by Teri Wilson
Beside him, Goldie was quiet. Too quiet, as far as he was concerned. He wished they could fast-forward through this afternoon straight to his plans for the evening. Plans he knew he would scrap if Goldie had a difficult time at the show.
Everything is going to be fine. That’s what she’d told him on the beach, and he’d promised to have faith. He wondered about his ability to keep that promise in the eerie silence of the car.
“Joe.”
He glanced over at her and tried to loosen his death grip on the steering wheel. “Yes?”
Goldie exhaled a shaky sigh. “I’m a little nervous.”
Joe resisted the urge to maneuver the car into a screeching u-turn. Instead, he reached for Goldie’s hand and brought it to his lips. Once he’d covered her knuckles with a tender kiss, he finally spoke. It took superhuman effort to keep his voice calm and steady. “We don’t have to go, you know. Just say the word, and I’ll take you someplace else.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Goldie removed her hand from his and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Bliss and I have been practicing all week, and the kids at the library are cheering for us to bring home a ribbon. I can’t let a little stage fright get to me.”
Stage fright. Of course. Goldie wasn’t in the midst of another grief-riddled crisis. She simply had butterflies. Joe wondered what she would have thought if he’d given in to his desire to drive her in the opposite direction like a madman. Everything is going to be fine, you idiot. Unless you screw it up yourself. “I was, er, only joking.”
“No you weren’t.” Goldie gave him a teasing jab to the ribs. “But, I am a tad bit curious. Where exactly would you have taken me if I’d changed my mind?”
The tightness in Joe’s chest loosened somewhat, and he fell naturally back into their usual playful, flirtatious repartee. “I’ll never tell.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Let’s just say we could have started our date early.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her until she giggled.
“I have to admit that does sound nice. But, we’re not going home empty handed. We’re going to win that ribbon for the kids. Right, Bliss?” Goldie looked over her shoulder at the two dogs riding in the backseat.
Not to be overlooked, Java made his presence known by craning his neck forward and giving Joe’s ear a long, wet swipe of his tongue. “Blech. Settle down, you monster.”
“Aw, don’t pick on him.” Goldie’s words were punctuated with laughter, like music to Joe’s soggy ear.
“Oh yeah? Let’s see how you like it.” Joe pointed at Goldie’s face, now spread into a wide grin. “Java, give Goldie a kiss.”
In a perfect display of obedience, the big Husky licked the side of her face with an audible slurp. Goldie squealed and squirmed to get away from Java, but the front seat left her little room for escape. By the time Joe pulled the car into the parking lot of the dog show, she was cowering in a giggling heap next to the window with Java looming over her.
“OK, Java. That’s enough.” Joe motioned toward the backseat, and Java shrank back to his usual spot, his tongue lolling sideways out of his mouth.
Goldie sat up straight and dabbed at the tears of laughter gathering at the corners of her eyes. “OK, OK. I get your point. I surrender. You weren’t picking on him. He’s a rather enthusiastic kisser.”
After he’d pulled the car to a stop, Joe winked at her. “I hope you know he’s the only other male I’m going to allow to kiss you.”
“Really? The only other one?” Her blue eyes glowed bright aquamarine and pulled Joe away to another time and place…on the beach with Goldie in his arms.
He wanted to drown in those eyes for the rest of his life. With a gentle touch, he ran his fingers over the curve of her jaw and tilted her chin toward him. “That’s right. No one else but me.”
He gave her a tender kiss on her full lips, slow and easy. Despite the careful control of his movements, Goldie’s heart at once began the familiar thump-thump that never failed to fill his soul with a thrilling combination of shock and joy. He let his gaze travel to the sweetheart neckline of her soft violet sweater and then back to those soulful blue eyes. “Is that stage fright, or is it me?”
“That’s all you, mister.” Her lips curved into a demure smile. Then, as if the mention of stage fright had reminded her of where they were, her head darted back and forth from one window to the other. “My, there are certainly a lot of cars here.”
Joe waved a dismissive hand at the parking lot. At least he hoped it was dismissive. Now that they had actually arrived, his apprehension about the show was returning at full force. “Don’t worry. You and Bliss are going to do great.” He gulped and then said the words he’d been dreading all morning. “Shall we go in?”
Goldie bit her lip and nodded. Joe couldn’t help but notice the color draining from her face as she blinked with wide eyes at the multitude of cars, vans and RVs in the parking lot.
“Hey.” He cupped her face and forced her to meet his gaze. “Everything is going to be fine.”
He felt like a complete and utter fraud as he repeated her own words back to her. Who was he to make such a promise? Everything within him screamed at him to drive away with her as fast as he could, but his faith kept him rooted to the spot. It was a small glimmer of faith, but it was enough.
“You’re right.” Goldie nodded, the pink returning to her cheeks ever so slowly. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Then, to his great relief, she made a brave attempt at humor. “You know, Java’s not such a bad kisser.”
