Chapter 4
Grace and Chiefy finished their walk with a skip in their step. Yes, it seemed Chiefy felt pretty danged good about their day too. They helped someone today and it felt damned good.
Hanging Chiefy”s leash on the hook by the door, Grace turned around and she began digging into her work. Today she was going to tile the wall above the bathtub. Heaving out a deep breath, Grace entered the bathroom and looked at the mess. She was so sick of living in a construction zone. But, really, what could she do? This was the plan and she needed to save her money right now for the projects, not lavish digs. Once she had this place finished, she”d move next door and work on that one. She could live over there for the time being, but this was better than that place, sadly. These cute little bungalows had been left to their own devices for years now. Which was surprising in this location.
Anyway, she”d had the exterminator over there a couple of times now, and she felt leaving it closed up was better than trying to live in it, in case there were still bugs living about. Such was life in Florida. At least that”s what she”d been told. So, now, she added the quarterly pesticide treatments to her budget, and she felt it was well worth it, if not a little gross.
Heaving out a deep breath, Grace opened the five-gallon pail of premixed thin set and set the lid in the kitchen. She then opened the box of tile. Admiring them for a few moments, she smiled. Beachy blue subway tile was going to look fantastic in here. She”d marked her lines yesterday, so she was ready to begin.
Grabbing her trowel, she smeared a large swath of thin set onto the wall, then moved it around in small sections. Adding her tile to the thin set she worked meticulously to get the first wall completed.
Chiefy whined and Grace looked at her watch. It had been a couple of hours. It was time to let her play in the water. This was their routine. Sit on the front porch in the morning and watch the water while Grace had her two cups of coffee. Then go for a walk. Then work for a while and go for a walk after lunch. Then work. But in the evening, Chiefy got to run in the water and look for things left behind. She just loved ducking her head into the water and coming up with weird things. A piece of carpet. An old can. A discarded water bottle. Grace always brought a garbage bag with her and considered it their community service in keeping the water clean.
”Okay, girl. Hang on.”
She washed her hands, looked at her clothing and decided to go for it. Thin set smudges and dust were all over her, but she”d been working, and she”d wear these clothes until her shower tonight. Luckily, she had two bathrooms here.
She dried her hands on a towel, then pulled Chiefy”s leash from the hook by the door. That got her excited. Running back to the kitchen, she pulled a garbage bag from the drawer and met Chiefy at the door. She attached the leash to Chiefy”s collar and stepped outside.
Before crossing the road she looked both ways, then they hurried across. As soon as they were on the beach, Chiefy began tugging hard on the leash. Grace giggled at her enthusiasm. As soon as they were within a couple of feet, she unhooked the leash and let Chiefy run to the water. Sand kicked up behind her feet she ran so fast, and the splash she made when she dove into the water was huge. Grace laughed and neared the water waiting for Chiefy to come up with a treasure.
It didn”t take Chiefy long to surface with a paper cup in her mouth, she dropped it on the beach and dove in for more. Grace picked it up and put it in the garbage bag, always with an eye on the water where Chiefy went in. She surfaced again with a piece of floor mat from a car. She dropped it and repeated. This would go on for the next half hour until she got tired of diving in.
She looked so happy when she surfaced. She always got a ”good girl” and then took off again.
Chiefy surfaced with a glass bottle which looked like it had been for orange juice or something. Grace grimaced that glass was in the water, but Chiefy dropped it in front of her. ”Good girl, Chiefy.”
This time instead of jumping in the water, Chiefy took off running down the beach. Grace called, ”Chiefy, here.” Which normally brought her well-behaved girl right back. Except for this time.
Grace looked ahead to where Chiefy was running and saw Sid walking on the beach toward a bungalow. She remembered he”d said he lived in one. Sid, for his part, dropped to his knees and waited for Chiefy to come to him. Grace hurried toward Chiefy and Sid.
When she neared, she heard Sid laughing and Chiefy was licking his face. She stopped in her tracks as she watched them together. Her heart swelled so much it hurt. Sid pet her fur, and laughed as he was completely slobbered on. Then Chiefy laid down and rolled onto her back to get a belly rub. Sid complied, the smile on his face completely spellbinding.
Grace slowly approached, unsure if she should interrupt this moment. Sid looked up at her, the smile on his face intoxicating. ”She”s sure a friendly girl.”
Grace smiled. ”Usually not like this. Normally she listens so well. But, she beat a path to you like I”ve never seen before.”
Sid”s cheeks turned pink. He glanced at Chiefy, still enjoying a belly rub. ”So you like damaged people, Chiefy?”
Grace felt heat climb up her chest. ”You”re not damaged.”
Sid”s eyes met hers. He stared for a while, then nodded, but said nothing.