Cat Snips - a Short Story Collection by Cat Johnson Read Free

wasn’t it? And Belinda didn’t believe in
that old adage about the free milk and the cow anyway.
    She was about to start dialing
when she looked up and saw her friends exchange looks. “What?”
    Donna shrugged. “It’s
just that we don’t think you should have to check in with Max.”
    “ I don’t have to. I
want to.”
    Grace dug through the bowl of bar
snacks, picking out all the peanuts. “He doesn’t call you
for days when he’s away on business. And then you sit there all
worried about him. You should let him stew for a while and see what
it feels like.”
    Belinda rolled her eyes and put
her phone back in her bag. “Fine. I won’t call.” At
least, not in front of them anyway.
    Besides, she was sure that
everything was just fine. Max was probably just sitting home watching
TV. And if he wasn’t home, he might be out running. That’s
what he told her he was doing all those times he wasn’t in when
she called his hotel rooms late at night when he was away on
business. Sometimes
he got insomnia and it helped if he went out. That’s all. She had nothing to worry
about. She and Max were just fine. Yup, just fine. And that nagging
feeling she always had when they were apart was just her being
insecure and crazy, just like Max said it was.
    She took a large swallow of her
mimosa.

Chapter Two
    Belinda opened the door to her
condo and dragged in her suitcase. It seemed much heavier and fuller
than when she had left. Well, she had done a bit of shopping while
away. Her
spa trip was only once a year, after all.
    She looked around, surprised at
how quiet it was. It was late Monday evening and Max should be home
from work by now. She closed the door behind her and wandered around,
thinking maybe she would find a note from him. What she did find was
wet towels, dirty laundry, crumbs and Sunday’s newspaper strewn
on the floor, but no note.
    Her obsessive-compulsive nature
battled over whether to unpack first or clean up. She opted for the
cleaning and whizzed around like a maniac to get the place in decent
shape before Max got home from work.
    Then she threw together a quick
dinner, which she left on the burner on low to keep warm while she
lit some candles.
    Since Max still wasn’t
home, she was relieved she had time to unpack and do the laundry too.
    She was so busy, she didn’t
notice until she finally sat down for a break exactly how late it had
gotten. It was nearly ten. Now she started to worry. What if he was
in an accident or something? No one would know to call her. She
dialed his cell phone and got no answer.
    Frowning, she began to pace. What
should she do now? She
was about to get out the phonebook and start calling local emergency
rooms when she heard his key in the door.
    “ Hi. I’m so glad
you’re home. I was worried.” She ran to him and hugged
him.
    He shook his head. “I don’t
know why you worry. You know I’m always working.”
    “ I know. It’s just I
couldn’t get you on your cell phone.”
    “ It’s on, you must
have dialed wrong.” He shrugged.
    She frowned. She didn’t
think so. Whatever. “I made dinner. It’s on the stove.”
    “ I ate, thanks. I’m
tired. I’m going to bed.” He kissed her on the forehead
and headed for the bedroom.
    She wasn’t sure if she
liked him better before, when he was unemployed and cranky but home
all the time. Or now, employed and cranky but working all the time.
She went into the kitchen, put the food away in the fridge, blew out
the candles and crawled into bed beside him.
    She snuggled against his back. “I
missed you.”
    “ Missed you too.” The
words were muffled by his pillow.
    “ Do you want to…you
know?” She ran her hand around his waist.
    “ Now? It’s too late.
Tomorrow.” He gave her hand a squeeze then pushed it away.
    She rolled over and punched her
pillow into shape. The most touching she’d gotten in recent
memory was from the masseuse. That was pretty sad. She apparently
didn’t have to worry about Max