Maddie slammed her laptop shut. Her eyes blinked tears from pure weariness. She had not gotten any sleep since leaving Ethiopia. Now on the second flight from London to SFO she had actually tried to make another entry on the success of her vaccination program. Her small part in saving the rare Ethiopian Wolf population from the distemper outbreak would bring her a victorious home coming from her fellow wildlife veterinarians. She was to be the major presenter in a few weeks in San Francisco on distemper and parvo on world wild wolf populations.

She imagined how it was supposed to be. There she would be on the podium. Telling
the gathered crowd how wonderful it was that her fiancé Mark Tellington allowed her to go off to the Afroalpine region of East Africa and waited patiently for three months for her return. Their tumultuous relationship over the last two years was not one to make the romance headlines. Their work had always come first. He was a hot shot Environmental lawyer. She was a specialist on wolf diseases, a specialty that kept her on the go from sanctuary to zoos throughout the globe. She promised him that this trip to Africa would be her last. She would settle and practice good old pet medicine which she also had a license for.

Before her departure at the airport, he popped the question with a rather expensive diamond ring. No one wore such expensive jewelry to Africa. Still she cried like a fool and wore it. On arrival in Africa she kept it in a safe along with her passport and other important documents.

She looked at the clouds through the window, wondering if someone had found it in the trash.

Three days prior to her leaving she got the Dear John letter or rather Dear Jane e-mail.

Feeling tears well up she tried to forget the blunt and brief missive. She shook her head and sighed. Something about “don’t take this the wrong way; it’s not about you but about me”.

Oh, yeah, “remember my legal assistant Brenda, the one that just got divorced?” Those last words haunted her all the long land rover bumpy drive across rugged desert and two airplane rides back. “We fell in love. Keep the ring.”

She kept it all right. Her roommate, a hominid fossil hunter lent her the hammer for the official smashing of the diamond ring broken engagement ritual. They got her drunk and all sang “Lucy in the ground with crushed diamonds” to the tune of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. The original Beatle song was a favorite among the anthropologists because it was the song that played when the early hominid Lucy was discovered. The diamond finally cracked as she whacked it and whacked it. Too bad it wasn’t Mark’s head instead.

His next e-mail added another nail to her coffin. “Brenda was kind enough to box all your things from the houseboat and I sent them to your mom’s place. I called and told her you might need a ride since I can’t pick you up at the airport. I figure since she lives in Mill
Valley she wouldn’t mind.”

“Are you all right dear?” asked the sweet British older lady who sat next to her.

Maddie wiped a tear. “I’m just tired.” She fumbled through her small backpack and pulled out her MP3 player and set it to Nirvana. Nothing like Curt Cobain when in a dark mood. She adjusted the pillow. “I’ll try to get some sleep.”

No makeup and her curls in wild disarray under a smashed river hat, she must look like she was just shipwrecked. She shivered, her shorts and sandals were not exactly a good idea when landing in the cool San Francisco fog. She moved through customs mechanically and lugged her wheeled suitcases to the passenger pick up area.

A honk from the red hybrid coupe woke her up. Her mom rolled her window down.
“Maddie, over here!”

She felt like Tarzan stepping into the civilized world after living in the slow paced paradise of the mountainside village. The noise and hard concrete under her feet made her want to scream. The brief wishful thinking of seeing Mark running to her, begging for her forgiveness was a foolhardy fantasy. Her mom pulled up and parked. She wanted to run and hug her like she had as a child after skinning her knee. Only now a kiss and a well-placed band aid would not fix this hurt.

As if reading her mind, her mom left the trunk opened and ran to meet her half way, embracing her tightly as if trying to absorb her pain. “Oh, Maddie. I know how hurt you must feel.”

Maddie grabbed one of many-crinkled tissues from her pocket and wiped her face. “I’ll be all right.”

Her mom draped a protective arm over her. “Let’s go home.”

Somehow she got through the rest of the day. Her mind was just as foggy as the city as they drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, through the light rain and the tailgating commuter traffic, finally reaching the seclusion of her parent’s beautiful view home.

Her mom drew in a breath. “We’re here.”

“Thanks for picking me up on such short notice.”

“Maddie, I’m your mother. If I had to drive all the way to Ethiopia to get my little girl, you know I would have.”

“Still. Thank you.”

“Why don’t we wait till tomorrow to bring the rest of your stuff in? One of the boxes up in your room is marked clothing.”

