Chapter 5
Dominic
An account of that same circumstance from Dom's perspective:
It had been over a week since Dominic saw that woman with the scarf. He went back and forth to his other place in Milwaukee since then, and he had just gotten back to Chicago.
Dominic wasn't expecting to see Marley that day, and he hardly recognized her. He glanced out of the window just in time to see her step into the shelter of the bus stop.
There she was, like a vision. She had on layers of clothing and was carrying several colorful bags which she held in front of her. He could barely see that scarf tucked over her arm, but a person could notice that thing from a mile away.
Dominic smiled absentmindedly and watched her for a second, debating going downstairs. He thought he might miss her by the time he made it down there. He glanced down the street, looking for the bus so that he could calculate how much time he had to make it to her.
He did see a bus down the street, but he had no idea how long she would be waiting. By the time he glanced at her again, her demeanor had shifted. She hadn't been smiling the whole time, but now she looked agitated, glancing down the street and half-hiding behind the cover of the bus stop. Dominic studied the sidewalk, trying to see what she was looking at.
There was a man heading toward her, which was not what Dom wanted to see. He wanted to go to her, but he also didn't want to take his eyes off her. Dominic watched, feeling stunned and helpless as she and the man had an encounter. Her posture was guarded, and she moved away from him and then stepped away, leaving the bus stop.
Her scarf fell behind her as she moved, and it dragged. Dominic stared in stunned amazement as the guy reached out for it. He took it right off of her.
She glanced back at him, but it was too late because he quickly put the scarf behind his back. He rolled the other hand in front of himself like a huge dill weed and then bowed carefully while hiding the scarf from her. Dom kept thinking it was all an act. He thought the guy would bow and then present the scarf to her like he had saved it from falling.
But no. He stood there with the scarf behind his back and let her walk away.
"Hey!" he yelled, hitting the window, but it was no use. He lifted the window and yelled again, but no one could hear him from there.
Dominic didn't hesitate. He was a college football player and physical fitness enthusiast. He was a natural-born athlete, and his body generated considerable forward momentum the instant he knew Marley was walking away without her scarf.
He ran quickly. He took the stairs so that he didn't have to wait for the elevator. Dominic basically slid down the stair rail. He took two and three steps at a time, light on his feet, focused on nothing but timing his steps perfectly and making it downstairs and to the street.
Down three flights of stairs, he flew. He moved so fast that his phone fell out of his pocket. He stopped for a split second to pick it up, gripping it in his hand and not taking the time to look at it or notice if it was broken.
Dominic began to move again—instantly at full speed.
Down the remaining stairs, across the hall, out the door, and onto the sidewalk.
He spotted the guy. He had his back turned and was walking the other way. He had the scarf in his hand. He was cradling it in front of him as he walked.
Dominic could see the edge of it.
He closed the distance between them and rushed the guy suddenly. He lunged forward, grabbing the scarf and quickly but nimbly pulling it out if the guy's hand in one motion.
"I'll be taking this. This isn't yours." Dominic scowled at the guy, looking him over. He was way too concerned with fashion to be any sort of physical threat.
"It's not yours either," the guy said, reaching back for it, like some sort of idiot. Dominic easily evaded his reach and looked at him like he was crazy.
"Who are you, and why don't you have on shoes?"
Dominic's apartment was warm. He had run out with bare feet and a tank top. He was lucky he had on a shirt at all. He would have run out without one.
"It's my sister's scarf, and I saw you take it from her."
"That girl's your sister?"
"Yes."
The guy grinned at him with a sideways smile. "I tried to holler at her and give it back, but she ran off too quick."
"No, you didn't. You reached out and took it." Dominic began backing up to walk off. He was done here. He could tell that the guy had relented and wasn't going to protest him taking the scarf.
"Your sister was flirting with me at Abercrombie, dawg. She's getting shy now, but she straight-up wanted me at Abercrombie. You need to hook me up with her."
"No. And you should never talk to her again."
The guy held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, but he didn't mean it, he was still wearing that grin. "It's all good bro!" he called as Dominic turned to walk away from him. "Go get you some shoes!" he added.
Dominic was sure he got a few looks on his way into his apartment, but he didn't pay attention to his surroundings. He kept his head down, walking until he got back into his apartment. And then he found himself standing in his living room with Mariam Waterson's scarf.
***
That scarf would spend the next several days in the closet of his Chicago apartment. Dominic was in Milwaukee for a week, and during that time he had a bad case of food poisoning. He was distracted with that and with seeing to business at his Milwaukee gym, and the week before Thanksgiving had passed quickly. Before he knew it, he was back in Chicago where he would spend Thanksgiving with his family.
