by C. Coal
Claire chewed on her nail as she thought about it.
"Please, Claire. This isn't for Alex. It's for Billy. And me." She could picture Tom's soft brown eyes as he begged for her help.
"Okay, fine. Give me the address. But only a couple hours and then I have to get back to Rocky. And don't tell Alex."
* * *
It was odd to be alone in Tom's place. It was like reading his diary.
He lived in a duplex with a small backyard. The furniture was simple and rustic—lots of polished wood and leather everywhere, but obviously well cared for. This was a man who took pride in his environment.
The walls and bookcases were covered with pictures of Tom throughout the years. He was clearly an avid outdoorsman. There were pictures of him fishing and kayaking and biking and hiking. And pictures of him with Alex in cities all around the world—she recognized the Eiffel Tower in one and Big Ben in another. They'd been younger then, but looked as close as two peas in a pod.
The rest of the house was dominated by Billy. There were three dog beds—one in the living room, one in the office, and one in the bedroom. And a basket with more toys than she could count. And he had pictures of him and Billy at the park, him and Billy sitting together on the couch, Billy chewing on a ball.
This was a man who loved his dog.
Except Billy wasn't his dog, was he? He was Alex's dog and Alex could give a crap.
It wasn't fair. Billy deserved better. And so did Tom.
Billy slept peacefully on the dog bed in the living room while she paced back and forth, thinking.
Alex didn't deserve Billy. It wasn't right.
But what could she do? He didn't abuse Billy or anything. He just didn't care about him.
She called Alex.
"Claire? What's up, babe?" He sounded drunk even though it was only two in the afternoon.
"Where are you right now?" She wanted to ask, "Why aren't you here watching your dog right after he's just had surgery you jerk?" but she didn’t.
"Hanging out with a friend? You know, chillin'"
She heard some woman in the background ask, "Friend?", and smack him. Figured.
"Look, I have a question for you."
"Alright, sure, what?"
"Why don't you just give Billy to Tom?"
She could almost hear him frown as he answered. "Because Billy's mine."
"But you don't care about him. You never spend time with him."
"He's still my dog."
It suddenly occurred to her that Alex was the equivalent of a six-year-old child who insisted that all the toys were his even when he didn't like them.
She pursed her lips. "Alex, you and I both know you're not the type of person who should own a dog."
"That mutt cost me a lot of money." She could almost picture him frowning at the phone, his arms crossed tight across his chest like a kid on the edge of a tantrum.
She sighed. "How much?"
"What?"
"How much did he cost you? How much would it take for you to give the dog to Tom?"
"What? You in love with him or something?"
She rolled her eyes and deliberately chose to misunderstand the question. "Billy? Am I in love with Billy?"
"No, not the dog. Tom. You in love with him or something?"
"No."
It was true. She wasn't.
But she realized she could be some day. Tom was exactly the type of guy she'd been looking for—considerate, kind, loved dogs, attractive, responsible. He really was the whole package, wasn't he?
Alex broke into her thoughts. "Then why do you care?"
"Because I hate seeing Billy passed back and forth like this and want to see him in a good home."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line and then Alex said, "Six hundred dollars."
"Six hundred?" She almost laughed.
"Yeah. Pay me six hundred dollars and I'll give the dog to Tom."
She let out a long sigh. Six hundred dollars was a lot of money. Especially for a dog that wasn't even going to be hers.
But it was better than watching this slow-motion train wreck.
She could wait. Once Billy wasn't a puppy anymore she knew Alex would grow bored and probably give him to Tom anyway.
But she didn't want to wait. Tom and Billy both deserved better. Now, not later.
"Fine. Six hundred dollars and you give the dog to Tom. Deal?"
"Deal." Alex was clearly smiling, probably because he'd just suckered her out of six hundred dollars for a dog he didn't even want. She didn't care.
"One more thing," she added.
"What?" He sounded distant, ready to hang up and turn back to his lady friend.
"You can't tell Tom I paid you to do this. You have to make it look like you just decided to do it on your own."
He snorted. "Sure, fine, whatever."
Alex hung up.
Claire sat down next to Billy and ruffled his ears. "Well, that's done. And a helluva lot better for you, huh, Billy?"
Billy rolled over on his back and showed her his belly. She scratched at it absent-mindedly as she pictured how happy Tom would be to finally have Billy as his.
* * *
When Tom came back home it was all she could do not to tell him about the deal she'd made with Alex. She wanted to linger and talk to him more, too, but Rocky was waiting for her at home and she'd already been gone for three hours and still had to drive home.
But she didn't want this to be the end of things either.
"Hey, Tom?"
"Yes?"
"Next time you have Billy, call me. I'd love to get him and Rocky together to play."
He smiled, a warm smile that reminded her of melty chocolate. "I will. And thanks again for this. I owe you."
"It was nothing." She stared into his eyes, suddenly lost. "But if you want to buy me a meal sometime, I won't say no."
"Alright. I can do that." His smile broadened.
Claire left his place with a soft warm glow filling her belly.
