Der Entschuldigungs-Pilz

Jamie was irritated. Why had Rowan Allaway assumed that Josh had anything to do with my outburst in the forest? He needed to get to the bottom of it. During a trail ride with Claire, he casually asked:

Jamie: “Hey Claire… has Gillian ever mentioned anything about Josh?”

Claire: “Of course. He’s the foreman here and had to go back to the U.S. because of family matters. Why don’t you just ask her yourself?”

A very typical Claire answer. So Jamie tried Wesley instead.

Jamie: “Wesley, does Josh actually have a girlfriend?”

Wesley: “No idea. Though the last few weeks he seemed a bit different. But how would he find a girlfriend? He was always here at the ranch.”

Not exactly helpful. So Jamie cornered me instead.

Jamie: “Gillian… have you heard from Josh lately?”

Gillian: “No.”

He followed me while I was inspecting the ranch.

Jamie: “And you don’t know when he’s coming back?”

Gillian: “No. What’s with all the questions? Are you worried about your job? I’m busy right now — and I’m sure you have plenty to do too.”

The thought wouldn’t leave him.

Jamie: [thought bubble] “She seemed pretty annoyed… and she’s been avoiding me for days… good thing I didn’t tell her about my feelings… maybe she and Josh really are a couple.”

Meanwhile, I continued my rounds.

Gillian: [thought bubble] “Why is he asking so much about Josh? Does he want to leave and is just waiting for him to return? I was so stupid… I thought he was sending me clear signals. Good thing I didn’t tell him about my feelings.”

That afternoon, Rowan Allaway came to pick up Air.

Gillian: “Hi Rowan, taking Air back with you?”

Rowan Allaway: “Yes, he’s fit again. And about that love business… you shouldn’t be so hard on the male population just because Josh left you alone here with all the work. Look, you’ve got Jamie now… he’s a really good man.”

Jamie: [thought bubble] “Oh… so that’s what Rowan meant about Josh. I thought he meant that Gillian and Josh…”

Jamie felt guilty. He wanted to know what was really going on with me. That evening, he stood in front of my door.

Jamie: “Gillian, I feel like you’re avoiding me. Whatever I did wrong — I’m sorry. As a sign of my remorse, I brought you this completely inedible apology mushroom.”

Gillian: “Jamie, I seriously don’t have time for this nonsense. If you want to tell me something, come back tomorrow.”

Truthfully… it was kind of sweet. But I was still upset about our conversation in the stable. The next morning, an opportunity presented itself to teach Jamie a small “lesson” — and maybe reset everything back to normal. Someone had gotten lost and was asking for directions. Jamie came running over. I seized the moment and suddenly clutched my stomach in mock pain.

Jamie: “Gillian! What’s wrong? Why was the ambulance here?”

Gillian: “After I ate your apology mushroom, I had terrible stomach cramps. So I called the emergency doctor… Ha! Just kidding. He only got lost. I did hear that the mushroom wasn’t edible!”

He stared at me for a second. Then he started laughing.