5. Morning Walks and Talks
five
Jack
“Come on, Ellie,” I prompt my dog to get her to cross the street. She sees a puddle and immediately stops to look at me. “Come on. A little water won’t kill you.”
Instead of stomping through the water, though, she starts to back away and then plants her butt right on the concrete.
“Really?” I say with a heavy sigh. “Are you kidding right now? You know, eventually, I have to go to work this morning. We can’t have this walk take all day.”
Finally conceding, I lean down to slide my arms around her stomach and lift her over the puddle. When I set her on dry ground on the other side, she starts trotting again as if nothing ever happened.
When I first moved to Lilly Leaf Falls, I decided to get a dog to combat my constant loneliness. I figured it would be great to have a companion who would go for runs with me in the mornings and hikes on the weekends.
So, I got Ellie—an adorable golden retriever. I found her at the pound. She was already six years old, and no one wanted her. We fell in love instantly. She’s the best dog a guy could ask for. But a hiking buddy she is not.
What she is is downright spoiled.
She doesn’t even like to go for runs with me in the morning because it’s far too early for her. She stays in bed, curled up under the blankets until I get home.
She may not be a hiker, but she sure as shit is the best snuggler in the whole world. And she’s always there to keep me company after a long day at work.
I’ll take those things in exchange for occasionally having to pick up my dog and carry her across a puddle.
We walk down the street a little further before I get to Jana’s Treats, the local bakery. Jana has everything from donuts to cakes and croissants to pies. Usually, I wouldn’t take Ellie to a place that serves food, but Jana always insists that I bring her in when I come. The moment the older woman spots me, she comes out from behind the counter and bends down to start giving the dog scratches behind her ears.
“There’s my favorite customer.”
“Aw, Jana. Thanks.”
With a smile, she says, “I was talking to Ellie.”
“Well, then, ask Ellie to pay for my donuts this morning,” I tease.
“Oh, haha.” She stands up and walks back behind the counter to wash her hands in the small sink. “What can I get for you this morning, Jack?”
She pulls a pencil that’s tucked into her bun of red hair and gets ready to write it down.
“I just wanted to get some treats for the guys. How about a dozen and a half donuts? Dealer’s choice.”
She gets to work on my order, and I sit down on one of the chairs while Ellie plops down between my legs.
When I moved to Lilly Leaf Falls, Jana was one of the first people I met. And she’s one of the only people here who recognized me from my former life. Luckily for me, she never said a thing to anyone. I moved here for some anonymity, and she’s ensured I always had that. Because of her being so great, I always do what I can to help her out.
As she’s pulling out the last of the donuts, her granddaughter, Tali, comes running in from the back.
“Jack!” She squeals while bounding toward me. “Ellie!”
Tali is only five and is quite possibly the most adorable little girl I’ve ever seen. Jana’s daughter—Tali’s mom—passed away in a car accident when Tali was just a baby. With no dad in the picture, Jana stepped in to raise her grandbaby.
Usually, kids aren’t crazy about me. My large stature and scruffy beard tend to send them running in the opposite direction. But ever since I met Tali, she has been attached to me every chance she gets.
“Nana, can we get a dog?” She asks, looking at Jana.
“Sweetheart, I told you that if you can keep your room clean, I would think about a guinea pig. No dogs right now.” She glances at her watch. “It’s about time for school. Did you brush your teeth?”
Tali nods. “Can Jack walk me to school?”
“Honey, I’m sure Jack is busy. He has a job to get to.”
“How’s he going to go to work? He still has Ellie.” She turns to look at me. “Jack, can you pleeeeease take me to school?”
I look at Jana for her silent nod of approval before I say, “Of course, I can. But you better hurry and grab your backpack.”
As quickly as she can, she sprints back into the kitchen.
Jana walks over to us, handing a dog bone to Ellie. ‘You know you don’t have to walk her to school. I know you’re busy.”
