The Art of Wag

by Susan C. Daffron

Tracy offered up her most sickly sweet, syrupy smile. “No. Just everyone who has a pet, eats out, boats, or buys gifts. So there might be some demographic I’m missing. But I’m not sure what that might be.”

  Todd looked out the window again. “Whatever. How about the Mystic Moon place? Maybe we could have a drink there? I could use a drink. It’s the last night of my vacation and I want to have a good time.”

  “All right, that would be okay. Although I don’t think it’s a lot better than the 311.”

  “Do they still have beer?”

  “Yes, the last time I checked. It’s a bar.”

  “Good enough for me.” He grabbed his coffee cup and got up out of his chair. “Let’s go.”

  Tracy gathered up her things. This was probably a bad idea. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t talk to him. He actually was more of a jerk than she thought. But it was his last night here and it wouldn’t kill her to keep him company for old-time’s sake. She had been desperately in love with him in eight grade, after all. “Okay. I’m coming.”

  They walked down the street to a bar that had a sign above it made of old wooden letters that spelled “Mystic Moon Soloan.”

  Todd tilted his head to gaze up at the sign. “They still haven’t fixed it?”

  “The Soloan is part of local lore now. At this point, if they changed it to say saloon there would probably be a local uprising or something.”

  She opened the heavy wooden door and walked inside. The paneled walls were dark from years of cigarette smoke. The regulars were hunkered up to the bar, their grumpy expressions reflected in the mirrored beer signs scattered across the walls. The thwack of pool balls crashing into each other occasionally punctuated the general low noise of conversation.

  Tracy sat down on one of the empty stools at the bar. “Hey, Fred. How’s Charlie doing?”

  Fred the bartender looked like a refugee from a Harley Davidson rummage sale. His leather vest covered a prodigious gut and he sported a leather bandanna on his cleanly shaved head. Even though he looked like a criminal, Tracy knew that he was a nice guy with a huge soft spot for his miniature poodle Charlie. Fred grinned at Tracy, showing off the gaping hole where one of his front teeth used to be. “Charlie is doing great. So how’s my favorite artist?”

  Tracy picked up a cardboard beer coaster and twirled it on the bar. “Actually doing some art for a change.” She waved at Todd, who had settled on the stool next to her. “This is Todd. He went to school here before he bailed out to go to the big city.”

  Todd nodded. “Beers for both of us.”

  Fred grabbed some glasses and busied himself at the tap. Tracy turned to look at Todd. “I suppose you never came here when you lived in Alpine Grove before.”

  “No I was too young, but I dragged my mother out of here a few times right before we left.”

  “Really?”

  Todd scraped at the wooden bar with his fingernail. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Fred placed their beers in front of them and smiled at Tracy. “Give Dr. C my regards.”

  Tracy wrapped both hands around the tall pilsner glass. “Will do. Give Charlie a big hug for me. He’s a sweetheart.”

  Todd took a long drink from his beer, draining half the glass. “Ah, that’s better.” He turned to Tracy. “You even know the guys in the dive bars. You sure get around. So who’s Charlie? One of your past flings?”

  “No. Charlie is a poodle. Like I said, if people have pets, odds are good I’ll meet them eventually. Fred has a sweet little poodle named Charlie who had an ear infection.”

  Todd snorted. “You’re telling me that guy has a poodle? Yeah, right. Nice story. You just don’t want to admit to whatever really happened.”

  Tracy plunked her beer glass down on the bar and a few drops splashed out. Now he was really over the line. “What are you getting at? Do you think I’m the resident Alpine Grove slut or something?”

  Todd raised his palms in front of him. “Hey, I’m just saying. Small towns like this are boring. Maybe you’ve had more fun than you’re letting on. You sure know everybody. Really well. You wouldn’t be the first woman I’ve met who was looking for a little action on all those cold winter nights.”

  Tracy got up off her stool. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m not going to sit here and listen to it anymore. I’m outta here.”

  Fred walked up to them and leaned over the bar. “Everything okay here, Tracy?”

