He had relieved himself as close to the door between the laundry room and the garage as possible. Poor thing. At least he did it on the tile. In five minutes I had cleaned up and packed the mess in plastic bags. As soon as he was finished eating, I put his leash around his neck and we left for a long walk. Couldn’t wait to see Brenda’s reaction when she got home. Yep, as always, Tommy was true to himself.
FIFTEEN
LIKE A CHILD set free after hours of sitting in a boring classroom, Dior could hardly contain his excitement. He moved fast, forcing me to trot after him. We headed toward Shea Boulevard and passed by neighbor Bob’s house. Not to be confused with Officer Robert Clarke, Bob to his friends. High on a ladder, neighbor Bob busied himself untangling Christmas lights.
“Hey Monica, what’s going on at your place?”
I slowed down in spite of Dior’s impatience.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me? By the time I usually get home, this whole street is either sleeping or watching TV.”
“I’m talking about late morning, noon maybe?”
“Sheesh, I left early, had to get new tires. Brenda was home. Oh, Tommy, my ex is helping his aunt set up some exercising equipment. Was he making a lot of noise? Banging, drilling?”
I couldn’t see Bob’s expression with him up by the roof and me on the sidewalk, but I could hear him laughing. “Banging and drilling sounds about right. Until the shouting and screaming started. After that Tommy flew by on his Harley. I could swear he was shoeless and had the little two-seater sports car right on his ass. That Tommy, same skirt chaser. Oh, sorry, Monica, didn’t mean to — you know...”
“No apologies needed, we’re divorced, remember? Better get going, I promised Dior a long walk and it’s getting dark.”
I left in a hurry before he felt like spilling more details I’d rather not know about. However, that sort of explained the state of disarray in Brenda’s house. Had Tommy actually brought a woman there? None of my business. It felt so good not being married to him I found myself skipping while Dior pulled me toward 40th street.
It didn’t take long for my wandering mind to think of Tommy and Max. They had nothing in common and yet I didn’t manage to play nice with either.
I might be pregnant by the one who might have made a good partner. Maybe... maybe... I was the problem, not them. Me. And on that happy thought I found myself at the intersection of 40th street and Shea. The Great Dane knew the way to the mountain preserve better than a trained hound. Might as well go to the end, take a little jog and get back home. Plenty of streets lights and paved roads for an easy, safe stroll. It had been a while since I hiked the trails, and, maybe because of winter, even the parking lot at the trailhead felt a little spooky. To me I mean, not to crazy, happy Dior. He pulled on that leash like a freight train.
“Okay, boy, calm down, we are not going up the trail, it’s too late.”
We jogged around the circular parking lot that still had some vehicles, and of course I’d forgotten my water bottle. I headed toward the public drinking fountain in case Dior was thirsty, too. After all, I had no idea how long his water bowl had been dry. Maybe all day. And I also forgot to let Brenda know we went for a walk.
Damn. What if she got home and saw the house all messed up and her dog missing? Better call her. I moved closer to the public bathrooms so I could see what I was dialing. Before I even touched the screen, Dior leaped ahead, pulling me along. What the hell? What spooked him?
“Will you stop acting like a fool? Dior. Stop it,” I called to no avail.
I held tightly on the leash and he barked. What got him so riled up? I looked around, a car engine running, two hikers coming down from the number 8 trail, and a horse and rider approaching the parking lot from trail 100. The Great Dane was barking at the horse rider. And me? I mentally prayed for the ground to open and swallow me, but, please, spare Dior as he had nothing to do with my emotional shortcomings.
“Fiat? Is that you?” Tristan’s words seemed synchronized with the clippety-clop of the Appaloosa’s hooves. Is that why I came here? Hoping to run into him? If that was the case why was I wearing old sweats with a stretched-out bottom and why did I not put on at least a smudge of lipstick? Needed to have a serious talk with my subconscious.
Now Dior was in full performance mode, jumping and barking and running around me, hitting my legs with his powerful tail. You’d think he was having a full-blown affair with the mare. Could my secret wants be contagious? Could I be more idiotic than this? While my brain churned scenarios by a Baker’s dozen, my body didn’t budge, not even one iota. The day’s dramas, doubts and dreams stayed neatly stacked inside my chest, behind the faded fleece hoodie. Tristan dismounted his horse and walked her up to where I was trying to restrain my dog gone wild. It felt like déjà vu. He wore the same clothes and boots he had on the first time I ran into him on the trail, except for a denim jacket over the white shirt and minus the red bandana.
Tache, the appaloosa, lowered her head to sniff the dog. How about that? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Dusk wiped away the last traces of daylight, and I wished I could do the same with the disturbing thoughts galloping through my mind.
“They like each other.” Tristan pointed to