“Not a problem. There are perks to being the boss.” I shoot her a wink. “Besides, I like hanging out with Tali. It’s always fun to see the world through the eyes of a five-year-old.”
“I used to think that, too, until I started arguing with a tiny human on why she doesn’t think she should have to eat her broccoli.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Are you really going to get her a guinea pig?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think that girl will ever be able to keep her room clean. So, I hear you had a run-in with Liz Lawson last night.”
My head snaps toward her so fast I can hear my neck pop. “How in the hell did you already hear about that?”
I barely get the question out before I realize the answer.
In unison, we both say, “Misty.”
Jana adds, “You ought to know that there wasn’t any way that woman was not going to start flapping her gums about the latest big news in town. I hear Liz was making a fool of herself at the Quick Stop.”
“How did you know that? I didn’t even tell Misty that part of the story.”
“Oh, she heard that straight from Gina.”
“Good lord, the woman works fast,” I say with a sigh. It never ceases to amaze me how fast gossip spreads in a small town. I came from Miami, where no one even knew who their neighbors were.
“Especially when it comes to Liz Lawson.”
“Why is she so interested in Liz Lawson?” I ask.
She sits down to pet Ellie while she talks.
“Well, everyone around here is interested in her because she’s been pretty much a mystery ever since she left. But Misty and her were pretty much rivals back in high school. Misty was always second place to Liz’s first. When Liz left, you would have thought Misty won some kind of prize or something. She even got with Liz’s ex-boyfriend for a stint.”
Moments later, Tali reappears with her backpack slung over her shoulders. She grabs one hand while I hold Ellie in the other. With my hands full, I tell Jana that I will be back in a bit to grab the donuts.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be walking a five-year-old to school. I really never thought that it would be a kid who wasn’t mine—not that I’m anywhere close to having my own kids.
“What are you going to do in school today?” I ask her.
She shrugs her shoulders but doesn’t say anything. I’m sensing something is up because quite literally, this little girl never stops talking.
“Hey,” I try to get her to look at me. “Tali, what’s going on?”
She still doesn’t answer, so the next bench we come to, I stop walking. “Park it, little lady.”
She sits down, and I kneel in front of her. “What’s wrong? You are usually super excited about going to school. Is something happening?”
She thinks for a moment before her words come pouring out. “There’s this boy named Austin who’s mean to me. He makes fun of my red hair, and he says my freckles are just dirt. And when we are at recess, he pulls my pigtails.”
I use my thumb to wipe away the one tear that snuck out and is rolling down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Tali. I’ve dealt with a lot of bullies in my time, and you know the one thing that I learned?”
She looks at me with her big eyes, waiting for me to answer.
”The one thing that they want is a reaction out of you. It makes them happy to see you upset. Chances are, they are unhappy with something in their own lives, and they take it out on you. The best way to handle them is just to ignore them. Don’t let them see you upset.”
“But what if I’m sad?”
“Well, you act like you don’t care. And then, you can come home and call me so that we can go get ice cream.”
I’m not going to feed her that line of maybe he’s being mean to you because he likes you. No. Maybe he’s just being mean because he’s a little brat.
She nods her head and agrees, but I don’t want to send her off to school when she’s still so upset.
“Do you want me to beat him up?” I joke.
“Yes,” she sniffles.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Come on, we don’t want you to be late.”
We finish walking to school, and I do my best to keep her mind off of her bully. We talk about Ellie, and I do whatever I can to make her laugh. When I finally drop her off at the door, she seems to be in a much better frame of mind.
I remind myself that when I stop back by the bakery that I need to talk to Jana and make sure she knows what’s going on. As much as I want to help Tali, I won’t ever do anything behind Jana’s back. She should be able to handle her granddaughter however she sees fit.
I look down at Ellie who has already laid down on the ground after us stopping for no longer than thirty seconds.
“Man, you’re lazy,” I tell her.
All she does in return is roll over to show me her belly.
“Come on. Let’s get you home, so I can get to work.”