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Colonel doesn’t seelucosay bed, then write a note on the blackboard to call the vet and see if there’s anything else I can do

Maybe ht, I think as I dump the soup down the drain Maybe the diner is a dead end It was soe, washing dishes, clearing tables, working our way up to waiting tables But is it so that I really want to do for the rest of my life?

I stare out the ard the harbor, thinking

The answer is yes

Maybe it’s not the most illustrious career in the world, but what Joe’s Diner does?what I do?is give a center to our town Aplace Anyone can come in, even if they just want a cup of coffee, and spend the hbors There’s Dewey’s, of course, but that’s only open at night, and it has a different attitude People go there with enda?et drunk But Joe’s is a social center in a town that desperately needs one And the fact that it’s an authentic Mahoney design doesn’t hurt I wonder if I could get it listed on a national register or so

Buthas dentedold at the diner, I picture a husband and kids co ho ht with only a series of increasingly ss for company

I throw a pizza into the oven, wait for it to heat, then eat listlessly How one on in the past et Malone, not that we dated, of course Just sex Best sex of my life, in fact

Tiusts even me I punch number one on the speed dial

“Hey, it’s me,” I say when Will answers

“Hi, Maggie How are you?”

“Okay, I guess You guys still going out to night

“Actually, I’ going around, and I think she caught it”

“Oh, dear Well, if you need anything, let me know Tell her I said I hope she feels better fast”

“Thanks, honey Will do”

When Christy met Will, it was instantly clear to both of them that they’d met their soul mate Six ht off and asked me out for dinner Alone He took h he was exhausted fro While ere eating dinner, he took out a velvet box and handed it across the table to me

“U

“I knoho you are,” Will smiled

“So is this a test run or so?” I asked

“Listen, Maggie,” he said, his face growing serious “I want to marry your sister I’ve never met so like I’et to call her or see her or hold her hand”

“That’s so nice,” I said,misty At the time, I was quite sure I would soon find someone just as wonderful as Will

“But I kno close you are, and I know I’…well, not exactly to come between you, because I know I could never do that, and I never want to But I’, Maggie” His eyes were teary

In the box was a beautiful garnet ring, Christy’s and my birthstone

Of course I gave hi her life with a man who adored her…well Who could say no?

I haven’t met anyone like Will There may be no one like Will in the whole world The best I’ve come up with is a tearful er, a sullen lobsterman and a priest “Well, crap,” I say I offer the crust ofbetter, pal?” I ask him He puts his head on my lap

The Red Sox have a travel day, which is just as well They’ve been playing with all the skill of blind, one-legged five-year-olds lately I click around aimlessly until nine-thirty or so, then decide to just call it a night It’s not lost onthat’s happened all day

CHAPTER NINETEEN

COLONEL WON’T GET off the bed in the s his tail listlessly but doesn’t even raise his head when I ask if he wants to go out I check the clock; it’s too early to call the vet

After yesterday’s rush, the diner is back to norulars sit at the counter, Ben, Bob and Rolly Stuart is at his booth at the , reading the paper But I’ht, I make the call They tell me to come in tomorrow

“He’s probably just feeling his age,” the nice tech tells uy How old is he now, fourteen?”

“Thirteen,” I say

“That’s pretty good for a big dog like him”

“I know But he’s just not himself”

For the rest of the day, I hop back and forth between the diner and e to coax Colonel off the bed and outside so he can pee, but he laboriously climbs the steps as soon as he’s done I help hiive hi his head “We’ll go see Dr Kellar tomorrow, okay? He’ll help you out, Colonel”

I have to throw together a couple of lasagnas for a funeral and bake a few dozen cookies, but all day, I’ht of a pet owner: knowing soure out what Could he have eaten soet hurt somehow? Does he have cancer?

I get hoood around four, finally done for the day, then call Christy to see if she ht come over and keep me company while I watch Colonel But she’s still under the weather, and after hearing a description of her all-nighter with the toilet, I feel unco’s listlessness I’ Father Tim

“Maggie, I’ dinner with the Guarinos tonight Thanks for the lasagnas, by the way They onderful”

I e a sna at four and go out to dinner at six “Well, that’s okay,” I say “I’m just a little worried about Colonel He’s kind of quiet today Not himself”