He had been thinking about Marley and the scarf on his way there, and one of the first things he did was go to his closet and look at it. He hated to have something that didn't belong to him, but it was better in his hands than with that other guy. He looked at it again a couple of hours later when his mom asked him to run an errand and he went into that same closet to grab a jacket.
It was so cool looking that he took a photograph of it. The scarf was hanging on the same hanger as his black wool coat, and he checked it out again after he got a good shot. He stared at it, noticing the different colors of yarn and the speckles that were in each row. He felt the knitted texture between his thumb and forefinger, realizing that Mariam Waterson herself had made each of those knots with needles. He appreciated it for a good long minute, trying to think of a way to get it back to Marley.
In the meantime, he left it on the hanger and took his coat.
He had an errand to run. He promised his mom that he would pick up something for her at a store and take it with him to their house for Thanksgiving lunch the following day. It was a fancy place with some women's clothes and jewelry along with knickknacks. The clean scent of cotton and perfume hit him like a wall when he walked in.
"Hey little bud," Dominic said, seeing a small dog heading his way. It was one of those dogs with long hair, but Dominic didn't know the breed—Pomeranian maybe. "Heyyy," he said to the dog as he jumped up, putting his front paws on Dominic's knee as he stooped. The dog didn't stop there. It jumped eagerly into Dominic's arms, pawing and clinging to his chest.
Dominic stood up, and the dog continued to cling to him, smelling his collar and then up on his neck and face before sniffing his chest again. It tickled, and Dominic let out a little laugh as he tried to hold it.
"Mitzy! No, Mitzy down!" a guy came out from the back of the store, sounding mortified.
"Oh, no, it's okay, I think she likes me," Dominic said, holding the dog while it continued to rub its face on his chest.
"Mitzy!" the guy said, gawking disappointedly at the dog. "I am so sorry. She's being weird. I don't know what she's doing." He reached in to take the dog from Dominic and the dog yelped suddenly, causing the man to yelp as well and almost drop it. The dog's yelp was loud, and the man let go of that dog just as quick as he touched it. "No ma'am!" he said. "Oh, my goodness, I don't know what is wrong with her! I'm so sorry."
Dominic smiled and shook his head. "I don't mind. She's just loving on me. I've had a busy week She probably knows I need a hug." He continued to hold the small dog who was still nestling her nose on his chest. It was the sweetest thing, and it made Dominic absentmindedly want to get a dog one day. "I don't mind holding her if you're okay with it."
"I'm fine with it. I just can't believe she wouldn't let me take her. And she usually doesn't want to be held. Especially by strangers who are men."
"Well, I'm honored since I'm both of those." He smiled. "My mom asked me to pick up some pajamas. She said they're already paid for."
"Oh, is Caroline Decker your mom? Of course she is! You're one of the twins. I didn't realize. Your mom has come into our store before. She said she loves this line, and we hardly ever run a sale on it. She bought twelve sets. They each come in a gift box. I wrapped them, and I have everything marked, saying what's inside. I hope you have room in your car."
Dominic nodded, and the man began walking toward the back of the store, motioning for Dominic to follow him.
"I don't know what's gotten into Mitzy. She's the owner's dog, but I watch her all the time. She's used to being in this store, and I've never seen her do anything like that. Just set her down if you get tired of holding her."
"Okay," Dominic said. The dog only weighed a few pounds, and she was cute. He wasn't going to set it down as long as it wanted to be held.
The dog found a comfortable spot on his chest. She loved the smell of his jacket, and she kept rubbing the side of her little face on his lapel. It was the cutest thing.
She snuggled up to him during the whole transaction, and when it was done, he set her down so that he could carry the boxes to his truck. She yelped like crazy again, scaring both Dominic and the gentleman who worked at the store. Dominic was stooped down and she jumped up, whining, crying, and trying to get into his arms again.
"Is she okay?" Dominic asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I have no idea what she's doing."
She began whining loudly for Dominic to pick her up. It was almost a panicked, yelping, screeching cry. She was desperate to be held.
"Mitzy, no!" the man said.
"I don't mind holding her until we get the stuff to my truck," Dominic said, scooping her up and putting an end to the frantic whimpering. "I'll make multiple trips. Will she jump out of my arms if I take her outside?"
"No. She shouldn't. But, I don't know, with how she's acting. I don't know what she'll do. I can take the boxes to your vehicle. Are you parked close by?"
"Right out front," Dominic agreed.
The dog snuggled comfortably against his chest, and the guy looked at the two of them like it was the craziest thing he had ever seen. "I'll grab a few boxes and take them to your car. I'll bet you a million dollars, she'll jump down and follow me as soon as I walk toward the door."