The door intercom startled her from the shopping list she was creating in her head.
“Yes?” She pressed the intercom on the patio.
“The movers are here ma’am.” The front doorman said politely.
“Benjamin, please call me Jill.”
“Yes ma’am, I mean Jill.”
Four hours later Jill had meagerly furnished her posh condo since she only took the furniture which did not remind her of the life she was leaving behind. The only furnishings in the condo when she got there was a bed, sofa and TV in which she had movers take with them. The shopping service had dropped off her groceries an hour ago and as she was into her second bourbon. As she began to feel the numbing effect of the booze, she raised her glass and toasted the wonderful amenities which came along with living at one of the most luxurious buildings in Manhattan. Tonight was not going to be marred by the thoughts of Bill or her already dwindling nest egg…no she was going to enjoy the victory of finally removing the chains…she was going to enjoy her freedom and the exciting prospects of renewing her life.
While Jill sat in her chaise lounge, she remembered back to the time when they bought the property. She had thought it was another effort to repair the rift in their marriage, but Bill kindly informed her that the apartment was a rental. But soon she came to realize that it wasn’t a rental when Bill’s business meetings in the city included an overnight stay. It wasn’t long before she caught him red-handed in the condo with another woman. Then she walked away deflated and defeated, and spent the next several years in a pit of despair and depression, but now the memory of her husband’s blatant cheating made her angry…yes at him, but more at herself for staying.
She rose from her chaise lounge and walked back through the door to refill her glass and shed the thoughts from her head. Bill was now out of her life and she had better days ahead. As she stepped back onto the patio she could hear the sounds of music and laughter. “I wonder what’s going on.” She padded over to the telescope mounted on the ledge of the patio wall. The park was illuminated and almost looked like it was glowing from the pathway lighting and fountains. She could see people dancing around, some hand in hand and others embraced in a kiss. Obviously, there was some type of event with live music everyone was enjoying. Her eyes flew open wide when she realized the couples were all same-sex and when her eyes found a female couple her stomach dropped with an excited nervousness. Her heart rate began to quicken as did the throb between her legs.
“Oh my God,” she said as she scanned the crowd watching all the female couples. Lesbians had always fascinated Jill and she never knew why. She had a strange curiosity, something that turned her on more than she was willing to admit. Ever since she was a teenager just seeing two women hold hands or kiss would make her skin tingle, give her chills and send a sensation to her lower belly she couldn’t explain.
She smiled and licked her lips when her eyes found a couple lying on a blanket oblivious to their surroundings as they were nearly mauling each other. With a shaky hand, Jill set down her glass of booze and slipped her hand into her biker shorts.
The next morning Jill remained in her bed comforting a headache, she rolled over and peered out from under the covers into the brightness of the morning. She was a bit hungover from her ‘new life’ celebration and was now regretting the last two drinks she had before putting the bottle away. But as she stayed in the horizontal position encased by pillows and wrapped in her duvet, her mind went back to the prior evening’s event, unsure what the occasion was, but knew it was some type of gay festival. Chastising herself for being a perverted ‘Peeping Tom,' she still reveled in the memories of what she had witnessed and those same feelings began to arise. But before she allowed her mind to take her into the seduction of the memory she pulled off the covers and climbed from her bed. It was Friday and time to start making plans about what to do with the rest of her life. The first order of business was to look for a job, especially since telling her attorney, Jeff, she didn’t want ‘any of that bastard’s money.’ So until there was a settlement of the estate, Jill knew she had to do something. Going back into the workforce at her age after nearly a decade absent from it would not produce anything, A lot of wasted time interviewing only to be rejected and going back to school to renew her CPA wasn’t in her budget or her time frame. But she had to make some money, her nest egg wouldn’t last forever, so Jill thought about doing something she liked for a change, instead of having to align her career and hobbies to go along with precious Abbott name. She remembered seeing a flyer on the building’s bulletin board for help wanted at the Manhattan Animal Shelter which brought a wide grin to her face.
When Jill smelled the coffee, she said a silent ‘thank you’ to her drunk self for not forgetting the coffee. But as she made her way toward the kitchen she stumbled a bit from the dizziness which was just another lovely symptom of the hangover she was nursing. But onward she trudged to the kitchen and poured a large mug of the steaming brew.
While she sipped at the hot brown liquid, she powered up her laptop and looked up the shelter’s web page. The first thing visible when the page loaded was several dogs and cats listed for adoption. Sweet and neglected animals hoping for a second chance to be a part of a family. Jill began to peruse the webpage looking for an address and phone number. Once locating the contact information, Jill called the main number and made an appointment. Next task was to shower, but first she needed more caffeine to get her moving faster than a snail's pace.
A few hours later, Jill stood at the front desk of the animal shelter waiting for the receptionist to finish her phone call, she looked around at the shabby interior. There were cracks in the old tile floor, old drop tile ceiling which had seen better days since what wasn’t yellow and stained was completely missing. And to say there was some disorganization would have been an understatement considering the chaos of animals and people everywhere. Then there was the dog barking and the stench of dog shit to top it all off. Jill knew this place was in serious need of help and not just financially.
