“Oh, he’s a she. Don’t be sorry. I love dogs, and she’s adorable. She can run this way any time. Here you go.” Celia moved forward and handed the boy Trudy’s leash. She patted the dog’s head one more time.
“Thank you, ma’am.” He took the leash from Celia.
No, not ma’am. Not that word. She cringed. “You’re welcome. My name is Celia.” She responded immediately to keep him from calling her the “M” word again.
“Hi, I’m Noah. I don’t know what happened. I reached down to tie my sneaker and she took off. We had just left my uncle’s house. We’re staying with him for the summer.” He stepped into the handle of Trudy’s leash, and wrapped it around his ankle.
“You have her now, Noah. Hold on tight.”
Noah bent down and picked up a large rock at the side of the driveway where he and Trudy stood. He tossed the rock up into the air as they spoke. Trudy’s head moved up and down and her ears bounced along while her eyes followed the stone into the air and back down again into the palm of Noah’s hand.
“My uncle lives around the corner on Washington Street. He moved in last winter and he invited Trudy and me to stay with him for the whole summer. He doesn’t want me to walk Trudy by his house because it’s a wicked busy road. Uncle Bill is a huge worrier. Ya know, it’s a good thing I listened to him too, because if Trudy got away from me over by his house, she could have gone into the street. I hate to think what could have happened if she did that, ya know.” Noah dropped the rock, and before he could grab it, Trudy pounced on it and took it into her mouth. “Trade, Trudy, trade.” He extended his arm as if he was about to give her something in return. She wagged her tail furiously and plopped the slimy wet stone into Noah’s hand as she waited for her reward. “She turned one about a month ago. She’s still got that puppy behavior, if you know what I’m talking about.” He reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out a biscuit, which he then gave to Trudy as her prize for trading the rock.
“Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I used to have a dog and I remember all too well that puppy behavior. Mine would run away every chance she got. I guess they love the feeling of freedom. It drove me nuts.”
“Yeah, it drives me nuts too. Thank you for catching her. I was wicked scared I wouldn’t find her. My parents would be super mad if they came back and Trudy had run away.”
“I’m happy I could help you. But I didn’t find her. She sort of ran to me.”
“Thank you, thank you, and thank you again.” He rubbed Trudy’s head. “My parents wanted to board her while they were away for the summer, but I promised I would take care of her by myself. Uncle Bill helps me too.”
“It’s nice you get to stay with your uncle for the entire summer.”
Noah took his baseball cap off and tucked it into his back pocket. “Yeah, my dad’s doing research in California and I didn’t want to go. I begged them to let me stay here. I’m a ballplayer, ya know. I didn’t want to be away because I was hoping to make the All-Star team. I’m almost sure I’ll make the team. At least, my coach says I will! If I went to California, I wouldn’t have been able to play, and I would have been wicked upset about that. That’s for sure. Playing on the All-Stars is like a once-in-a-lifetime chance, ya know?”
Celia was entertained by his innocence and enthusiasm. He was full of conversation. “That’s terrific, Noah. You must be a great ballplayer to make that team.”
“I’m not terrible, but I’m not the best. My regular team usually plays down the street at the park near the church. If you ever see us, you should watch. It’s wicked exciting.”
“I’ll watch for you. I walk by there every day.”
“Uncle Bill lets me go down to Pete’s to pick up stuff. We’re having company for lunch today to celebrate his new job. I’m going down there now to get soda. Maybe we’ll see you on the way back.” He stepped out from the leash’s handle and wrapped it around his hand and wrist. “See ya.” He waved as they walked out to the sidewalk.
“Bye.” It would be nice to have a dog again. Would be a lot of work to train. I could get a rescue and then wouldn’t have to deal with the puppy stuff and would save a dog at the same time. Hmm.
“See, here we are again. Told ya.” Noah held the leash tight as Trudy pulled toward Celia's driveway.
“Have fun at your celebration.”
“Bye-bye. And thank you for catching her.” They disappeared from Celia’s sight.
She thought of her last dog. A salt-and-pepper schnauzer named Heidi. For a small dog, she had a ferocious appetite. Much to Celia’s dismay, Heidi’s favorite treat was a bar of soap. Heidi would sneak into Celia’s bathroom, jump into the bathtub, and grab the soap from its dish. Without fail, after each soapy snack, she would proceed to vomit on a carpet somewhere in the house. Never would her upset stomach reject the soap on the tile floor—Heidi always got sick on something plush. When Celia cleaned the mess, the regurgitated soap would foam, lather, and stink. Celia began to keep the soap too high for Heidi to reach. In the end, a new bar of patchouli-scented soap took Heidi to the great beyond. She was fourteen years old. Her little body couldn’t take the upset. Celia felt sad as she remembered her sweet Heidi. She never bought patchouli soap again.
She picked up the real estate section and read descriptions of ocean-front homes for sale in nearby communities. I have an ocean view. She could see a tiny square of the ocean from her bedroom window. This patch of water was Celia’s definition of an ocean view.
Celia popped a cherry into her mouth. She ate the fruit and then sucked the pit. She glanced around to be sure no one was watching and then spit the pit across the narrow driveway. Why can’t I reach that strip of grass? She ate another cherry and spit the second pit. With cherry after cherry, she attempted to get the pit across the driveway. Not one pit made it to the grass. Finally, she reached the strip of grass. “Yes! I did it!” She pulled her fist to her side.
Celia heard the church bells ring and then cleaned up the spit pits.
Emma
Celia pulled the comforter up to her neck and nestled into her bed. She opened one eye and peeked at the clock. Shit. Four minutes to go. She raised the comforter up to her nose and closed her eyes.
Four minutes later, the radio blasted her awake. With both hands, she pulled the pillow next to her and covered her head in a feeble attempt to muffle the noise. “No!” She squeezed the pillow tighter over her ears.
From beneath the comforter, she slid her hand out and powerfully smashed the snooze button. The clock flew off the side table. The music blared as it became wedged between the mattress and nightstand. “SHIT!” So much for that extra ten minutes of sleep.
Sluggishly she dragged herself from her warm bed and knelt on the carpet. She wiggled the clock back and forth as she tried to dislodge it from the tight space. Finally, she yanked it free and slammed the stop button. Guess it’s senseless to hit the snooze button again. I’m wide awake now. She was irritated.
A pounding headache joined her morning routine. I’ll never again drink that much wine on a week night. She removed a small bottle of aspirin from the bathroom medicine cabinet and walked into
