Running Up the Score

by Jacqueline DeGroot

  I swallowed my last sip of wine, dropped the glass in the soapy washbasin to wash in the morning, and began to make my way back to the bedroom. I stopped to say goodnight to Stumpy and realized that his tail looked completely normal now. Soon, I could let him loose without any pangs of guilt. It saddened me to think of him leaving me and getting back into his world, but he had a life to lead, and so did I. Besides, I had definitely not planned on our relationship being a permanent one at the onset. My mind flashed back to the night Connor had shamed me into adopting this little lizard and becoming his caretaker until he was back to normal. I had to smile remembering Connor’s words, “First you give him a name, that honors him and makes him yours. Then you touch him to show you care. And then you feed him.”

  Somehow I just knew that he and Diana were going to make it. Despite beginning their marriage on the sly, I knew he had what it took to woo her parents over. He was smart and ambitious and with his Army training he would go places. He’d settle into a good career and be a good provider. They would have their Happily Ever After and I would have a good friendship with them, much as I did with Daniel, Julia, and Angelina, my extended RV family. I thought about Calvin, Jasper, Jodi and their children, and wondered how they were all doing. I had to smile; my circle of friends was shaping up to be every bit as weird as family.

  I stroked Stumpy along the curve of his back, whispered good night and went to the back to hopefully get some sleep, despite Demon dog whining in the kennel.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  I don’t know how it happened, but when I woke, there was a soft puff of fur burrowed into my neck. I blinked my eyes open and looked into two little black eyes and pulled back just in time to see a little red tongue and tiny teeth make a grab for my nose.

  “What the hell? How did you get here?”

  I scooped her up and held her over my head and away from my nightshirt, a long, soft t-shirt that I did not want christened. “How much did I have to drink last night?” I asked out loud. “Or better yet, how long did you whine and howl? You think you’re smart, getting me to take you out of your kennel and putting you in my bed, don’t you?”

  Her tail wagged and her tongue lolled. She certainly was cute. “Well, it’s outside for you, and right now before I have to wash my sheets.” I held her with one hand while I felt the sheets. “Hmm, it’s a miracle that they’re dry. But I’m not putting you down, or anywhere near my chest until you’ve had your walk.”

  I quickly got her outside and praised her lavishly when she squatted and piddled and then I walked her for ten minutes more hoping for the serious stuff. She wasn’t back in the RV five minutes before she’d selected a special spot for that little number, namely two. I fed the critters and myself, walked over to the bathhouse and showered and then broke camp so I could get back on the road. As delightful as Sweetie was, I was anxious to hand her off. I was afraid I might do something irreversible with regard to her training that would cause Angelina hardship down the road. I really knew next to nothing about puppies. Come to think of it, I’d known exactly nothing when I’d found myself saddled with a lizard, and I hadn’t done too badly in the mommy department there.

  After going over the infernal checklist, I lumbered out of the campground, careful to avoid the overhanging branches that always seemed to need trimming in these places. I had spoken to a woman in the bathhouse who had told me that at their last campground her husband had to get his saw out and take off a few branches before they could even pull their rig onto their site. Of course, he had managed to fall out of the tree, and now she was waiting on him hand and foot while his back healed. I could see myself doing a lot of things, but shimmying up a tree with a saw blade between my teeth was not one of them. This RVing was definitely an easier adventure with a partner. Checking the lights, for instance—you’re supposed to check your turn signals and brake lights before starting out for every trip. How does someone on their own do that, you ask? You pay a little kid to stand behind the bus where you can see him in the TV monitor and he waves his hands each time you put on a signal or step on the brakes. So, naturally this is not an item that gets checked each and every time I start out, especially if I head out early.

  I got back on Route 40 and continued east. At Flagstaff I turned south and picked up Route 17. At Phoenix, I found a rest stop and walked the dog, which I had discovered did not whine or protest quite so much if I sat her carrier on the passenger seat so she could see me through the wire grid of the door. I strapped the seat belt around the carrier so it wouldn’t shift and occasionally fed her tiny treats through the slots while keeping up an almost constant banter. Often, I discovered she was fast asleep and here I was still rattling on in an effort to amuse and entertain her.

  After our walk I fixed my lunch and admired the scenery from a picnic table. A few people stopped to pet the puppy and several times another pet was brought alongside to sniff her butt. I did not like this part of the socialization. I felt that my sweet, innocent, little girl puppy was above wagging her tail and allowing the nasal inspection there, but apparently she was not. She pranced and let all manner of canines circle around her, as if knowing she had the exact smell that would entice. I watched as my Sweetie became downright trampy from the attention. The little bitch would be easy pickings when she came in heat, I thought. I thanked God that I would not have to be around for all that. That was Daniel’s problem, his and Julia’s.