* * *
Tom called her the very next day.
"You aren't going to believe it," he said.
"What?"
"Alex gave me Billy." He sounded so happy, she knew she'd made the right choice.
"He did?"
"Yeah, said he was sick and tired of having to walk him at night so why didn't I just take him full-time."
Leave it to Alex to make the whole thing sound insulting. "That's great, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is. I thought maybe we could celebrate tomorrow night. You wanta bring Rocky over and I'll make you both dinner and the boys can play together? We'll have to keep an eye on 'em, but I think Billy's recovered enough to play a little."
"That sounds perfect."
"Great, I'll see you then."
* * *
The next night, Claire went all out. She curled her hair into soft wavy curls that cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. She also wore a flowing red dress that was her favorite because of the way it swayed as she walked.
She even wore perfume—a soft floral scent that reminded her of spring mornings.
She laughed at herself as she waited for Tom to answer the door. He'd probably be wearing sweats knowing her luck, completely oblivious to the fact that she was interested in him.
But he wasn't.
He answered the door and the smell of Italian food wafted towards her along with the scent of his cologne. It reminded her of a hike in the woods—all fresh and earthy, just like Tom. And he'd clearly dressed up for the occasion, too, in khakis and a black polo shirt. He'd even shaved.
"Hi." She stood in the doorway, suddenly shy.
"Hi. You look amazing." He blushed and she wanted nothing more than to hug him in that moment, but she held herself back.
Fortunately for both of them, Rocky and Billy didn't really care about the awkwardness of two people who like each other but don't know how to say it. Rocky dashed through the door and tackled Billy.
The two dogs rolled around the living room floor and bumped into the coffee table that was now covered with three softly-burning red candles.
"Whoa there, boys." Tom rushed inside to move the candles out of the way. "That seemed like a good idea at the time, but clearly puppies and open flames do not mix."
Claire laughed as she followed him inside. "Yeah, all the changes I've had to make with Rocky in my life. It's kind of crazy, isn't it?"
"It is." He smiled at her and she felt safe and sheltered for the first time in a long time.
She didn't know what to do with the feelings raging inside her, so she thrust the bottle of wine she'd brought towards him. "I brought wine."
He put the candles on the kitchen table and grabbed the bottle from her. "Oh, good. I think we could use a glass right about now, don't you?"
He opened the bottle and poured them each a glass. "A toast."
She waited.
"To Alex."
Claire raised an eyebrow, but Tom continued. "If he hadn't been a selfish jerk who bought a puppy he couldn't take care of, I'd've never found Billy."
She nodded to that.
"And I would've never found you," he added, softly, holding her gaze.
He leaned forward and kissed Claire softly on the lips. It was a gentle kiss, more a promise of the future than a demand that anything happen now; it sent a shiver down her spine.
Claire smiled. "To Alex."
They clinked glasses and took a sip of their wine, their eyes locked on one another. Claire had never thought she'd be grateful that she'd ended up on a date with a self-serving jerk, but she was. Because it had led to her to this man who was exactly what she was looking for.
And not only was he a great fit for her, he was a great fit for Rocky, too.
Puppy Love Lost Puppy
Blair pulled into the dirt parking lot in front of the dog park, her SUV jouncing along as she tried and failed to avoid the many potholes between the entrance and the parking area. The sun was just starting to peek above the horizon, coloring the clouds a brilliant pink and red and orange, like some sort of delicious sherbet. Not a cloud in sight, the sky stretched to each horizon pure blue and calm.
It was a perfect day for her little experiment. She didn't know what had possessed her to buy her puppy, Loki, a GoPro camera and dog harness, but she had. Blair's mother was too old and frail to join them on the trails, so she'd thought this could be a fun way for her mom to see what she saw when she walked Loki along the forested trails of the dog park.
This wasn't some city park with a twenty foot by fifty foot patch of dirt and grass next to a tennis court.
No, Deer Valley Dog Park was fenced-in wilderness, tucked away in a little valley just outside of town. And it lived up to its name, too. She'd seen a doe crossing the street not half a mile back up the road just this morning.
She loved it, the ability to hike with her pup and explore nature.
And now they'd have video of it, too. (Assuming Loki let her put the harness on him and he didn't immediately break the camera by running into a tree limb or something else equally plausible and ridiculous.)
Loki barked as she pulled into a parking space, his little black tail wagging a mile a minute. He knew exactly where they were and couldn't wait to get started. She smiled at him in the rear view mirror as he watched her with his big black puppy eyes; with the panda-like patches around each eye and his quirky little ears he was too adorable for words.
"You excited, boy?" she asked.
He barked loudly enough to hurt her ears and Blair hurried out of the car.
She walked around to the back and opened it up, but instead of letting him jump out like she normally would, she blocked him with her body.
"Just a sec, Loki. Let me get this on you." She snugged the harness over his head and fastened the three attachments, pulling them tight and tucking them in to make sure they were secure. The camera stuck up a bit from his back and she hoped it wouldn't be a snag hazard, but she told herself she'd be right there with him the whole time.