Finally, Jill was taken back to meet with who she thought was a manager, but wasn’t so sure when she regarded the woman sitting across from her at a desk which looked to be from the 1960’s.
“The job doesn’t pay much, only minimum wage,” the twenty-something girl at the desk said as she quirked an eyebrow while gazing at Jill’s designer attire.
“Oh, I’m not worried about the money. How many hours are in a shift?” Jill’s enthusiasm apparent in her voice.
The manager had to talk louder when the volunteers began coming back into the shelter with the dogs they had just walked. “Well, it is a rotating shift. We need someone here twenty-four seven. The shifts are eight hours, but the position requires nights and weekends. Is that a problem for you?”
Jill smiled as she shook her head, there wasn’t a problem any longer. She could do what she wanted to do and when she wanted to do it. “No, that isn't an issue. I can start today if you’d like.”
“Well, you have to fill these forms out first, then we have to do a criminal background check and a drug test.”
“Really? For a minimum wage job?” Jill didn’t hide the annoyance in her voice.
“I’m afraid so, you wouldn’t believe the crazies that come in here wanting to hurt these animals. We even had a couple employees who tried to sell some of the cats and dogs to medical facilities that do animal testing.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful.” She shook her head and took the offered forms. “I’ll fill these out right here if that is okay?”
“Sure, I’ll call you if the criminal check comes back clean and we’ll have you come in for a drug screening.”
The forms were crazy, wanted to know everything from family background, history of violence to mental illness and everything in between. She didn’t need this much verification and history when she and Bill purchased their first house. But it was understandable, the shelter was trying to keep the animals safe. It was
bad enough they were abandoned or abused by their owners; they shouldn’t have to endure any more trauma being locked up.
After several hand cramps, Jill handed the forms back to the manager when she returned to the office. “How long does the background check take?”
“Three to five business days.” She could see that Jill’s body sagged in disappointment. “I know it is ridiculous. Look, why don’t you stick around and help with some of the hands-off volunteering.”
“Hands-off?” Jill’s face bore a puzzled look.
“Yeah, washing out empty kennels, bowls, filling food bins, laundry….you know that sort of thing.”
It wasn’t what she wanted, but she had nothing else to do. “Okay. Sure…I’d love to help out.
Six hours later Jill was exhausted. She had mucked at least fifty large breed stalls, washed dozens of food and water bowls and folded enough towels and blankets to fill Citi Field the home of the New York Mets. Her clothes were completely soiled with dog shit, urine and dirty soapy water and she smelled like she had just come home from a third world country that didn’t provide her with a shower for at least a week.
Her cute Gucci sneakers were completely ruined when one nervous dog peed all over them. She knew they were headed for the garbage, pretty much every piece of clothing on her body would be as well. If she were going to commit to this, Jill would have to go out and get some casual and inexpensive clothing. She didn’t own anything that wasn’t designer, even her socks were upscale, and Jill shook her head realizing she had become a pretentious ass. It was time to dial it down and start acting practical…not like a snob. She wasn’t a part of the Abbott world anymore and the thought of being normal so to speak was something that gave her hope, not only for a better future…for a future at all.
Jill needed to air out before she took her smelly ass home. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to relax on a bench in Central Park and just enjoy it as well as watch all the goings on, from children playing to dogs running around catching balls and Frisbees. While she was stuffing the second hot dog with mustard into her mouth, she couldn’t believe she was eating with so much filth stuck to her…but then again, her hands were clean and that was all that mattered. Sitting back on her bench and reveling in the moment of peace her eyes caught the sight of a woman trying to walk five dogs at once, but it really looked like the dogs were walking the woman.
Jill couldn’t help but laugh when she watched the dog walker stumble and fall to her knees while all the dogs turned to jump on her at the same time. The girl struggled to her feet only to have the leashes tangled around her ankles pulling her onto her ass when the big dogs started to run. But her laughter turned to concern when she saw that the girl was in apparent pain when she tried to stand again.
Jill ran over to offer her assistance. “Excuse me miss, do you need some help?”
The woman eyed her suspiciously seeing that she looked like a designer homeless person. “Um, yes; if you wouldn’t mind. Could you grab the leashes of these two big brutes?”
Jill hurried over and pulled the leashes from her hand. Once she got the dogs settled and her left hand firmly wrapped in the leads, she held out her right hand. “Here, let me help you up.”
“Thank you,” the dog-walker said getting back to her feet. “I appreciate your help.”
“No problem,” Jill said as she handed the dogs back to the woman, “Do you walk this many all the time?”
“Um, no. But I thought maybe I could save a little time and they could enjoy more outdoor fun.”
“I don’t think it’s working for you. Maybe you should stick to walking fewer at once, the dogs could get hurt if they got away. You need to focus on the safety of the animal and not be so irresponsible with other people’s pets,” Jill said with a smug tone.
“Thanks for your advice,” the woman said as she rolled her eyes and walked away.
Jill saw the woman’s sunglasses on the ground and she quickly gathered them up, “Hey…wait. Your sunglasses.”
