An Alaskan Proposal

by Beth Carpenter

  The dog gulped the last bite from what Sabrina could now see was a package of lunch meat. Clumps of hair and dirt made it impossible to see what color he was, but shiny black eyes surveyed her. Sabrina crouched and held out a hand. “Hi, there.”

  The dog watched her for a moment before returning to his conquest. He picked up the empty plastic pouch, gave it a good shake and tossed it in the air. Only then did he approach Sabrina. He sniffed her hand and quickly drew back. Sabrina stayed where she was. Once he’d determined she wasn’t coming after him, he came closer and eventually allowed her to scratch him under his chin. After she’d petted him for a few minutes, she picked him up. He didn’t resist. She ran her hand along his ribs and could count each one.

  “Poor little guy. Had to steal your supper, did you?” She stroked the little dog’s head, and his tail wagged. She carried him to her car, setting her groceries in the back seat and the dog in the front. “Wait right here, and I’ll find you something better to munch on.”

  She hurried into the store, located a small bag of kibble and ran it quickly through the self-scan. When she returned to the car, the dog was on the back seat, tearing into her tub of cream cheese. Sabrina laughed. “Oh, well. You probably needed it more than I did. Come on. Let’s go home.”

  The dog jumped onto the passenger seat and wagged his tail. Sabrina pulled out of the parking lot. “I can’t keep you, you know. I’m only here for the summer, and I don’t know for sure where I’ll be after that. Besides, I signed on the lease that I don’t have pets. If I were to keep you, I’d have to pay a security deposit and extra rent.”

  He watched her intently as though he understood exactly what she was saying. During the short drive home, he crept over the console into Sabrina’s seat and laid his head in her lap. She reached down to run her hand over his head. “You’re sweet. Don’t worry—I won’t just drop you off at the pound. I’ll find a good place for you.”

  Her exhaustion forgotten, Sabrina carried her bag of groceries and the dog inside. He scrambled all over the apartment, sniffing every corner and wagging his tail as though he approved. Sabrina gathered up the can of paint and paintbrush she’d left out after putting a coat on the baseboards. When she opened the closet door, the dog ran inside, sniffed all around and then came out and looked at her as though assuring her it was safe for her to enter. She laughed and set the paint on the floor beside her sewing machine.

  How did one go about finding a home for a dog? She should probably post a photo on the internet. But if she was going to put up a doggie dating profile, he needed to look his best. They’d start with a bath.

  Sabrina filled the kitchen sink with warm water and got her shampoo out of the shower. She picked up the dog. He cuddled against her chest until she carried him over to the sink, when he began to struggle.

  “It’s okay,” Sabrina crooned. “The water’s warm. See?” She reached in and scooped up a little water in her hand, and then smoothed it over the dog’s head. He struggled harder, his claws catching on her work polo.

  “Okay. This isn’t working.” She set the dog on the floor. He pranced across the living room. Sabrina shook her head. “Don’t get cocky, little dog. I’m changing clothes, and I’ll be back for round two.”

  Her second attempt wasn’t exactly a resounding success, either, but eventually she was able to get the dog in the water and soap him up. “See, it’s not so bad. This is nice. People take bubble baths to relax.” She reached for the sprayer to rinse him, but as soon as she removed one hand he squirted out from under the other one and leaped out of the sink. He landed on the kitchen floor, shook suds all over the cabinets and ran to the bedroom, where he burrowed into a basket of clean laundry.

  When Sabrina ran in after him, he popped out of the laundry basket and wagged his tail as though they were playing a game. “You little stinker. Now I’m going to have to make another trip to the Laundromat.”

  She captured the dog and returned him to the sink, where she was finally able to rinse the soap out of his fur. She wrapped him in a thick towel and carried him to the chair in the living room, where she held him in her lap while carefully working the mats from his hair with a comb. This part, he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, when she stopped combing for a moment, he nudged her hand to encourage her to continue.