  I dragged Sweetie away from all her admirers and got back in the RV. I drove through Phoenix and Tucson, where Craig and I had flown to get the puppy, and picked up Route 10. At Las Cruces, New Mexico, I decided to call it a day and pulled over to find a campground. I found what appeared to be a lovely campground right off of I-10, at Exit 140. I say, “Appeared to be lovely” because I had noticed that sometimes what was depicted on websites wasn’t always what you found. But in this case, Hacienda RV resort lived up to its name. From the high stucco arches of the motel to the pristine pool, it was first class. The only thing I could fault, if I could fault anything, was that the pull-in lots seemed bereft of trees. The trees that were there appeared to have been planted in a pattern, and each site had been allowed only two. But that was fine with me, as I didn’t plan on being outside of the RV very much at this resort. This campground was one for my book, the book I kept on campsites that I wanted to return to if I was ever in the area again.

  The view of the mountains was spectacular and I enjoyed walking Sweetie far longer than her tiny legs could manage and ended up having to carry her back. I took Stumpy out for a run and as I watched him scurrying around, darting under bushes and using every rock for a better vantage point, I realized that his tail was back, good as new, whipping back and forth as he ran and even shuddering as if delighted when he settled onto a steamy rock. I looked around the area trying to see things from his perspective. It was a wonderful place with a great climate.

  Now I have great disgust for people who abandon their pets while on vacation, burdening complete strangers with their care, but this was different. Stumpy couldn’t live in a terrarium forever, and I couldn’t even begin to keep him as well fed in the bug department, as I’m sure he would like. And the plan had always been to let him lose when he could fend for himself. I looked over at him as he basked in the late evening sun. His name was no longer appropriate; he was a beautiful specimen of a side-splotched lizard with a long pointy tail that flicked back and forth sinuously. His skin was reflecting the sun and he was iridescent with bold blues and greens. Some lovely woman lizard would find him quite irresistible, I’m sure. And then as I watched, amazed as he did that red throat blowing up thing that he often did, he ran forward a few paces and did it again. I felt a twinge of sadness, my lizard wanted to mate; he wanted to have sex with a female gekkonidae. That was one thing I could not provide for him. I felt an overwhelming sadness when I realized that it was time to set him free, time to let him get back to what he’d been doing when I’d stepped on him and severed him from his t
ail.

  I thought about leaving him right then and there, but I just wasn’t ready to let him go yet. He’d been an ideal pet. I walked over to pick him up so we could go back to the RV and to Sweetie who was probably bellowing at the top of her lungs and disturbing every RV on our block when I saw something flash out of the corner of my eye. Holding perfectly still, I moved only my eyes to try to track it. I was deathly afraid of snakes, but I wasn’t about to turn tail and run without my lizard. Then I saw her, a tiny version of Stumpy, not nearly as colorful, but most definitely a close imitation. She was more brown than green and her skin didn’t sparkle in the sun, but I knew instantly that she was a she from the way she was blinking. It was almost coy the way she was holding her head and blinking. I looked back to Stumpy wondering if he’d even noticed her. Oh, he’d noticed her all right. He was painstakingly making his way off the rock so as to not show his hand. Once on the ground, he did that thing he does that looks like he’s doing pushups, then he made a beeline for her and before I could blink, he was on top of her, riding her. I felt as if I should turn away and give them some privacy but I was fascinated. I stood rooted for several minutes as he pumped his body against hers, causing them both to flatten and then puff, flatten then puff. He was obviously in no hurry whatsoever as it appeared he was taking breaks between bouts. Then he stopped and stared at me dead on, eyes full wide as if to say, “Do you mind?” I shrugged, wiped at a tear, and walked away.

  Back at the RV I cried as I cleaned out Stumpy’s terrarium, then cuddled Sweetie in my arms as I sat crossed-legged on the sofa watching the local news.

  It was as if there’d been a death or something. I was unbelievably sad for someone who had been so reluctant to take on the care of half a lizard so I had to smile despite my own melancholy. Stumpy was back in action and he appeared to be quite the ladies’ man. He was going to do just fine back in the wild, and really from the beauty all around me, I supposed I couldn’t have picked a better place.

  After dinner I put on my bathing suit and took a dip in the pool that adjoined the motel. I played a water game with some kids, tossing around a little foam ball called a water bomb. We took turns soaking each other by trying to make it splat just before it got to them. I became pretty proficient at making it skip and then splat right in front of their faces just as they caught it. We had a lot of fun and I was soon approached by one of the dads who was sitting on the edge of the pool.

  “You’re great with kids.”

  “Not always,” I said with a chuckle, thinking of the many times Angelina had tried my patience.

  “You have any of your own?”

  “No, that hasn’t happened for me yet. Maybe one day.”

  “You here by yourself?” I was always leery of answering that kind of question in the affirmative around strangers. “No, my Sweetie’s back in the RV resting.”

  “Oh.” He’d clearly been expecting a different answer, but I left it at that. I wasn’t really in the mood to chitchat right now and I really didn’t want to encourage a man who had four sons. I wondered if his wife had left because she couldn’t cope, or if somehow he’d lost her. A woman in an electric wheel chair came out from the bathhouse and rode over to where we were both sitting.

