The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Carol Lea Benjamin Page B

then she goes, Janet, I had no idea . There’s a lot of stuff going on in my life right now, a lot to deal with. She looked like she was going to lose it, you know. I actually felt bad for her for a minute. But then she goes, I guess that’s why I’ve been short with you people. You people! Give me a damn break. I mean, isn’t that pathetic, not to know the effect you’re having on the people around you. And to call us you people , as if we had just fallen out of her nose or something.”
    â€œWhat else did she say?”
    â€œ Nada . She just shook her head and walked away. And then, well, it happened. I mean”—she made an arc with her chopsticks and whistled—“out the window.”
    â€œI don’t get it, Janet,” I said, leaning over the table to get closer. “You’re not saying she killed herself because of what you said to her, because you were upset—”
    â€œHell, no.”
    She drank some tea and picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks.
    â€œSo what are you saying?”
    â€œI figured the note just took care of our unfinished business.”
    â€œSuch as?”
    â€œShe’d explained herself, you know, a lot of stress, blah, blah, blah, like that’ s an excuse. But she didn’t really apologize, you know what I’m saying? Now she has. That’s all.”
    â€œAnd you forgive her? Now.”
    â€œAbsolutely.” She popped the dumpling in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “She was perfect, you know,” Janet said. “She’d never leave anything undone. It’s like a dis- ease , being like that.” She picked up her bowl and drank some of her soup.
    â€œWhy did she do it, Janet? She was so young, and she was doing what she wanted to do, wasn’t she? I just don’t get it. Did you ever find out what she was talking about, the stuff she said she was dealing with?”
    â€œNot really. I figure there’d been big trouble with her boyfriend, because he’d stopped coming by to pick her up. But that had been a while before. Maybe there was some new guy busting her chops. Who knows? Or maybe she just got tired of having to be perfect. That can be a real drag.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Janet shrugged, picked up another dumpling, and dipped it into the little dish of soy sauce before putting it into her mouth. I spooned up some soup.
    â€œSee,” she said, pointing at me with her sticks. “That’s how Lisa ate. She’d never pick up her bowl. Afraid she might drip a little soup on her chin.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Like it would be the end of the fucking world if she did.”
    â€œJanet, what did Avi mean when he told you there was something important you hadn’t done?”
    â€œWe were that loud?” she said. “You heard us fighting before you even walked in?” Janet put both hands over her mouth.
    â€œI did.”
    â€œNo wonder you were such a bitch!”
    â€œI couldn’t help hearing you all, Janet,” I said, leaning over the table and punching her playfully on her concrete arm. “The door was open, and I was walking—”
    â€œBecause Lisa never took the elevator,” she said. Then she crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out to the side.
    â€œSo, the thing Avi said—”
    I picked up a dumpling and dipped it in the soy sauce. The strong flavor made my eyes tear.
    â€œThe bodybuilding.” She lifted her right arm and flexed the most astonishing biceps I had ever seen. “Avi says t’ai chi makes learning everything else easier. And everything else you do, physical stuff, like sports or exercise, makes it more difficult to learn t’ai chi.”
    â€œIs that true?” I asked, thinking of all the hyperbole I had read in one of Lisa’s books, particularly the sweeping statements about health and longevity.
    The waiter arrived with the check.