Chapter 2 #2
James chuckled. “It’s okay. I live with three other people, and I’m rarely alone. They’re all good folks and we’re in the same program at the law school, so we work together on classwork. But….” It was hard to put his finger on it. “We’re friends….”
“But not the kind you tell your darkest secrets to,” Lyle interjected.
“Exactly. We like each other and get along pretty well, but the friendship is born out of a sort of shared hardship, and a lot of work that will only get done if we work together. So it’s kind of out of necessity.
I don’t see myself bringing any of them home for a weekend when I visit my parents or something. ”
“You sort of keep your distance and have things that are private.” Lyle certainly seemed to understand. “It’s okay not to be open with everyone about everything.”
“Yeah, I’m finding that out. Anne is a bit of a gossip, and I sometimes worry about how she’ll keep her clients’ business to herself.
Wes is really tight-lipped and he likes to think of himself as professional, but he doesn’t know that we’re all aware that his mother still buys his socks and underwear.
No self-respecting professional would have boxers with ice cream cones on them that say ‘Lick Me.’” He snickered.
“I met his mom and asked her about it once. She told me she buys the tackiest boxers she can find out of hope that he will start getting his own.” James couldn’t help laughing as they got out of the car and loaded the supplies to be returned into a cart. “Mostly they’re good people.”
Lyle pushed the cart toward the door and then stopped “So what weird things do they say about you?”
James chuckled; he couldn’t help it. “Food. I have lots of issues about food. It cannot touch on the plate because I do not like the juices to mix. And once it’s on my plate, don’t reach for anything.
I might bite. My mother had this food-stealing thing.
If you saved what you wanted until the end, then you might find it gone because my mother would snatch it off your plate.
The last time she did it, I set her up and stabbed her with a fork when she did it.
I might have drawn blood. I’m not sure, but she didn’t do it again.
” They both laughed as they entered the store.
“Okay,” Lyle said. “And here I thought my compulsion that everything have its place and be exactly where it belongs was strange.”
James patted him on the shoulder. “That won’t last long.
You have four King Charles Spaniels, and they are going to want things the way they want them sometimes.
Growing up, we had a golden retriever, Ally.
She was an amazing dog….” He paused his story as they reached the service desk.
Lyle explained the situation, and they issued the refund without a problem.
“You were saying…?” Lyle prompted as they left the store.
“Yeah… Ally. She was really good with her toys, loved plushies and never tore them apart. But after a while, they got really soggy and gross. So once, Mom threw them away and we went to get new ones. When we came home, the trash was all over the kitchen floor and each of Ally’s toys was back in her box where she wanted them.
Mom was pissed because she had a mess to clean up, but Ally had all her toys back. ”
“What did you do with the old, gross toys eventually?”
“Mom would take them out one at a time on trash day and they would be gone. And she’d get Ally a new one to replace it.
” He remembered her as an amazing dog. “I used to take her for a walk out on one of the trails, and the leash would just hang there. Ally was so well trained.” There were times when he missed her.
Though now it was impossible for him to have a dog, with his roommates and the fact that Anna was allergic to most animals and she had the EpiPens to show for it.
They drove to the PetSmart and looked through the store. They had a portable dog yard that looked pretty good. “Do you think it’s tall enough for them?”
“Yeah. It isn’t like you’re going to leave them alone, and with this, they can run inside and out if they want. Do you have chairs or something you can sit in while they’re down there?”
“There are some old chairs I used in college that I keep in the basement. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, but I can use them there and put a table between them.
There’s power down there, so while it’s concrete and kind of rustic, it would be nice.
” Lyle put the dog yard in the cart, and James helped him pick out treats and some new toys.
Then they checked out and drove to Lyle’s place.
The dogs all scrambled for attention as soon as they came inside. James was pleased to see Lyle petting each of them, giving them all some attention. Once the pack calmed down, they went downstairs, leaving the basement door closed.
It took a little time getting the thing set up the way they wanted, but it made a nice enclosure outside the basement door that opened directly onto the back of the property.
The dogs could run on the grass if they wanted and come back in without issue.
It was like having a large doggie door into a safe area for them.
“Can you help me move these chairs?” Lyle asked, and James got them where Lyle wanted. He also brought over an old, scarred table with scalloped edges and put it between the chairs. Once everything was set, Lyle went upstairs and opened the door.
The pack hurried down the stairs and went right out into the yard.
They all stopped at the edge and looked out, milling around each other before hurrying back inside.
As soon as Lyle sat down on a chair just inside the door, the first two jumped on his lap as if to say thank you.
They got pets before jumping back down and going outside.
As people walked past on the trail that led through the field behind the building to LeTort park, there was no barking, just happiness, curiosity, and wagging tails.
It seemed their mission had truly been a success.
“They’re happy.”
“They were always good dogs,” Lyle said from the other chair. Dover ambled in the walkout basement doorway, and when James made room, jumped onto the chair before settling in his lap.
“You’re a good boy,” James said while the others kept watch, tails wagging. After a few minutes, the other three all hurried inside and scrambled onto Lyle’s very full lap. Dahlia began to growl, even though there was nothing there.
“I was wondering where my mother’s dogs went,” a shrill voice announced before a bird-like woman stepped over the dog enclosure, her legs a little too long for her body. “I came here to get them.”
James looked to Lyle, who had gone pale.