  “I’m fine, Fred. Thanks for asking. But I’ve gotta go.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills. “This should cover it.” It better, because it was all she had. “Don’t forget about Charlie’s shots, Fred. I think your appointment is next Wednesday, but you might want to call the clinic and check.” She turned to Todd. “Have a nice trip back to wherever you come from. ‘Bye.”

  Tracy turned away from the bar as Fred’s deep baritone rose behind her. She looked over her shoulder. Fred was leaning over the bar toward Todd, which made Todd seem tiny by comparison. Sometimes it was good to know massive human beings. Bigfoot had nothing on Fred. Although to be fair, Bigfoot probably didn’t own a poodle either.

  The next day, Tracy managed to get out of the vet clinic on time and walk Roxy before heading over to the H12. She knocked on door number two and tried not to gasp when she saw Rob. “What did you do? You look different.” And so much better.

  “Come on in.” He stepped aside. “I got another haircut.”

  She walked in and circled him to view his hair from all angles. “Somebody sure did something right.” The Shaggy look was gone. It was a miracle.

  “I was taking a walk at lunchtime and I explored one of the side streets. There’s a little barber shop over there.”

  “Yeah, that’s Joe’s.”

  Rob ran his fingers through his hair. “Joe and another guy were sitting outside in chairs and they said hello to me. So I stopped and talked to them.”

  Tracy sat down on the edge of the bed, kicked off her shoes, and crossed her legs. “Yeah, Joe is a nice guy. I went to school with his daughter. Was Joe hanging out with George?”

  Rob nodded. “Yeah, that was his name.”

  “I figured. George used to go there every week for a haircut. Mostly he just went to hang out and talk with Joe. Then he went bald and had no excuse to go to the shop anymore. But he couldn’t give up the routine, so now that he’s retired, he walks over there every day and they just sit and yak during Joe’s lunch hour. If it’s nice out, they sit outside. George is a character. He cracks me up.”

  “George kept saying that Joe needed to fix my hair. They got into a whole debate about it. There was a lot of analysis and it got a little embarrassing, since I was standing right there. I let Joe cut my hair, just so they’d stop talking about it. I guess my hair is like some kid’s named Neil.”

  Tracy slapped her hand on the bed and laughed. “Neil’s hair was like yours? That’s hysterical. I never would have known. Neil had great hair!”

  “I guess you know Neil? According to local barbershop legend, his great hair is only thanks to Joe.”

  Tracy leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. “I didn’t know that. But Joe is said to be a magician with scissors. And yes, I knew Neil. I went out with him in high school. In fact, he helped me get my car running, which was quite an accomplishment. I think he got an A in auto shop because of me.”

  Rob sat down at the desk and took off his glasses. “So what happened to Neil?”

  Tracy picked at a piece of antique food that was stuck to her jeans. These pants may not have participated in the big laundry event. Oops. “Well Neil did have great hair, but he wasn’t the greatest boyfriend. We agreed to go our separate ways after high school. He joined the Air Force and now lives somewhere out East with his wife and kids. I still have the car, though. It got me to LA.” Barely.

  “Wow, it still runs? That’s impressive. I don’t like working on old cars. That’s why I got a newer one.”

  “I
t’s a miracle the thing moves, really. You have no idea. I’m not very good about regular automotive maintenance. There’s a reason I want to drive your car. I have this twisted desire to find out about the advancements in automotive technology over the last twenty or thirty years.”

  Rob chuckled. “Maybe we can talk about that after we get through the meeting. I think it’s time for a status report. Since you got here late and left early yesterday, I’m not sure we’re going to get everything done.”

  “I finished the four screens we talked about the other day.”

  “How about the other sixteen?”

  Tracy looked down at her hands. “Okay, maybe we’re a little behind schedule.”

  Rob got up and sat next to her on the bed. “I hope that was a really good date, because it’s starting to look like we aren’t going to be even close to ready for the meeting on Sunday.”

  Tracy threw up her hands in frustration. “No, actually it was horrible! You see this amazing-looking guy and your mind goes to all these fantastical places about what it might be like to kiss him. And then it’s a trout.”

  “A trout? Like a fish?”