And she wasn't going to have him wear it for long—just long enough to get some interesting footage for her mom. (And maybe YouTube…)
"I cannot believe I'm doing this." She bit her lip and rolled her eyes at her own craziness.
Loki watched her with those sweet dark eyes of his, his entire body tensed to jump as soon as she moved out of his way. She ruffled his ears. He was so damned cute it really wasn't fair.
(She called him her ragamuffin puppy because he had a patchwork of brown on his coat. In addition to the dark patches around his eyes, he had a big splotch across his back and another on his hip. The tips of his ears were dark, too, while the rest of him was snowy white.)
Well, most of him was white for now; five minutes in the dog park and he'd be closer to beige than white.
"Ready, Loki?" She stepped back and let him jump out of the vehicle, careful to keep him under control so he didn't dart in front of any car that decided to arrive or leave just then.
He shook himself slightly as he adjusted to the feel of the camera on his back, but then forgot it was even there in his eagerness to reach the gate and be free.
She didn't know whether to feel guilty for inflicting the harness on him or to feel excited to see what life looked like from his perspective, but she didn't really have time to think about it much as Loki dragged her towards the gate, almost choking on his collar.
And, of course, the minute she opened the gate and let him loose, he raced off after a squirrel, barking happily.
Why a squirrel was foolish enough to make its home in a dog park, she'd never know, but the damned thing was there almost every day and Loki never missed the chance to tree it while barking like a madman.
She wondered what he'd do if the squirrel actually came down to play with him.
Probably run away and hide like he did with most dogs he barked at that came back at him.
"Not gonna happen, Loki." Blair continued along the dirt trail that wound its way between boulders the size of a small car packed between tightly clustered evergreens. She took a deep breathe, enjoying the clear, crisp smell of the mountains. So much better than the pollution of the city and well worth the drive to get here whenever she had the time.
She walked for another fifty paces or so before whistling for Loki to join her. Loki barreled down the path towards her and then veered to the side at the last minute, running to the top of a nearby boulder and looking around for something else to harass.
Blair wondered what the video of that moment would look like. Would it be so jerky she'd get dizzy just trying to watch it? If so, maybe she could make one of those slow-mo videos out of it…
At least he didn't seem to mind the camera or harness. She'd worried the harness would tangle up his legs or come loose, but so far so good.
Of course, knowing her luck, the video was going to be 90% Loki's ears and 10% what was actually in front of him…
Still be cute, though.
Loki raced away down the hillside, darting between rocks and trees with an excited little yip. Blair watched him go, holding her breath for any issues, but he seemed absolutely fine.
She continued along the path that wound its way towards a stream at the base of the hillside sure Loki would come back to her in a minute or two like he always did.
* * *
A few minutes later, Blair reached the bottom of the hill, but Loki still hadn't returned.
"Loki!" She walked further along the trail, the stream burbling along to her left, listening for any sign of a puppy barreling through the underbrush, but all she heard was a bird chirping somewhere in a nearby tree.
Where was he? He'd never been gone this long. Always before he'd circle away for a minute or two but then check back in with her.
"Loki!" She tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but she was worried that the camera had somehow harmed him. Maybe it had snagged on a tree limb and he was caught somewhere and…
&nbs
p; No. She wasn't going to go there.
He'd probably just found something too interesting to resist and followed it.
Like a bear.
No.
He was fine. She knew he was. He had to be, didn't he?
He'd be crying or barking if something was wrong.
At least, she hoped he would.
She paced along the trail, calling his name every few steps and whistling for him to come back, but no sign of him and no sound that would indicate where he'd gone.
She considered turning back. Maybe if she went to the last place she'd seen him, she'd find him there waiting for her. But, no. They'd done this hike enough times, he knew where she'd be.
She just had to keep walking and calling for him so he could find her when he was ready to come back.
Maybe he'd found another squirrel. Or a mouse. Or a…
No, it had to be a squirrel.
She wasn't going to name the other creatures that might be around. (Elk, deer, snakes, mountain lions…)
He'd found a squirrel. That was it. And now he was sitting under a tree somewhere staring at it as it chattered at him and told him to leave it alone.
"Loki!" She scanned the forested hills, but saw no sign of him. She cursed the burbling stream that ran next to the path and was just loud enough to drown out any small noise a puppy might make.
"Loki!"
A woman and her dog came along and Blair stopped them. "Did you see a dog with big perky ears and black rings around his eyes? Kinda like a panda?"
"No. Sorry." The woman shook her head and kept walking.
"Loki!"
Blair refused to panic. She refused to think what she'd do if Loki didn't come back to her. Why oh why had she decided to put that stupid camera harness on him? And why did she bring him to such a wild dog park? She should just take him to the dog park by her house. It was a basic little patch of mostly dirt with a few trees in it. No way would a puppy get lost there. It was safe. Secure.
Boring.
That was the problem. The place sucked. It wasn't any fun for either one of them.