“Oh no.” Joe clutched at his chest in mock horror. “Don’t tell me I have competition from my own dog.”
She peeked up at him from beneath her lashes. “Maybe later you can give it another shot.”
“Yes, later.” He squeezed her hand and thought of his plans for later that night. Plans he hoped with quiet desperation he would be able to carry out after whatever happened this afternoon.
ef
As she followed Joe into the crowded community center, Goldie clutched Bliss’s leash as though it were her lifeline. She noticed he didn’t steer her through the crowd with his hand in the small of her back, as he usually did, but instead walked in front of her with his shoulders squared and his jaw set. He looked like a human shield, standing between her and everything else. And as much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she was glad.
Coming here proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated. After all her brave talk and her stubborn insistence on competing in the show, her feet suddenly felt as though they were made of concrete. She was having difficulty even forcing herself to walk inside. She was no longer convinced she was suffering from a simple case of pre-show jitters when she found herself peeking around Joe’s strapping shoulders for a glimpse at Harold.
Where was he?
She didn’t see him among the cluster of animated students from class. Granted, she didn’t let her gaze linger too long on that crowd since they were all staring at her as if she might sprout another head at any given moment. Goldie waved and tried to flash a gracious smile in return. She could hardly blame the others for their reaction. What else could she expect after practically having a nervous breakdown at the last training class?
“Everything all right back there?” Joe shot her a glance over his shoulder.
“Sure.” Goldie gulped. “A-OK.”
She had never seen so many dogs in one place. There must have been at least a hundred, of all sizes and shapes. And, yet, the spacious room of the community center was strangely quiet. Most of the dogs waited in crates for their turn in the obedience ring. Near the far end of the room, handlers led dogs on leashes, practicing patterns Goldie recognized from her Rally class. Left circles, right circles, about-turns. One of the dogs, a thin wisp of a Whippet, looked so graceful as it wound in a circle around its handler, Goldie felt as if she were watching a ballet. She glanced down at Bliss, wondering if the spaniel would be overwhelmed by it all, but
the little dog looked up at her with bright eyes, tail wagging, and Goldie knew her dog was fine.
“I see our group right over there.” Joe motioned for her to follow him and winked, sending her insides tumbling.
Soft-sided, mesh dog crates lined all the walls, along with small gatherings of folding lawn chairs. Joe waved at one of the groupings and Goldie saw Eve and Peggy, perched on the edges of their seats and grinning from ear to ear. Next to them sat a familiar looking face, framed with a blaze of shocking red hair.
“Cinnamon, how great to see you here. Thanks so much for coming, Eve, Peggy.” Goldie wondered if anyone could detect the nervous tremor in her voice.
The three women didn’t seem to notice, but Joe pulled her close to his side. He didn’t say anything, and for that, Goldie was grateful. He simply planted a kiss on her hair and held her with a steady arm.
“We’re rooting for you and Bliss, Goldie.” Eve flashed a thumbs-up, and Peggy nodded with unbridled enthusiasm.
“Your fans here tell me you’ve been practicing really hard.” It was clear Cinnamon was talking to Goldie, but she seemed to be sending unspoken signals to Joe.
Goldie watched the silent interaction between them and wondered what it was all about. “Yes, I’ve been working poor little Bliss pretty hard. But, she’s ready.” It’s me I’m suddenly worried about…
“I think we should get Java and Bliss settled in their crates so we can go get our armbands. The advanced class walk-through is about to start.” Goldie’s stomach leapt to her throat at Joe’s words, but she zipped Bliss into her soft-sided crate as if everything was perfectly normal.
“Are you ready?” Joe clasped her hand and stood watching her with keen interest. In fact, they were all watching her. Eve, Peggy, Cinnamon. Even the dogs.
Goldie gulped. And by God’s grace alone, was able to speak. “Sure. Let’s go.”
With her hand firmly clasped in his, Joe led her to the steward’s table where they stood in line with the other exhibitors. No one looked each other in the eye. In fact, most of the people around her gnawed on fingernails or tapped their toes.
At least I’m not the only nervous one around here.
The thought offered Goldie a brief moment of comfort until it was her turn in line. The steward looked at her and asked, “Number?”
“Um, I beg your pardon?”
Joe leaned in and explained. “She’s asking for your number. It should have been listed on the entry confirmation you got in the mail.”
“Oh.” Goldie remembered opening the confirmation letter, but where had she put it? And the number was 12, right? Or maybe 14… She should have listened to Joe and forgotten about the dog show. This was already turning into a disaster and she hadn’t even gotten in the ring yet. “I don’t remember my number. What do I do?”
“Don’t worry.” Joe calmly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We can look it up right here in the catalog.”
He showed her how to find her number in the steward’s catalog, right next to Bliss’s name. Everything seemed so official.
