47. Brooke
47
***Brooke***
I finished painting the diner over two nights, moved back in with my mother, and got hired by a random man on the street to paint his surfboard. I didn’t know where he was going with his surfboard but Beaumont didn’t get waves like that. That wasn’t my business, though. I got to paint on the beach and that was good enough for me.
When the public librarian, Martha Dugan, stopped me on my walk home and asked me if I’d paint a mural for the children’s section of the library, I was starting to wonder if people just felt sorry for me. When I got a little hysterical and asked Martha if that was the case, she’d told me she didn’t believe in charity for women who got dumped and asked me when I could start. That helped boost my confidence.
The wall in the library was almost as big as the hardware store mural and I felt a sense of hope when I looked at it. I dove into the painting fast and furious, sketching out ideas and painting them before Martha could keep up with it all. What should’ve taken a week took me two days. It was over too fast and I cursed myself on the walk home.
I felt the best when I was working, no matter the project. Finding myself with nothing to do meant I had too much time to think about the guys and what could’ve been.
The sinking feeling was just starting to settle over me when I heard a bark from behind. I turned back and saw a dog that had to be the biggest dog I’d ever seen following me. I stopped. It stopped. We stared at each other.
“Hello?” I looked around, waiting for its owner to pop out. That didn’t happen. The dog just kept staring at me. “Um… Can I help you?”
It sat and its tongue rolled out of its mouth, hanging halfway to the ground. I cleared my throat and looked around again. The dog didn’t have a collar but it looked healthy enough. I didn’t understand where he’d come from. I saw that he was definitely a he when I peeked around and saw that no one had taken his family jewels from him yet.
“Gross.” I winced. “Sorry. You’re not gross. I just… Balls, ya know?”
He groaned and I got the distinct impression that he was rolling his eyes at me. Not exactly sure what to do, I turned around and started walking again. I figured I’d call the shelter in town and tell them about the big boy but I immediately heard his heavy breathing as he followed me.
Looking back again, I figured I’d take a chance and see how far he’d follow me. Turned out, he’d follow me pretty far. We walked all the way to the small vet’s office across town. That was where he drew the line, though. He wouldn’t go in, no matter what I did. The vet had to come out to scan him for a microchip.
After a parking lot check up, Dr. White looked up at me and shrugged. “I’ve seen nearly every pet in this town and I’ve never seen this boy. He’s a little malnourished and I don’t like that he’s not fixed but he’s not in bad shape. He’s also not microchipped, though. My best guess is that he got away from someone visiting.”
“What now?” The dog never took his eyes off me. If I stepped away even slightly, he moved with me.
“Well. I can call the shelter for you. He’ll be put in a kennel next to the other dogs looking for homes. He’ll be held there until the shelter is sure no one’s looking for him and then they’ll try to find him a home. He’s big and probably middle-aged, though, so I doubt he’ll be scooped up right away.” She saw my eyes widen and nodded. “Or you could take him home with you. Put a notice on the town’s social pages about him and see if anyone comes looking for him.”
“And if no one does?”
“Then you have a new dog.” She looked back at his back end again. “If that’s the case, you’ll need to bring him in for a complete exam. I’d suggest neutering him. It’ll be expensive, but I’d do it all for free if you’d do one of your murals for us.”
I stared down at the dog and felt panic growing. “I’m living with my mother. I can’t even take care of myself. I can’t take care of another living being.”
“Breathe. The best pet parents always panic a little when they get a new dog. It’s a lot of work. But you brought him here so I have faith in you.” She patted my shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine.”
“I didn’t get a new dog! He just started following me!” I looked down and realized he’d inched his way closer and closer, until he was practically leaning into me, and I was absently patting his head. “Oh, shit. I think I got a new dog.”
“Yep. Still, put up a notice. I’d hate to think of someone missing this big guy.” She slowly backed away. “Alright, come see me as soon as you decide he’s yours.”
I frowned. “What do I call him?”
She grinned. “That’s the fun part. Name him.”
On the walk home, I tried out different names to see if he’d answer to any certain name. I was still full of anxiety about him but he deserved a name.
Aunt Karlene was waiting for me at Mom’s house. “I knew you were going to rescue a handsome man today. His name’s Lucifer. Lucy for short.”
My mouth fell open when he barked and sat at my feet, tongue rolling out of his mouth with an exorbitant amount of drool. “You know his owner?”
“No. But I did see a couple of assholes kick him out of their car earlier. He ran off before I could get to him. I heard them calling him Lucy, though. Don’t worry, I cursed the shit out of them.” She reached out and rubbed his head. “You two are kindred spirits. And he’ll keep you company until you and your guys work it out.”
“They just kicked him out and left him?” I felt my heart crack for the big dog. Kneeling down, I scratched behind his ears and stared back into his big, brown eyes. “Oh, god. I’m keeping him.”
He licked my face and reached up to rest his paw on my arm. Aunt Karlene patted my head and smiled at us.
“Oh, god.” Mom came outside, her eyes wide. “Fine. He can stay but you’re doing the pooper scooping.”
I wiped my face off just to have Lucy lick me again. “Okay. Sure. Anything. I love him. That’s crazy, right? How can I already love him? But how could I not? Look at him. He’s an angel.”
“Come on, Daisy. Take me to dinner. These two need to get in Brooke’s car and go shopping. Brooke doesn’t know how expensive her new love is going to be. Let’s go before she does the math.”
I waved them off and decided shopping for Lucy would make me feel better about my life. Just because I was sad didn’t mean he needed to be. “Come on, Lucy. Let’s go spoil you. I guess we can stop by the vet’s office again and go ahead and schedule your appointments.”