“Keep ‘em,” the woman said as she was being dragged away by two enormous dogs and three small ones yapping away.
Jill smiled as she began to walk towards her building. For some reason, the interaction with the attractive girl had her stomach in knots. She observed the sunglasses in her hand, “Prada Aviators…what the hell?” She wondered how a girl could afford such expensive sunglasses being a dog walker and be okay with just leaving them behind. Then Jill wondered if the girl was some spoiled rich kid whose parents forced her to get a job. Jill placed the sunglasses on her face and recalled the girl's eyes, so blue and so piercing that even the memory of them provoked a strange sensation. And Jill wondered if she took the same path at the same time tomorrow, would she bump into her again? But the chances of seeing the cute blonde with amazing blue eyes again would be one in a million or so considering how many people come in and out of Central Park walking dogs.
As Jill entered her apartment she looked down at her attire and grimaced, “I need a hot shower for about two hours.” Then she stripped down right in her kitchen and tossed all her clothing, including her bra and panties, into a trash bag and tied it in a knot.
Chapter 5
“What a pretentious asshole,” Jackie said aloud as she tried to rein in the dogs, but was unsuccessful since they continued to drag her toward a patch of trees. She was pissed off to be reprimanded by a stranger, but she knew the woman had a point. She couldn’t handle five dogs at once, especially when she mixed sizes, not to mention being unfair to the dogs and their owners since she was paid to give their pets one-on-one attention. But with taking them all at once, they were able to enjoy being outside longer. She knew it was a flimsy justification, a thought only to quash the guilt that was beginning to surface. After all, she considered herself an experienced dog walker despite just having the job for a few weeks.
Even after dropping the dogs off and heading for home Jackie still stewed about the whole exchange. Through the entire ride home, she couldn’t get that exasperating woman out of her head. “What business was it of hers anyway?” she said aloud into the wind while slowing her bike at a traffic light. She knew how to walk her dogs and it wasn’t the first time they were all taken out at once. So in fact, she didn’t need anyone telling her what to do, especially someone who had no say in the situation…and besides that woman wasn’t with any dogs so who the hell is she to make any judgments, Jackie thought as she shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun.
It was after 5:00 p.m. and the sun still blazed in the summer sky and Jackie had no protection for her eyes since her sunglasses were a casualty of the altercation. She was kicking herself for leaving them behind, but wanting to get away from the over-opinionated stranger, she didn’t care at the time. But now she did and it ignited her anger again. As she pulled up to the curb, she cracked the pipes a few times before turning off the ignition. Pulling the cover from the saddlebag, she strapped it over the bike in a huff before stalking off into the house.
Joni could hear Jackie mumbling as she passed by the living room and headed to the bathroom for her nightly showering routine. She smiled knowing that someone had gotten under her sister’s skin enough for her to be annoyed, but then she winced remembering the same reaction over Suzanne. “Dear God, I hope we’re not going there again,” She said as she set the dinette table preparing for dinner.
Jackie appeared in her favorite attire of ratty NYU t-shirt and jogging shorts. She sat down at the table, “Wow, something smells wonderful. What can I do to help?”
“Just relax. You look worn out,” Joni said, eyeing her suspiciously. She knew something was up.
“You don’t know the half of it. It took me forever to get the mud out from under my fingernails. The Rottie stepped on my foot four times and nearly ripped my arm out of the socket. Oh and I twisted my ankle pretty good too,” Jackie said as she picked up a piece of Italian bread and the butter knife.
“I thought I saw you limping. Are you okay
?”
“Mmmhmmm, just twisted it…I don’t think it’s anything major.”
Joni set down a plate in front of her sister, “Did anything else happen today?” She knew the shenanigans with the dogs wasn’t what put the bee in her bonnet. Something else had to have rattled her cage for her to be so wound up when she got home.
“Uh uh,” She mumbled through a mouth full of linguini and mushrooms. Her eyes were purposely staring into her plate as she tried to chew through the wad of pasta. But she could feel her sister’s eyes on her, they always felt like laser beams boring holes into her flesh. She could never get away with anything, ever.
“What?” Jackie asked when she lifted her eyes to meet her sisters.
“Something else went on. I can see it all over you, so out with it.”
“If you’re so sure there’s something else, then why don’t you just read my mind?” Her tone was harsher than she wanted it to be and immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that.”
“No, I didn’t. If you don’t want to talk about it then just say so, but don’t pretend there was nothing when we both know there was.”
“Why do you need to know everything?” Jackie asked as she continued to eat, walking nearly ten miles a day gave her quite an appetite.
“Because I love you and I want to help. But if you don’t want to talk about it…just say so.”
Jackie closed her eyes and wiped her mouth as she sat back in her chair. There really wasn’t anything to tell, so what if that nosy woman pissed her off…made her feel stupid, not that it was her intention. Jackie was kind of sure the woman was just trying to be helpful in her ‘high and mighty’ way. But if she had been stirred up enough about it that Joni noticed then she guessed it would help just to put it all out there.
“Okay, it really wasn’t anything. I was walking what I call my East Tenth Five through Central Park around 3:30 p.m.”
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