  “Yes. Do you know how disgusting it is to kiss a fish?”

  Rob leaned away from her. “Uh, no. Do you?”

  “There was a fishing trip and a dare.” She waved both hands in front of her. “Never mind. Let’s not go there. That’s not the point! I mean he’s this gorgeous guy. Totally hot! But then, yuck. Maybe it’s me. I mean it’s been a long time.” Tracy shook her head. “Maybe I’m just so out of practice I forgot what to do. And then, after all that, he seemed to think I was the town slut.”

  Rob raised his eyebrows. “I assume you’re not, but what do I know?”

  Tracy glared at him. “I’m so not! Do you know how long it been since I’ve even had a date?”

  “No.”

  “All I do is work! I have no life.”

  “You found time for Trout Dude.”

  “Yeah, and look how well that turned out.” She looked down at the ugly bedspread. “I am so pathetic. I don’t even know how to kiss a guy anymore.”

  Rob put his index finger under her chin and gently turned her head so she was looking at him. His eyes had turned a stunning amber color and the gold flecks were catching the light, so they looked like tiny sparks. Tracy’s heart pounded in her chest. He leaned to kiss her and said in a soft voice, “This is purely for scientific purposes.” His lips skimmed hers and Tracy reached up and ran her hands through his new, improved wavy brown hair. Soft. Nice. As the kiss deepened, her thoughts evaporated into a sea of sensation. With no trout anywhere.

  Tracy reluctantly released her hold on him and opened her eyes. “Wow. I love science. I may have almost flunked it, but I have a new appreciation now.”

  He gave her a warm smile. “Yes. I think we’ve learned that you haven’t forgotten much of anything.”

  Tracy let out a long breath. “I guess so.” Zoinks. That was incredible.

  Rob moved to get up. “So, are you ready to work?”

  “No. But I’ll get over it.” Although any semblance of concentration had now gone right out the window.

  He went back to the desk, put his glasses back on, and ruffled through some papers. He leaned over and handed them over to her. “Here’s what we’re looking at.”

  “Spreadsheets? You’re showing me spreadsheets? You are a real buzz kill, you know that?”

  “Just trying to return your focus to the task at hand.” He sat down next to her on the bed again and pointed at the page. “This shows the pages and the estimates.”

  “That’s what you’d charge?” She looked at the numbers then at him, trying not to think about how close he was and how much she wanted to kiss him again. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Nope. I told you the site would cost a lot. There’s a lot of work involved. I’ve finished figuring out the quote. Is there any way I can help you get these sample page layouts done?”

  Tracy hunched over the papers, holding them with both hands. “Those are some big numbers. Whoa. Okay. Let me think for a second.” She readjusted herself, putting one foot up on the bed to try to put a little more space between herself and Rob, so she could concentrate. She rested her elbow on her knee and faced him. “Here’s why I’m so slow. I spend a whole lot of time clicking around looking for stuff because I don’t know the software very well. It also takes me forever to put in all the text for menus and that stuff, since I can’t type. When I was in college, Shelby typed some of my papers because she can type like 120 words a minute or something ridiculous like that. Maybe we could do the same type of thing here. Kind of an assembly line. You do the boring filling with color and typing stuff. I’ll do any drawing stuff.”

  Rob looked thoughtful for a moment. “That makes sense. Is there any way you can take tomorrow off from the clinic? Even if you could leave early, it would help.”

  “No, it’s really too late to try and dump my shift on Gail.”

  He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his face with his hand. He looked back up at her. “I’m not sure what to do, then.”

  Tracy jumped off the bed and turned around to face him. “Nope. We’re going to do this thing! We’ve still got tomorrow. This is like college. We need to pull an all-nighter. I’m on it. I’ll call Kat and see if she can take Roxy while we deal with finishing this and the meeting too. No more distractions.”

  She looked into his face and noted that the intense look was in his remarkable hazel eyes again. Okay, there might be one distraction.

  He smiled. “I like your enthusiasm. And by the way, just so you know, I hate trout.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 10

  Lost & Found

  After Tracy made her calls, she and Rob walked to Tracy’s apartment to collect Roxy for her journey out to Kat’s place. Rob carried the crate downstairs for Tracy and placed it next to The Turd, which was parked in the lot behind the gift store. “This is your car?”