  She was attractive with long brown hair and looked to be in her mid-thirties, but even with the towel draped over her, I could tell that she had no legs. “C’mon kids, time to get ready for bed. Randy, you didn’t clean up after dinner and I thought I told you to get the laundry started.” She looked over at me and glared. “I hope you’re not looking at my husband with any ideas in your head. He’s got chores to do.”

  “Charlotte!”

  “What, I know you want her, you want every pretty girl. And if you hadn’t run into that truck, I’d still be pretty like she is.”

  “Charlotte . . .”

  “Don’t Charlotte me, just get those kids out of the pool and ready for bed. I’m exhausted.” She pushed a button and the wheel chair spun around then the steady drone of the motor reverberated around the pool area as she let herself out the gate and rode down the road toward the long rows of RVs.

  As he stood he muttered, “How can she be exhausted, she doesn’t do anything all day but harangue everybody. I’m sorry she was so rude to you.”

  I didn’t say anything; I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t a clue.

  “She used to be sweet, she didn’t use to be this bitter. I can take it, but I worry about them,” he pointed at the group of boys on the other side, who were drying themselves off and wrapping their small, lean bodies in big colorful towels.

  “Well it’s nice that you’re spending time with them and treating them to a vacation.”

  “Vacation? This is no vacation. We’re full-timers. I work the RV rallies, she home schools the kids. There’s a big rally coming here in the fall, a Good Sam’s Jamboree in Red Rock Park.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, the Fall Jamboree. I gotta do some ground work for it, then come back for the event.”

  “Hey you wouldn’t happen to know a man who goes by the name of Snooks, though his real name is Robert Byrnes. He works the rallies and full-times with his family, too.”

  “No, doesn’t sound familiar, but there’s a ton of people working these things. There’s a big group of us who work the shows. I can ask around if you like.”

  “That would be great! I have a pen and paper in my beach bag, I’ll write my phone number down for you. My name is Jenny by the way.”

  “No, don’t write it down, she’ll think I’m planning on havin’ an affair with you. She thinks I want every woman I talk to. Just tell me the number, I’m real good with memorizing numbers.”

  I gave him my number and told him I was so sorry for what he was going through but that I was glad he was so concerned for his kids.

  “I have to be, I’m the one that did that to her and she will never let me forget it.”

  “It sounds like you could use some counseling for the whole family.”

  “Jenny, I could use a lot of things, but counseling ain’t one. If I could find a woman who would take me and my four kids, I’d leave her to her bitter life because every day is more poisonous than the last.”

  “She needs help, too.”

  “She just wants me to pay for running into the back of that truck and coming out whole while she lost her legs.”

  “Have you ever apologized for your part in it?”

  He turned and looked at me as if I was daft. “Apologize? I didn’t do it on purpose!”

  “Well of course not, but that doesn’t matter. I suppose I’d still want the apology even if it wasn’t intentional.”

  There was a long silence while he stared into the water. Then he said, “You would?”

  “Yes. And then I’d need you to tell me all the time how pretty I still was, and that you were still attracted to me.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “Because she has no legs?”

  “No, because she’s so ugly about everything now. I tried to make love to her after the accident, but she won’t have it. I finally gave up. I suppose that’s why she thinks I’m out gettin’ it somewhere’s else.”

  “How long ago was the accident?”

  “Two years last week.”

  “Well you can’t keep going on like this, it’s not good for the kids for one thing.”

  “And it’s not good for me either. I plain and simply do not want to be around her anymore.”

  “Try bringing her some flowers and apologizing, maybe even a little gift,”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, a necklace, a ring, some little token. Something that says I still love you.”

  “That’s just it, I’m not sure that I do anymore.”

  I stood up and looked over at the boys who were waiting for their dad at the gate. “I wish I could help.”

  “You already have. You don’t know how lonely I am for someone to talk to.”

 
“Talk to her, accept some of the blame, and find a way to show her that you could still desire her if she wasn’t so . . . well you know.”

  “Yeah, I know. Well, thanks, I’ll think about everything you said. It’s nice to get another woman’s perspective, you’ve said some things that make a lot of sense. And I’ll call you if I find anyone who knows this Snooks guy. Why do you want him by the way?”

  “He’s got something that belongs to a friend of mine.”

  “Ohhh. I see, well I won’t tip your hand then.”

  “Thanks. Good luck to you and the kids, and Charlotte, too.”

  On the walk back to the RV I thought about Charlotte, how young she was, and how hard her life must be, adjusting to being in a wheelchair and taking care of four young boys. Then I thought of Stumpy and smiled. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could grow back appendages as easily as he had? I knew there would come a day when medical science would figure out how to do that but I didn’t think it would be in time to help Charlotte. I sincerely hoped Randy would be able to break through to her and put their lives back together. Gosh, the interesting people you meet on the road, I thought as I put my key in the door and opened it.

  Sweetie and two little piles were waiting for me. I muttered as I cleaned up the mess. “Pretty soon this is going to be Angelina’s little disgusting chore,” I said as I picked her up and showed her where the piddle pad was, on the floor by the sink. “Not once have you made it on the pad, what’s the matter, don’t you like the color blue?”