Maddie winced. Packed by Brenda the buxom blonde she had met at the last Christmas party at Mark’s firm. She recalled how the seductive woman had never left his side; fawning all over him like he was the best lawyer in the world. That bitch had touched her clothes. She felt violated, like her garments were tainted. “That’s okay, I still have some jogging clothes and my old pajamas in my dresser.”

“Of course, come let’s go. Stanley will be happy to see you.”

His bark on cue from the living room window made her smile. Her dad’s charcoal gray standard poodle. The fond memory of her father sitting by the fireplace reading a history book with Stanley at his feet would always be ingrained in her mind.

As they opened the door Stanley jumped on her in pure joy. “Not bad for a ten year old.”

“Well as you recommended I’ve had him on glucosamine. But the truth is he thinks he is a pup.”

Maddie let him kiss her face with his big wet tongue, ignoring his not so pleasant breath. “Good boy, Stanley you rascal.” She let him wipe away the salt from her tear stained face. She stood. “I can’t believe it’s been three years since dad has been gone.” Stanley had been so depressed that Maddie put him on Prozac for six months after her father’s death. Her father, a runner and health nut with a thriving cardiology practice suddenly, one day while checking a patient at his clinic, suffered an aneurysm.

Her mom twisted her mouth into a sad smile. “Louis and Stanley were inseparable.

Stanley still checks the study for him before he settles for the night.”

“Well after all those years of dad complaining about all my huskies shedding over the entire house I think my gift of a non-shedding dog was well deserved.”

“Stanley’s latest task is approving my dates.”

“You’re dating?”

Her mom waved her hand dismissively as Maddie sat at the kitchen table while her mom brewed tea. She caught the scent of her favorite-spiced chai. “Nothing serious. Casual dinner dates and occasional movies. Nothing more.”

“That’s great. I mean you’re still young. A brilliant artist. Why not.”

“Really? You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“Mom, dad would want you to enjoy yourself.”

“After your tea if you want I can start a bath.”

“Sounds good. I’m so out of it. Especially after Mark’s e-mail, I think that’s exactly what I need.”

“Good thing he had movers bring your stuff. I would have hosed him down. That’s what you do with mad dogs, right?”

Stanley barked as if in agreement. Maddie scratched his chest. “I know you would have ripped his throat. We all know you are really a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Her mom poured her tea. “Well you deserve better.”

She snickered. “You and dad got it right. Wolf mates to the end.”

She smiled and changed the subject. “I can’t wait to see your photos of Africa.”

“I uploaded them on my computer. Speaking of, can I turn on the news? I honestly don’t know what has been going on for the last few months.”

Her mom turned on the small wall TV in the kitchen. She breathed in relief and turned
up the volume. “Looks like they rescued Randal Taylor’s son from the terrorists.”

“Oh, I heard about their crash deep in enemy territory in Afghanistan.” She sipped her tea and watched a twenty something man named Colin Taylor being interviewed. His shaggy blond hair made him look like a surfer hippie type.

The reporter tried to fish for answers on the rescue. “So what’s the reason you can’t talk about how our special forces got you out?”

“Trust me these dudes were not Special Forces. They had killer wolf like dogs.”

Wolf like dogs? Maddie swallowed her tea. What the hell is he talking about?
The reporter continued. “Care to elaborate?”

“Sorry, no can do. For security reasons I’m not at liberty to say anymore.”

His lawyer intervened. “My client will not compromise our men and women serving in the region. He will only answer questions about his capture and treatment. Nothing else.”

“What about your dad’s twenty million reward?”

“That’s between Taylor Industries and my rescuers.”

“Why did you turn around and write a one million dollar check to fund more study on keeping wolves on the endangered species list?”

Maddie gripped her cup. Wolf dogs and now a rich man is funding wolf studies.

Her mom turned to her. “Sounds like someone you know.”

Colin looked at his lawyer for support. He clearly did not want to discuss his gift. “My client was planning this donation on his return. He also plans to send a check to Doctors Without Borders.”

The conversation continued with how the man was treated by his captors.

“That’s really weird.” She glanced at her mother. “Am I awake? Did he really say he was donating to wolf causes?”

Her mom nodded. “Talk about coincidence. It’s as though wolves had something to do with his rescue.”

“Mom, now you sound like you have jet lag.” Maddie stood and stretched. “I’m going to take your advice and take a nice hot bath and then hit the sack for maybe a week.”

“What about dinner?”