  The poor dog looked even skinnier with his fur all plastered to his body, but since he’d just finished a pack of lunch meat and half a tub of cream cheese, Sabrina figured she should wait to feed him dog food. After all, he only weighed about ten pounds, and he’d probably consumed at least half a pound of groceries.

  He jumped from her lap and grabbed a pencil off the floor. It must have gotten knocked off the countertop during the bath. He carried the pencil to her, but when she reached for it, he turned his head away, teasing her. It took her three tries to grab the pencil. As soon as she did, the dog bounced across the room, ears up, looking at her expectantly. She threw the pencil. He chased it down and brought it back to her.

  They played for several minutes before the dog stopped to roll on the carpet, grunting happily. His brown-and-black fur, freed from dirt and tangles, settled into silky tufts, forming shaggy brows above his bright eyes. If she hadn’t witnessed the transformation, she wouldn’t have believed this was the same dog as the one in the parking lot.

  “You’re so cute. I’ll take your picture and post it, and I’m sure we’ll find someone nice to adopt you.” She pulled out her cell phone but stopped before snapping the photo. How would she know whether the people who answered the ads would take good care of him? The dog might end up in a home like the one he’d just come from. In fact, if she posted, the former owner might claim him, and might even accuse Sabrina of stealing the dog.

  Maybe she should look into shelters. She could research them first, make sure they were no-kill and took good care of the pets. The dog grabbed the pencil again and brought it to her for another round. Yeah, she should probably research shelters in Anchorage. Tomorrow. Because tonight, she was too busy playing with a dog.

  * * *

  BACK AT WORK two days later, Sabrina adjusted the collar of an orange T-shirt so that it showed half an inch above the yellow one she’d layered over it on the hanger. She wanted to feature warm colors, since women’s apparel was tucked into the back of the store, far away from the sunshine coming through the front windows, and directly under a large air-conditioning vent.

  Walter had introduced her to Marianne that morning. The older woman had thanked her repeatedly for taking charge of the department when she would be away. “This is the worst possible time to leave, but my sister has some complications with her second pregnancy and could use someone to take care of her and her little boy. He has special needs. She’s a widow—long, sad story—but, anyway, she needs me.” She checked her watch. “My plane leaves at three, and I still have a few things to pack. I should probably be going.”

  “Go ahead,” Sabrina urged. “We’ll be fine.”

  Marianne moved a stack of folded shorts on a table two inches to the right. “Okay, well, you’ve got the shift schedule. It’s a good crew, hard workers, but they’re all part-timers, so none of them could take over. I really appreciate you agreeing to fill in.”

  “It’s my pleasure,” Sabrina assured her, again. “Everything will be fine here. You’ve given me your phone number if I have questions. Go on. Take care of your sister.”

  Marianne finally left, but not before giving Sabrina a hug and passing a last lingering glance over the department. As soon as Sabrina was sure she wasn’t going to come back to share one more detail, she started planning changes.

  The department was clean and neat, almost too neat. The severe organization discouraged customers from browsing through the racks and upsetting the order. Each type of clothing hung on a rack of its own, sorted by size. There were no mannequins, no displays, just neatly stored clothing. Sabrina suspected Ma
rianne would have been an outstanding personal organizer.

  Sabrina started with creating a few end-of-rack displays. Over the layered T-shirts, she added a green fleece jacket, adjusting the zipper to half mast and tucking the cuff of one sleeve into a pocket to mimic movement. She stepped back to take in the total effect. Not bad, considering what she had to work with.

  “What are you doing?” Autumn, the salesperson scheduled for the evening shift, had arrived, which meant Sabrina’s shift was about over. Sabrina had seen Autumn around, but never met her before.

  “Hi. I’m Sabrina. I’ll be filling in for Marianne for a while.”

  “Marianne told me you’d be starting today.” Autumn looked at the jacket doubtfully. “What’s this?”

  “I’m putting together some displays.”

  “Oh.” Autumn bit the side of her cheek. “But the T-shirts go over there.”

  “Uh-huh.” Sabrina couldn’t quite see where she was going with this.

  “Marianne is a stickler that everything needs to be on its proper rack, sorted by size, so customers can find what they’re looking for.”

