difficult times. He’d seen Stride and his wife through Cindy’s infertility treatments and then her cancer diagnosis and her swift, terrible death – a time in which Maggie and Steve were about the only people on the planet who kept Stride from sinking into a well of depression from which there was no escape. They still saw each other every few weeks to hang out, fish, hike, play Sara Evans albums, and get drunk on Miller Lite and bad memories. They both lived on the Point. They both loved country music, and Steve still played in a country band that did weekend concerts in dives all over the Iron Range. As men, they were completely different. Stride was closed-off and intense. Steve was as open to the whole world as an unbuttoned shirt and utterly unflappable. Even so, they shared the same passion for the place where they were born.
‘Maggie says hi,’ Stride said.
‘Uh huh. Seems to me I haven’t seen her big yellow tank parked outside your cottage lately. Am I right?’
‘You’re right.’
‘Her choice or yours?’ he asked.
‘Mutual.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s no surprise. I love her, but I never did see the two of you together. Now Serena? That’s another story. You should get that woman back in your life.’
‘When’s the last time you had a date, Steve? You’re like a priest doling out marital advice.’
His friend crossed himself and sprinkled imaginary holy water. ‘It mattereth not, my child. Do as I say, not as I do. Remember, I may not have sprouted the Garske seed, but I come from a family of nine siblings and God knows how many cousins, so I’ve seen more affairs, fights, break-ups, reunions, marriages, divorces, births and deaths than you will ever see in your shrinking lifetime.’
‘Probably true.’
Steve twisted the chair around and sat backwards with his long legs jutting toward Stride. ‘Look, you messed up with Maggie. You nearly died going off that bridge. Your head wasn’t screwed on straight. Serena will understand.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ Stride said.
‘Are you planning to wait for ever to talk to her? Are you that stubborn?’
‘Probably.’
‘Well, you still love her, don’t you?’
Stride frowned. ‘Is this inquisition going to last much longer? Because it feels like the colonoscopy has already started.’
‘Fair enough. I’m done meddling.’
‘Can we talk about Cat now?’
Steve waved a white paper on his desk. ‘Ask away. I had her sign a release for medical and psych records.’
‘Cat told me she’d seen you before. Is that true?’
Steve nodded. ‘I volunteer over at Brooke Hahne’s shelter. I’m over there twice a month helping with the homeless and the street girls. I do physicals, screen for STDs, drugs tests, AIDS tests, the basic stuff. I saw Cat a couple of times last year. Nice kid. She doesn’t have the streetwise attitude yet, not like some of them.’
‘So how is she?’ Stride asked.
‘Given what she’s been through, she’s actually not in bad shape. I’ve seen a lot worse. That won’t last, though, unless she gets into a stable living environment. She’s got a home, but she keeps running away. That has to stop.’
‘I’m talking to her legal guardians this afternoon. Did Cat give you any idea why she keeps bolting? Is something going on at home?’
‘She wouldn’t tell me. I asked, and she shut up. The good news is that she looks clean in terms of disease. No STDs despite her risky behavior. I’m running an AIDS test to be sure. Substance abuse doesn’t appear to be extreme. She admits she’s tried synthetics,but claims she hasn’t done it in months. As for the harder stuff, she says no crack, no coke, no heroin, and I didn’t see any track marks or scarring in her nasal tissues.’
‘She has nightmares,’ Stride told him. ‘Extremely severe ones. Possibly hallucinations, too. Could that be the synthetics playing with her head?’
‘Possibly. I don’t have the equipment here to test for it. If
‘Maggie says hi,’ Stride said.
‘Uh huh. Seems to me I haven’t seen her big yellow tank parked outside your cottage lately. Am I right?’
‘You’re right.’
‘Her choice or yours?’ he asked.
‘Mutual.’
‘Yeah, well, that’s no surprise. I love her, but I never did see the two of you together. Now Serena? That’s another story. You should get that woman back in your life.’
‘When’s the last time you had a date, Steve? You’re like a priest doling out marital advice.’
His friend crossed himself and sprinkled imaginary holy water. ‘It mattereth not, my child. Do as I say, not as I do. Remember, I may not have sprouted the Garske seed, but I come from a family of nine siblings and God knows how many cousins, so I’ve seen more affairs, fights, break-ups, reunions, marriages, divorces, births and deaths than you will ever see in your shrinking lifetime.’
‘Probably true.’
Steve twisted the chair around and sat backwards with his long legs jutting toward Stride. ‘Look, you messed up with Maggie. You nearly died going off that bridge. Your head wasn’t screwed on straight. Serena will understand.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ Stride said.
‘Are you planning to wait for ever to talk to her? Are you that stubborn?’
‘Probably.’
‘Well, you still love her, don’t you?’
Stride frowned. ‘Is this inquisition going to last much longer? Because it feels like the colonoscopy has already started.’
‘Fair enough. I’m done meddling.’
‘Can we talk about Cat now?’
Steve waved a white paper on his desk. ‘Ask away. I had her sign a release for medical and psych records.’
‘Cat told me she’d seen you before. Is that true?’
Steve nodded. ‘I volunteer over at Brooke Hahne’s shelter. I’m over there twice a month helping with the homeless and the street girls. I do physicals, screen for STDs, drugs tests, AIDS tests, the basic stuff. I saw Cat a couple of times last year. Nice kid. She doesn’t have the streetwise attitude yet, not like some of them.’
‘So how is she?’ Stride asked.
‘Given what she’s been through, she’s actually not in bad shape. I’ve seen a lot worse. That won’t last, though, unless she gets into a stable living environment. She’s got a home, but she keeps running away. That has to stop.’
‘I’m talking to her legal guardians this afternoon. Did Cat give you any idea why she keeps bolting? Is something going on at home?’
‘She wouldn’t tell me. I asked, and she shut up. The good news is that she looks clean in terms of disease. No STDs despite her risky behavior. I’m running an AIDS test to be sure. Substance abuse doesn’t appear to be extreme. She admits she’s tried synthetics,but claims she hasn’t done it in months. As for the harder stuff, she says no crack, no coke, no heroin, and I didn’t see any track marks or scarring in her nasal tissues.’
‘She has nightmares,’ Stride told him. ‘Extremely severe ones. Possibly hallucinations, too. Could that be the synthetics playing with her head?’
‘Possibly. I don’t have the equipment here to test for it. If
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