“Then along comes this dog.” She gave Yuki a sorrowful glance. “Yuki takes away from me the fun part of being with Mike. She makes him laugh.”
She glanced at Jori, eyes red with the strain of holding back tears. “It sounds stupid. But it’s like Mike’s suddenly got someone else on the side. Don’t that sound crazy?”
“No.” Kelli had said it wasn’t unusual for family members, especially wives, to resent the intrusion of a service dog into their lives. It was especially true for those who had done the caregiving for so long that to think of relinquishing any part of it seemed like failing or cheating.
Sarah sniffed a couple of times then gave herself a little shake. “I can’t have that dog in my house. Not when Mike lavishes more affection on him than he does on me in a given day. Mike’s even talking about them going fishing in the spring. For years I couldn’t hardly get him outta the house for nothing. Even church. But give him a dog and he’s thinks he’s Huckleberry Finn!”
So the problem wasn’t Yuki’s failure to bond with Mike, but his success.
Jori watched the fissures form in the woman’s mask of resentment. Behind it lay years of worry and weariness, and neglect.
Her instinct was to reach out and hug her. But she suspected proud and stubborn Sarah Williams wouldn’t welcome sympathy. Still, she took the chance and reached her arms toward the woman.
Sarah surged into them, hugging her tightly as she broke into tight little sobs.
Without letting go, Jori stretched out her leg and pushed the door shut.
They held on to each other for a little time until Sarah let go first.
When she had mopped up her face, Sarah stared off into space for a moment. “I told myself I wasn’t going to make a scene. Now I’ve gone and made a first-class fool of myself. Jealous of a dog.” She glanced at Jori. “You must think I’m Looney Tunes.”
Jori smiled. “I think you’re strong and hardworking. I think you love Mike. And I know you’re exhausted. You need some time for yourself.”
“When am I supposed to do that?” The defiant Sarah was back in charge. “Where’s the hour in a week for me to do anything more than I’m doing?”
Jori glanced down at Yuki. There were a dozen practical suggestions she could make, but she doubted that the exhausted and combative woman in front of her would hear them.
“I’ve got an idea.” Jori stuffed two more tissues in the woman’s hands. “I’ll be right back.”
Jori opened the office door and glanced around, hoping one of the men who worked or volunteered at WWP would be around. Maxine, who’d just come in from the back, intercepted her. “You got your hands full there.”
“Yes. I need you to do something for me. Find Jake. Tell him there’s a man in a truck parked outside. And could he take him somewhere, buy him a meal? Talk to him? Do whatever men do. I need at least two hours.”
“Okay. But what are planning to do about Mrs. Williams?”
Jori smiled. “Do you know a beautician who could work a client in ASAP?”
*
An hour later, Sarah Williams was laughing and gossiping with the other clients in the Cut, Curl or Dye Boutique as if it were a weekly experience. She didn’t seem at all fazed by the fact it was a black salon.
“I just love all the pretty things in here. I haven’t been inside a woman’s salon in ten years.”
Leila, the salon owner and Maxine’s cousin, met Jori’s gaze in the mirror. “Then shame on you, Ms. Williams. You been going to a barber, haven’t you?”
Sarah nodded. “I take Mike. After the children grew up I just naturally found myself sitting in a chair beside him. Besides, a woman’s salon is expensive and I don’t have time to fool with hair.”
“You gave up too much. When I finish this cut I’m going to show you how a handful of mousse, the right lipstick, and some mascara makes you good to go.”
“No makeup. No time for it.”
“Uh-huh.” Leila just kept snipping, shaping Sarah’s mannish mullet into a softer feminine style.
Five minutes later Sarah was blinking at herself in the mirror. “Is that me?”
“It’s you. Only better.” Leila held up three items. “For dress you use the same rosy lipstick for your mouth and cheeks. Dab it on the apples just like I showed you. For every day you use clear gloss to keep your lips soft and dab a little on your lids to give you a bit of shine. Apply mascara. Thirty seconds and you’re good to go. It takes longer than that to pee. Now give me your cell phone so I can take a few photos for you to show one of those grocery store haircut places what the cut is supposed to look like.”
“It’s a miracle.” Sarah kept staring at herself in Jori’s passenger-side mirror on the drive back to WWP.
“You know,” Jori began conversationally. “There’s another way to think about Yuki. He’s not just there for Mike. He’s there for your peace of mind, too. You’ve got backup. Let Mike fuss with her, brush her, feed her, play with her. That gives you time to do other things while Yuki keeps tabs.”