green earth knew puppies could poop so much? There were piles everywhere. The smell seemed to have leached into the walls; even opening the garage door didn’t help. She spent the next half hour holding her breath and trying to keep from getting sick as she cleaned up the garage.
By the time she was finished, she had pretty much convinced herself that they had been part of some sort of evil plan designed to ruin her weekend. Really. It was the only reasonable explanation for the fact that the puppies seemed to favor the long, jagged crack in the garage floor, and their accuracy had been uncanny enough to force her to use a toothbrush to clean it. It was disgusting.
And Travis . . . let’s not leave him out of it, either. It was as much his fault as the puppies’. Granted, he had mentioned in passing that she should keep them contained, but he hadn’t really made a point of it, had he? He hadn’t explained what would happen if she didn’t listen to him, did he?
But he’d known what would happen. She was sure of that. Sneaky.
And now that she considered it, she realized that it hadn’t been the only thing he’d been sneaky about. The way he’d pressed her to answer the whole “Do I go out boating with my neighbor who happens to be a flirty hunk?” She decided she didn’t want to go, if only because he’d been so manipulative about getting her to agree. All those ridiculous questions insinuating that Kevin kept her under lock and key. As though she were Kevin’s property or something! As if she had no mind of her own! And here she was now, cleaning up a million mounds of poop. . . .
What a way to start the weekend. To top it off, her coffee was cold, her newspaper had been soaked by an errant sprinkler, and the water had gone frigid before her shower was finished.
Great. Just great.
Where was the fun? she grumbled to herself as she threw on her clothes. Here it was, the weekend, and Kevin was nowhere to be found. Even when he was around, their weekends weren’t anything like the ones she’d had when she’d visited him during her school breaks. Back then, it seemed as if every visit were fun, filled with new experiences and people. Now he spent at least part of every weekend at the golf course.
She poured herself another cup of coffee. Granted, Kevin had always been the quiet type, and she knew he needed to unwind after a hard week at work. But she couldn’t deny that since she’d moved here, their relationship had changed. Not that it was completely his fault, of course. She’d played a role, too. She had wanted to move in, settle in, so to speak. Which was exactly what had happened. So what was the problem?
The problem, she heard a little voice answer, was that it seemed as though there should be . . . more. She wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, other than that spontaneity seemed to be an integral part of it.
She shook her head, thinking she was making too much of it. Their relationship was just going through some growing pains. Moving out onto her back deck, she saw that outside, it was one of those impossibly beautiful mornings. Perfect temperature, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky. In the distance, she watched a heron break from the marsh grass, gliding above sun-drenched water. As she stared in that direction, she caught sight of Travis heading down to the dock, wearing nothing but low-slung plaid Bermudas that stretched almost to his knees. From her vantage point, she could see the muscle striations in his arms and back as he walked, and she took a step backward, toward the sliding glass door, hoping he wouldn’t spot her. In the next instant, however, she heard him calling out to her.
“Hey, Gabby!” He waved, reminding her of a kid on the first day of summer vacation. “Can you believe how beautiful the day is already?”
He started to jog toward her, and she stepped into the sun just as he pushed through the hedges. She took a deep breath.
“Hey, Travis.”
“It’s my
By the time she was finished, she had pretty much convinced herself that they had been part of some sort of evil plan designed to ruin her weekend. Really. It was the only reasonable explanation for the fact that the puppies seemed to favor the long, jagged crack in the garage floor, and their accuracy had been uncanny enough to force her to use a toothbrush to clean it. It was disgusting.
And Travis . . . let’s not leave him out of it, either. It was as much his fault as the puppies’. Granted, he had mentioned in passing that she should keep them contained, but he hadn’t really made a point of it, had he? He hadn’t explained what would happen if she didn’t listen to him, did he?
But he’d known what would happen. She was sure of that. Sneaky.
And now that she considered it, she realized that it hadn’t been the only thing he’d been sneaky about. The way he’d pressed her to answer the whole “Do I go out boating with my neighbor who happens to be a flirty hunk?” She decided she didn’t want to go, if only because he’d been so manipulative about getting her to agree. All those ridiculous questions insinuating that Kevin kept her under lock and key. As though she were Kevin’s property or something! As if she had no mind of her own! And here she was now, cleaning up a million mounds of poop. . . .
What a way to start the weekend. To top it off, her coffee was cold, her newspaper had been soaked by an errant sprinkler, and the water had gone frigid before her shower was finished.
Great. Just great.
Where was the fun? she grumbled to herself as she threw on her clothes. Here it was, the weekend, and Kevin was nowhere to be found. Even when he was around, their weekends weren’t anything like the ones she’d had when she’d visited him during her school breaks. Back then, it seemed as if every visit were fun, filled with new experiences and people. Now he spent at least part of every weekend at the golf course.
She poured herself another cup of coffee. Granted, Kevin had always been the quiet type, and she knew he needed to unwind after a hard week at work. But she couldn’t deny that since she’d moved here, their relationship had changed. Not that it was completely his fault, of course. She’d played a role, too. She had wanted to move in, settle in, so to speak. Which was exactly what had happened. So what was the problem?
The problem, she heard a little voice answer, was that it seemed as though there should be . . . more. She wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, other than that spontaneity seemed to be an integral part of it.
She shook her head, thinking she was making too much of it. Their relationship was just going through some growing pains. Moving out onto her back deck, she saw that outside, it was one of those impossibly beautiful mornings. Perfect temperature, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky. In the distance, she watched a heron break from the marsh grass, gliding above sun-drenched water. As she stared in that direction, she caught sight of Travis heading down to the dock, wearing nothing but low-slung plaid Bermudas that stretched almost to his knees. From her vantage point, she could see the muscle striations in his arms and back as he walked, and she took a step backward, toward the sliding glass door, hoping he wouldn’t spot her. In the next instant, however, she heard him calling out to her.
“Hey, Gabby!” He waved, reminding her of a kid on the first day of summer vacation. “Can you believe how beautiful the day is already?”
He started to jog toward her, and she stepped into the sun just as he pushed through the hedges. She took a deep breath.
“Hey, Travis.”
“It’s my
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