The Silence of the Chihuahuas by Waverly Curtis Read Free Book Online Page B

problem. Our relationship was really too new for us to move in together. And I noticed he wasn’t asking me to move to L.A. And I wasn’t asking him to stay in Seattle.
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    â€œI think it’s amazing, Felix. I think you’ll do great,” I said, throwing my arms around him. And all the time I was thinking, I really need you here. I hope you don’t get the job.
    â€œReally?”
    â€œWhen did all this happen?” I asked, thinking about how distracted Felix had been the last few times we were together and how he wasn’t answering his phone.
    â€œOh, I got the first call a few weeks ago. We’re doing the blocking tomorrow and shooting on Saturday and Sunday.”
    â€œAnd you didn’t tell me?” I was dismayed. Maybe we weren’t as close as I thought. I couldn’t imagine not telling Felix news that big. Kind of like Brad not telling me he was getting married.
    â€œWell, it didn’t seem likely it would pan out. I guess I just don’t think something’s worth sharing until I have something definitive to say about it.”
    â€œLike my sister maybe calling me from someplace that’s both a crazy hospital and a spa?” I asked. “I shouldn’t share that with you until I know for sure if she’s there and what it is that she’s doing there?” I realized I was getting a little overly emotional but it was that sort of day.
    â€œGeri, don’t get upset!” Felix looked worried.
    Pepe ran to the front door and started barking furiously.
    â€œNo, really, I mean, would you rather I figure everything out before I bother you by talking about it?”
    â€œNo, Geri, that’s not what I was saying—”
    Pepe’s barking got even more frantic.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, Pepe?” I asked, even though I knew he wouldn’t tell me.
    Then my phone started ringing. I got up and went over to where my purse lay on the table in the hallway. Pepe raced from the front door to the sofa. He jumped up on the back of the sofa, so he could see out the window to the street, all the time continuing to bark. I dug my cell phone out of my purse and flipped it open.
    â€œGeri Sullivan?” a man asked, his voice low and gruff.
    â€œYes,” I said. I could barely hear him over Pepe’s barking.
    He said something else, but I couldn’t make it out. So I went over to the sofa thinking I would grab Pepe. That’s when I saw a large, black SUV with tinted windows parked directly in front of my condo. A man in a dark suit, with slicked back dark hair, was standing beside it talking on a cell phone.
    â€œYour sister’s name is Teri. Yes?”
    I hesitated. Then I realized that the guy I was talking to on the phone was the same guy outside my house who was talking on his cell phone. “What business is that of yours? Who are you?”
    â€œAll I’m saying is: you need to stay away from her.”
    I swear he winked at me, then hung up and got into the driver’s side of the SUV. I watched in shock as the car pulled out and sped away. I was so shocked I didn’t even think to write down the license plate.

Pepe’s Blog: Benefits of Not Talking
    I must say, not talking has advantages and drawbacks. One advantage is that I am rediscovering my inner dog. It is liberating to just be a dog. When I heard those miscreants, no words could describe the primal instincts I felt. I barked and snarled and growled and barked. I was ferocious, wild, and free from the civilized constraints of language!
    However, I was not so wild that I neglected my duty. I memorized the license number of the big SUV that was outside our house. I do not think that Geri thought to do so. And that leads us to one drawback about not talking: how will I convey this license number to her if I do not talk?
    Aye, there is the rub, as the Bard would say. I stopped talking because people thought Geri was crazy