Once they both had armbands with bold black numbers fastened in place by rubber bands, Joe pointed out a stack of papers on the table.
“These are the course maps.” He handed her a sheet with a square pattern of loops and squiggly lines printed on it. “You can look at this and know exactly what you’ll need to do once you and Bliss get in the ring.”
“Oh.” Goldie pointed to a zigzag on the page while her heart sank. “What does this mean? I don’t think we’ve done this before.”
Joe rested a calming hand on her shoulder. “The symbols can be a bit confusing at first. No worries. That’s the exercise where you and Bliss weave through the orange cones. You’ve done that many times.”
“Yes, we have.” Goldie nodded, her confidence returning bit by bit. “This doesn’t look so hard. Some of the more difficult exercises aren’t even on here.”
“That’s the beauty of training with Harold. He always makes the Rally patterns at class much more difficult than the ones at the actual shows. So, when you get here it seems easier.”
At the mention of Harold’s name, Goldie’s gaze flitted around the room once more. He was still nowhere to be seen. Even though her nerves about what to expect in the competition ring were settling down, she wouldn’t feel completely sure of herself until she faced him. “Speaking of Harold,” she cleared her throat. “Where do you suppose he is?”
“I’ve been wondering that myself.” Joe’s voice carried a distinct edge, which Goldie pretended not to notice. “He’s supposed to be here.”
Just then, the ring steward stood and called in a booming voice, “Attention all Rally Advanced competitors. It’s time for the walk-through.”
“That’s me,” Joe said, with some obvious reluctance.
Goldie knew he couldn’t be terribly nervous. He and Java did this sort of thing all the time. His hesitation likely had much more to do with leaving her alone. She squared her shoulders and put on her best brave face. “I’ll go join our cheering section. You knock’em dead out there.”
He gave her hand a final squeeze and disappeared into the ring with the other more advanced competitors. Goldie watched them all walk single file through the maze of signs and cones, familiarizing themselves with the pattern before it was time to begin the actual show.
Only ten more minutes until the advanced competition started and still no sign of Harold. Goldie glanced around the room once more and then went to sit with her friends.
“What’s going on?” Peggy’s knitting needles paused midair while she looked at Joe and the others methodically walking around the large rectangular area separated from the rest of the room by a short, white lattice wall. “They’re all just walking around. Why don’t they have their dogs with them?”
Goldie lowered herself into one of the chairs and settled Bliss into a peaceful ball on her lap. “They have ten minutes to walk around the course and practice the pattern by themselves. This part is called the ‘walk-through.’ Once it’s over, the first competitor in this class will start.”
“When do you and Bliss get your turn?” Eve ran her hand over the spaniel’s head, but her gaze remained on the action in the center of the room.
“Oh, we’re only beginners. Our group, the Novice class, will go last. The highest level is the Excellent class. They went first and now, next is the Advanced class.”
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine, dear.” Peggy nodded with encouragement.
“Wait until you see Joe and Java.” Goldie couldn’t help the trace of pride in her voice. As if he were commenting on the subject, the Husky let out a little groan from inside his crate. “They are so good. Have you ever seen them in action, Cinnamon?”
“No, I haven’t. But, I was helping Joe out with some things at the shop this morning, and he invited me to come cheer you on to victory.” Cinnamon’s lips curved into a mysterious smile when she looked Goldie in the eye. Once again, Goldie was left with the impression that Cinnamon harbored some sort of secret.
Goldie shrugged it off. Then Joe was there, unzipping Java out of the crate and getting ready to head to the ring. He gave Goldie a farewell wink and led Java away. Java’s attention never strayed from Joe. He looked up at his master with his mismatched eyes, his doggy steps perfectly in synch with Joe’s.
“Here they go.” Goldie bit her lip when the ring steward called Joe’s number. She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually a bit nervous for Joe and Java. Or maybe it was excitement coursing through her veins. Her emotions were such a tangled up mess right now, she couldn’t make much sense of them.
“Oh, he’s taking off Java’s leash.” Eve craned her neck to see around a rather large St. Bernard that had recently plopped in front of her chair.
“Yes, the more advanced dogs do the course off-lead. It’s really something to see.” Goldie twirled Bliss’s leash around her fingers, grateful it would tether the two of them together when it was
their turn.
True to Goldie’s word, Java and Joe moved around the ring in perfect unison. Every so often, she heard a wondrous gasp of awe from the crowd. At the end of their performance, the room burst into applause.
Joe smiled amiably and gave Java a hug around his thick ruff of a neck. After receiving his green qualifying ribbon and taking first place honors, he didn’t seem to waste any time getting back to Goldie’s side.
“That was amazing. First place in your class. Congratulations.” She flung her arms around him with a little more zeal than she had planned.
His eyes widened in surprise, and he almost tumbled backward over Java. “Thanks. Are you and Bliss about ready?”
