
“Turns out she’s finding it hard to walk it herself, so I’ve promised to take him out as I’m in the building anyway with Madi.”
“So apart from being Mrs. Crouch’s new best friend and picking up some business along the way, what else happened?”
Harriet hesitated. “Judy wasn’t super happy about the howling.”
“I’m not super happy, either.” Ethan gave Madi a look, and she looked right back. He was learning that dogs had particularly expressive faces. “She howled for most of the night.”
“Oh no!” Harriet sounded appalled. “The poor thing.”
Ethan leaned against the kitchen counter, not sure whether to be amused or exasperated. “Don’t I deserve a tiny scrap of sympathy?”
“Were you anxious and frightened?”
He held her gaze. “I was terrified. I cried all night. Shivered and sobbed like a baby.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Somehow I can’t picture that.”
“Well, maybe not sobbed, exactly, that would have required energy and I didn’t have any. I don’t know why. Oh wait, it was because I had a dog howling in my ear when I should have been sleeping.”
Harriet knelt on the floor and hugged Madi. “Were you scared in a strange place? Were you uncomfortable?”
“I can assure you she slept in maximum comfort in the middle of my king-size bed. Someone needs to teach her to share.”
“The topic of where to sleep in a king-size bed isn’t generally covered at dog obedience.” Harriet stood up. “You shouldn’t have let her sleep on your bed. That’s bad.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re teaching her bad habits.”
“She came to me with those habits fully formed.”
“She should have slept in her crate.”
Ethan folded his arms. “And if you have any useful tips on how to persuade her to do that, I’m listening.”
“Did you try soothing her with your voice?”
“I tried everything short of pouring her a whiskey and singing her a lullaby.”
Harriet gave him an exasperated look. “How did she end up on your bed?”
“I opened the crate and she ran. She clearly has some sort of inbuilt radar for supreme comfort.”
“Why didn’t you speak to her firmly and take her back?”
“I did. Several times. But she started howling, and having to move apartments because my neighbors hate me is a high price to pay for a few nights helping my sister. I had to be fit for work today so in the end I left her where she was.”
“In the middle of the bed?”
“Yes.” He glared at Madi. “You need to rethink your sleeping habits.”
Madi wagged her tail.
“Oh—” Harriet pressed her hand to her chest and he frowned.
“What’s wrong? Indigestion? Chest pain?”
“No, I—” she said, and let her hand drop, “it’s you. You’re teasing her.”
“Teasing? I was scolding her.”
“You were teasing her, and she knows you were teasing her because she’s wagging her tail.”
“Then she clearly isn’t well tuned in to the subtleties of body language.”
“You like her.”
Ethan ignored that. “Have you been here all afternoon?”
“You like her.”
He sighed. “She’s not completely awful. Compared to some of the humans I meet, she’s pretty cute. Now answer my question.”
“Yes, I’ve been here since four o’clock. I didn’t like to leave her. It didn’t seem fair.”
“Thank you.” He lifted his hand. “And before you say anything, I know you are talking about the dog, not me. That’s fine. You’re right, it isn’t fair. But life rarely is and in the meantime we have to find an option that works for all of us, because we can’t carry on like this. She’s cute, but she is wrecking my life. I have to be able to concentrate at work, so if you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them.”
The irony of it didn’t escape him. He was used to making split-second decisions in a fast-moving, tense working environment but he had no idea what to do about this unexpected disruption to his life.
Was he going to be sleeping with the dog until his sister returned?
“I don’t suppose you’d consider working shorter days until she is settled?” The way she said it made it obvious that she didn’t think for one moment he would consider it.