  “Well, that makes sense.” Sabrina stepped forward to straighten the zipper pull. “But what if a customer comes back to look at the jackets, but when she sees the T-shirt with it she decides to buy both?”

  “I guess we’d sell more.” Autumn studied the ensemble Sabrina had created. “That looks good. I’ve never thought about layering two T-shirts.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Marianne says her sister’s baby isn’t due for, like, two months. I guess what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?”

  “Right. And if sales go up maybe we can convince her to loosen up a little.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Autumn grinned. “If you believe in miracles.”

  Sabrina laughed. “So tell me. If you’re shopping for a T-shirt, what’s the first thing you look for?”

  “Color, I guess.”

  “Me, too. That’s why I was thinking we might sort the T-shirts by color and then size. The color block makes a graphic statement and it’s easier for customers to find their size in the color they want.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll work on that during my shift.”

  “Great! I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Thanks, Autumn.” Sabrina had enjoyed her half day in the department, but she wanted to hurry home to make sure the dog was okay. It was her first time leaving him alone for more than half an hour. According to their website, the shelter she’d researched wasn’t open for drop-ins until tomorrow, so she’d have him for at least another night. She stopped to drop off her name tag and collect her purse from her locker. As she hurried to the front of the store, she passed the pet section and paused. She was going to need a collar and leash if she wanted to take the dog for a walk.

  Surprisingly, the pet section was by far the most stylish part of the store. Collars came in leather or nylon, in all sorts of colors and prints. After a few minutes of deliberation, she chose a collar and leash with subtle variations of green and black in a curlicue pattern. A reflective thread wove through the design for increased visibility. There was even a coordinating microfiber dog scarf, although it was a better size for Leith’s dog than the little dog she’d taken home. Too bad, because it wasn’t expensive, and she really loved that print.

  In fact... Sabrina picked up the scarf and returned to women’s apparel, where Autumn was busy arranging the T-shirts. “Did you forget something?”

  “I just wanted to check this color.” Sabrina held the scarf against one of the green jackets. It blended perfectly.

  “Is that one of the dog bandannas?”

  “Yeah. Nice print, aren’t they?”

  Autumn laughed. “Yeah. Maybe we should sell them here.”

  Sabrina didn’t laugh. “Maybe. See you tomorrow.” She checked out using her employee discount and headed home. Taking advice from a dog-care website, she’d used a packing box to pen the dog in the kitchen while she was gone. She’d lined the floor with newspapers and provided a pillow, a bowl of water and a chew toy. Hopefully, he’d had a comfortable day alone.

  When she inserted her key in the lock, an excited bark sounded. Sabrina hurried to shush him before the neighbors heard and reported her. She wasn’t keeping the dog, but she didn’t want to have to explain that to her landlord.

  As soon as she stepped inside, a furry missile launched through the air and collided with her chest. She instinctively caught him. “Hey, what are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in the kitchen.”

  He wiggled higher in her arms to lick her chin. Sabrina laughed. “Stop that. It tickles. Yes, I’m glad to see you, too. Guess what? I got you a present. A new collar and leash. Just let me change, and we’ll go out for a walk, okay?”

  She set the dog on the floor. He dashed over to the kitchen and bounded effortlessly over the box to reach his bowl, where he noisily lapped up some water. So much for her careful preparations. A quick survey of the apartment showed an overturned wastebasket and a shredded tissue, but no lasting damage, fortunately. He hopped back over the box and ran to sit at her feet and stare at her as if to ask why she was wasting time.

  It took a little longer than usual to change clothes, since the dog insisted on sniffing each article of clothing and her shoes before she could put them on, but a few minutes later, she was ready. She fastened the collar around his little throat and snapped on the leash. As soon as she straightened, he tugged her toward the door.

  Sabrina laughed. “We’ll go, but don’t get used to this. If I get off work in time tomorrow, I need to take you to the shelter to find you a forever home. Understand?”