  “Yes. Like I said, you really don’t want to subject your lovely automobile to the road out to Kat’s place. The Turd is beyond the point where even the most vicious pothole could do anything to it.”

  Rob laughed. “You call your car The Turd?”

  “My father named it. But it fits.”

  Rob peered through the filthy windows at the torn brown Naugahyde interior. “Are you sure it’s safe to drive?”

  “I’m not dead yet.” She opened the rear door. “Just throw the crate in here.”

  Rob obliged while Tracy stowed Roxy in the back seat. After an enormous amount of outrage and hysteria at the apartment, the little dog had finally calmed down, so that now she was downright composed. Tracy slammed the door. “Maybe Roxy is finally getting used to you.”

  “That’s good news for my eardrums.”

  They got in and Tracy started up the car. It coughed itself awake, spewed a plume of exhaust, and sputtered a few times to emphasize that it was cold outside. “Come on baby, you can do it.” She turned to Rob, “It needs to warm up.”

  “Along with lots of encouragement.”

  “That too.” She turned and smiled at him as she ground the car into gear. The Turd lurched into motion. “All right! We’re mobile.”

  Later as they bumped down the driveway to Kat’s house, Rob looked back at Roxy. “Your dog copes with the bad roads remarkably well. It’s a good thing she doesn’t get carsick, because this would do it.”

  “She’s spent a lot of time riding around on bumpy dirt roads. I guess she’s used to it.”

  The car slammed into a deep crater and Rob placed his hand on the dashboard to brace himself against more impacts. “I’m so glad you volunteered your car.”

  Tracy turned to him. “Told ya.”

  The forest canopy opened up and the house came into view, and Tracy pulled up in front of it. Rob got out of the car and looked up at the massive cedar trees that towered above the house. “It’s beautiful here. Look at the size o
f those trees.”

  “Yeah, growing up, I always wanted a place like this. The woods around here are so peaceful. When you sit outside in the summer, you hear birds singing and bugs buzzing. In the winter, it’s just this envelope of silence. A lot of people never get to experience forests like these.”

  “You’re really lucky to have grown up here.”

  “I suppose. Most of the time I don’t think about it, I guess. It’s just home.”

  The front door opened and Kat walked down the steps, followed by Linus. When the big dog saw Rob, he leaped around Kat and bounded up to greet the new human. Rob looked momentarily startled, but put out his hand so Linus could sniff it. “That may be the largest dog I’ve ever seen.”

  Kat pointed at the dog. “His name is Linus. And he’s a sweetheart.”

  Tracy nodded. “He is. And at work, he’s famous because he barfed all over Dr. C. It was a spectacular performance.”

  Rob bent to ruffle the fur on Linus’s neck. “Aww, you didn’t do that, did you?”

  “Yes, he did.” Kat said. “The full Technicolor yawn. But it wasn’t his fault. He was poisoned. It’s kind of a long story.”

  Tracy turned to Kat. “Kat, this is Rob. Rob, Kat. Feel free to say ‘hi’ while I get Roxy out of the car.”

  Rob and Kat smiled politely at each other, but didn’t say anything. Tracy removed Roxy and put her on the ground. The dog immediately went over to Linus and sniffed a paw. Linus looked down at the small dog with a worried expression and wagged his tail feebly.

  Kat walked over to Roxy, picked her up, and stroked the silky fur on her head. “Hi Roxy. Yes, it’s me again. And yes, my mother is still here. You’re probably the only one who is happy about that.”

  Tracy handed the leash to Kat and then went to remove the crate from the back of the car. “Thanks for taking her again on short notice. I’ll see you late Sunday afternoon.”

  “We’ll be here. You can just leave the crate there.” Kat motioned toward the steps up to the house. “I’ll get Joel to bring it inside later.”

  Tracy went around to the driver’s side and she and Rob got into the car. She looked at him. “Be glad you didn’t meet Kat’s mother. Kat is nice, but her mother is seriously unpleasant.”