She nods in understanding. The look of pity in her eyes is too much for me. My own eyes fill with tears. I don’t understand what’s happening. It all felt so real.
“I miss Harry a lot,” I murmur. “I… I wish he were here.”
Camila strokes my hair gently. “I know, sweetie.”
I close my eyes for a moment, remembering the day I met Harry Finch. I was only two years out of college and I was at Best Buy, looking at computers, intending to purchase a laptop. I was talking to the salesman, but this boy about my age with dark hair and eyes, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, was listening in. After a couple of minutes, he started correcting the salesman, who clearly didn’t know what he was talking about.
The salesman became more and more flustered until he finally burst out, “Do you want to take over here?”
The boy blinked a few times and finally smiled. “Yeah. That would be great.”
When the salesman was gone, we just stood there for a minute, smiling nervously at each other. “I’m Tess,” I finally said.
He jabbed a thumb at his chest. “Harry.”
“Nice to meet you, Harry.” I pointed at his shirt. “What does that mean?”
Harry looked down at the writing on his T-shirt. There’s no place like 127.0.0.1. I didn’t know at the time it was one of his favorite shirts. “127.0.0.1 is the local host IP address,” he explained. “It’s the home network on a PC. So…”
“There’s no place like home.”
“Exactly.”
I laughed, and he rewarded me with a smile that made his entire face light up. “Listen, Tess, I’m happy to help you pick out a computer if you’d like. But what I’d really like to do is take you to dinner tonight.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and I still remember how he was shaking a bit. “So… what do you say?”
I will never forget how happy he looked when I said yes. His expression will stay with me forever. Or the way he looked into my eyes when he asked me to marry him. It’s all so vivid.
Yet I can’t seem to remember my freaking wedding day. How is that possible?
“Tess?” Camila squeezes my shoulder, bringing me back to the present. “Are you okay?”
“No.” I swallow down a lump in my throat. “Please take me to the dog park. Now.”
Chapter 12
I don’t say one word to Camila as we’re driving to the dog park.
She left all the groceries behind at the supermarket. I was too upset to wait for her to finish shopping and go through check out. I needed to get to the dog park immediately. I needed to know the truth.
While I’m sitting in the car, I shoot off more text messages to the number scribbled on my arm:
I’m on my way to the dog park.
Don’t leave.
I’m almost there. Please don’t leave.
The entire day, every time I sent a text, a reply came almost instantly. But there’s no reply to any of these text messages. It’s like there’s nobody on the other line at all.
I don’t understand it.
I google the name Harrison Finch. I brace myself for a Facebook page featuring a picture of Harry with his arm around some beautiful woman. But nothing comes up. There’s no mention of Harrison Finch anywhere. It gives me hope. Some.
Camila pulls into a spot next to the dog park. I’ve got my phone gripped in my right hand and I’m afraid to look up. Because in my heart, I know what I’m going to see.
“Tess?” Camila says.
I raise my eyes. The dog park is a stone’s throw away from the car. All the people I saw at the park earlier have left. It’s empty.
But Harry was there earlier. I know it.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and leap out of the car. I sprint over to the gate enclosing the dog park. My fingers wrap around the cool metal wires, which dig into my skin. I stare into the empty space. Harry isn’t there.
Was he ever there?
I don’t know anymore.
Is Camila right? Is Harry really gone from my life? Has he already left the state? Is he married to another woman, his time with me a distant memory?
“Tess…”
I turn around. It wasn’t Camila who said my name this time. It was Graham. My husband, apparently. He’s standing in front of me, still wearing the expensive gray suit that fits him like a glove, holding Ziggy’s leash, the locks of his sand-colored hair tousled by the wind. He offers me a hopeful smile.
“Camila texted me to come here with Ziggy,” he explains.
Ziggy is straining at his leash. He licks my hand excitedly. I run my hand over his fur, and instantly, I feel better. Dogs are magical. I don’t know what I would’ve done today without him.