  The dog tilted his head and stared at her for a moment, those bright eyes tugging at her heartstrings. Then he turned and scurried toward the door, tail wagging. His message was clear. He’d worry about tomorrow tomorrow. Today was for fun.

  * * *

  THE SUN WARMED Sabrina’s shoulders as she jogged out of the woods. White daisies fluttered in the breeze across the open meadow between the trees and the street. The dog scurried along beside her, his short legs almost a blur when he ran. His tail never stopped wagging, which inspired her to make another lap around the park before heading home. The treadmill at the gym had never been this much fun. She was going to miss the little guy.

  She paused to let him sniff an interesting rock. Some child had dropped a handful of daisies on the pathway. Sabrina picked them up and sniffed. No odor to speak of, but there was something so happy about a daisy. Once the dog had finished marking the rock, she started jogging again, this time toward home.

  Inside her apartment, she unsnapped the leash and the dog ran to the kitchen for a drink. Sabrina pulled a jar from the kitchen cabinet and filled it with water for the daisies. Cute. The dog sniffed his bowl, so Sabrina poured in some kibble before she went to shower. She was reaching for the towel when she heard a soft scratching at the bathroom door. She opened it a crack and the dog ran in and sat on the rug, looking up at her.

  She dried off and reached for her clothes. “Did you need something?”

  The dog simply wagged his tail at her voice. Sabrina reached down to give him a pat, and his tail moved faster. He was a living Geiger counter, only he measured affection. The closer she got, the faster he wagged.

  Once she was dressed, Sabrina returned to the kitchen and checked the refrigerator. Leftover arroz con pollo caught her eye. While it heated, she set the daisies in the center of the table and added a straw place mat and a cloth napkin. When her father left and they lost the house, her mom could barely drag herself out of bed sometimes. Meals were hit-and-miss. Eventually, Sabrina discovered that even if dinner was just spaghetti from a can, if she set a pretty table, it tasted better. And if she set the table for two, sometimes her mom would eat with her.

  The dog sat quietly beside her chair as she dined, watch
ing each morsel make the trip from her plate to her mouth. She smiled at him. “I’d share, but according to what I read, too many scraps aren’t good for you.” The dog tilted his head as though thinking that over. She laughed. “Maybe just a bite.” She offered a few grains of rice, which he accepted daintily.

  After dinner, she pulled out her fleece vest and the green dog scarf she’d brought home. She laid the vest on the counter and moved the scarf around to different areas until she had a plan. She dug out her sewing scissors and a ruler and went to work. She had cleared off the table and set up her sewing machine when her phone rang. She smiled.

  “Hi, Mama. How was the cruise?”

  “Wonderful. Amazing. We had so much fun. I wish you could have come.”

  Yeah, tag along on what was, for all intents, a honeymoon. Mama had married Mason a year ago, but this cruise was his first chance to get away from his job. Sabrina was sure he would have loved having his new stepdaughter there. “Maybe someday. How is Mason?”

  “He’s fine. Says he must have gained ten pounds from all the food on the cruise, but he didn’t. All that walking was good for both of us. He’s working late today, catching up on everything he missed while he was on vacation. Glad I don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Her mother laughed.

  Sabrina didn’t. Her mother’s decision to stop working when she remarried worried Sabrina. She would have thought Mom would have learned something from all those years she struggled. Sure, Mason seemed to be a nice, dependable guy, but so had Sabrina’s dad. They used to tell her their love story, like a fairy tale. How Mama had gone to work as a receptionist at Dad’s business. He’d claimed he’d known from the first time he laid eyes on her that she was the woman he would marry.

  And he had. Mama was only twenty when Sabrina was born and she quit working at Dad’s business. Mama had relished her new role. They lived in a beautiful new house, in a beautiful new neighborhood. Mama used to throw beautiful dinner parties for their friends. She would spend days cooking and preparing the house. Sabrina used to help, folding napkins just so, sampling the fancy hors d’oeuvres. Sometimes, Sabrina would peek from her perch at the top of the stairs, watching all the ladies in their pretty dresses and sparkling jewelry, the men elegant in their suits.