Chapter 9
NINE
Nova didn’t bark, so I thought he must be snoozing away, and when I approached his crate, all I got was a cracked eye and enough tail wagging it thunked the sides.
When I opened the door, Nova slowly stood and stretched, taking his sweet time walking over and plunking his chin on my lap.
“Did that extra walk with Graham wear you out, baby?” I asked as I rubbed a velvety ear between my fingers and released a longing sigh. “I’d like him to wear me out, if you know what I mean.”
The crumple of paper as she stood caught my attention before I saw the note, but right as I reached for it, Nova realized she hadn’t showed off enough and darted across the room to lift a ball from her pile of toys.
He plunked the slobbery ball in my hand, so chewed it looked more like Swiss cheese. “Wow, thank you so much, bestest dog in the whole-wide-world. Now, can I please see this sign around your neck?”
Nova attempted to bolt again, but this time, I was faster.
Once I pulled him onto my lap, he swapped his attack to licking my face. I bobbed and weaved…and gave into the fact that my makeup would be licked clean.
Next to the blue ID tag that spelled out his name and my contact info, a note had been attached with a shoelace.
On my walk today, I stole a dirty nappy, attempted to eat it, and then made the bloke holding my leash deal with the mess.
“You tried to eat a dirty diaper?” I asked Nova, jaw dropped. “And I just let you lick my face. Perfect.”
Nova gave his happy bark, the scent of his awful breath wafting over me. Totally gross, and yet it filled me with so much joy—being a dog owner was so weird that way. I was well aware of the fact that my puppy was a smelly tornado, and yet I’d sit in the eye of that storm every time.
As I lifted the note, he smooshed his cheek to mine, as if he needed to read along with me.
Needless to say, I’ve got a ways to go on obedience training. Whilst “sit” and “stay” are important, I’ll predominately be working on the command “Drop it,” which is what the bloke did with the dirty nappy, straight in the trash.
At the bottom there’s another line, the handwriting less neat.
P.S. So if you’re still thinking about digging through the garbage for leftovers, I’d reconsider.
“What do we think about this?” I asked of the pooch with her cheek pressed to mine, even though I was already adrift in a rowboat, picking the pedals off flowers. “Pretty fuckin’ adorable, right?”
Nova decided she no longer wanted to be on my lap if I was going to sit and do boring things, like analyze every curve and angle of Graham Edwards’s handwriting.
I kept contact, patting his head and running my hand down his coat to scratch his side.
Ever the ridiculously improper gentleman, Nova twisted, legs spread wide so I’d rub his tummy. His white-toed paws pedaled the air, and I snapped a quick picture—like I didn’t have dozens in my phone already—and then read through “Nova’s” note again.
In my twenties, I was a believer in love at first sight, karma, and all that other love-is-magical bullshit. After all, when I’d struggled in college, disheartened and considering moving back home to a toxic environment, I’d learned about the connection we humans have to the universe.
During those past relationships that didn’t pan out, I’d learned the ins-and-outs of astrological signs, how to read Tarot Cards and star charts, and gave a lot over to the universe. My gut had served me so well, I couldn’t imagine it not working on love, an emotion that only grew bigger the more you gave it away.
Now I knew better than to rule out a person solely based on their astrological sign and how well it meshed with mine, but it’d be silly not to at least consult the occasional horoscope.
Thanks to modern technology, I had a daily app for that.
While I wasn’t sure if Graham was being flirty or informative—or even mocking me the tiniest bit—the truth remained the same. Unconditional love did exist.
And I’d found it with my puppy.
“That’s why,” I said, booping his nose—which was the gross kind of wet, naturally—and then wiping my fingers on the thighs of my jeans, “this thing with Graham, if it is even a thing, doesn’t have to be a big deal. No pressure. Just two neighbors getting to know each other, hoping that one day, he’ll come over to borrow more than my dog or a cup of sugar.”