He Locked Me Out and Let Her In novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Who Said Yes

Janie Lindeman picked a diner on Milwaukee Avenue at seven in the morning, and she came in the back door.

She was a thin woman with straight auburn hair, wearing dental scrubs with cartoon teeth on them.

She slid into the booth across from me and looked at the window, not at me.

"I almost didn't come," she said.

"Thank you for coming."

"Which one are you? The cake?"

I stared at her.

"The anniversary," she said. "I heard about the lobby. Everybody in my old social circle has heard about the lobby."

"I'm Maddie."

"Janie." She wrapped both hands around a mug. "I was Dean's girlfriend for two years. Then I wasn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not stupid, and I got tired of being polite."

She laughed once, without any joy.

Then she said, "Did he tell you he's allergic to cats?"

"Three times."

"Dogs, for me. Dean was allergic to dogs." She shook her head slowly. "I asked for a dog. He said he'd sneeze himself to death."

The waitress poured coffee, and neither of us touched it.

"How did you meet him?" I asked.

Janie took a long breath.

"I volunteered at a dog rescue on Saturdays. One morning a man came in carrying a stray he'd found in a parking garage. A little terrier, shaking. Dean. He said he didn't know what to do with it. I held it while the vet checked it over."

"He asked you out."

"The next day. He called the rescue and asked for me by name."

My coffee spoon stopped halfway to the cup.

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