“Good for him,” I said, and made a mental note to start investing in something. Then I asked the question that was pulsing in my head so bright and loud I was surprised Rafe couldn’t see it. “How much longer until this place is construction-free enough for me to move in? Because I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s getting cold out there.”

Rafe nodded as he chewed and waited until he’d swallowed and taken a drink of water before saying, “Yeah, about that.”

“No.” I spoke the single-syllable word calmly and precisely. “You are not going to say we’re out of top-coat paint and that it’s out of stock and has to be special ordered and will take six weeks to show up. You’re not going to say the upstairs carpet that should have been installed in August has been damaged in a warehouse fire. And you are most definitely not going to tell me the electrical inspector found some faulty wiring and yanked our occupancy permit until it’s all replaced, and since that particular wire runs through the whole house, we have to redo everything, everywhere, and it’s going to take months and months.”

Rafe had resumed eating during my soliloquy. When I finished, he stared at me with wide eyes. “How did you know?”

Abject fear chilled my entire body. “You have got to be kidding.”

“Of course I am.” He stood and kissed the top of my head. “Love of my life, I’m sorry but I have to get going or risk professional ostracism if I show up to this meeting late,” he said, pulling on his coat and yanking papers out of his briefcase. “We could continue this entertaining conversation while I’m driving, but I told my Charlevoix counterpart I’d give him a ride.”

I looked at the pizza and decided the short walk to the library and back had been enough exercise to justify another piece. “Drive carefully.”

“Since you said so, I suppose I have to.” He opened the back door. “Say, remember my buddy from college, Dave? He’s up this weekend, so I probably won’t get much work done on the house. And there’s really nothing you can do by yourself, but since you’re busy all weekend anyway, that’s okay, right?”

“Wait, what do you mean—”

“Love you!”

And he was gone.

“I love that man to the depths of my soul,” I said, “but sometimes he’s more irritating than you are.” I waited for a “Mrr” of agreement, then remembered Eddie was in the houseboat next to my shoes.

“Bad enough talking to cats,” I muttered. “Now I’m talking to a cat that isn’t even here.”