Walking the Dog

by Gail Sattler

  She dashed the images from her mind as she pulled into a parking space. Daydreaming was pointless. Beyond this one meeting, she had no intention of seeing him again. With one last check of her hair and lipstick in the rearview mirror, she slid out of her seat, locked the van, sucked in a deep breath, and headed toward the Cafe House.

  Edwin sat at a table near the window, watching. The second Doreen’s van turned into the parking lot, he jumped to his feet. The huge, lumbering vehicle was unmistakable. The same cute caricature of a lonely dog that was on her business card was painted larger than life on the side of the van. It was a moving billboard, with WALKING THE DOG and Doreen’s phone number in large, bold, Day-Glo letters on the side. He hoped they would never have to meet secretly anywhere.

  When the door of the van opened, Edwin crossed his arms over his chest and waited. His little walk with Dozer had helped keep him busy for half an hour, but it did nothing to quell the nervous energy that he barely managed to control. When he had first arrived, he had taken up residence in front of the dessert counter and worried as he watched the chocolate cakes being sliced and served. After a while, the hostess politely showed him to the table beside the window and seated him with a complimentary coffee, promising she would reserve two pieces of their specialty double chocolate cake for him and his guest.

  Gathering all the casual charm he could muster, he now sauntered to the door, holding it open as Doreen ap-proached. He smiled, doing his best to look calm, cool, and collected, and wondered if he had her fooled.

  Doreen smiled back and nodded politely as Edwin held the door open for her. He appeared confident and completely unruffled; meanwhile, her stomach was fluttering like a schoolgirl’s.

  “Been waiting long?” she asked as the door closed behind her.

  “Nah.” Edwin shook his head, but Doreen detected a slight hesitation in his voice. “Just long enough to check out the cake.”

  three

  Edwin led Doreen directly to the table. Before she had a chance to speak, one of the waitresses placed a steaming cup of coffee and a thick slab of double Dutch fudge cake in front of her. She winked at Edwin as she handed him his cake before returning to her duties behind the counter. Edwin blushed and shrugged his shoulders. “I already told them what we wanted.”

  As Doreen bent to slide her purse under her chair, Edwin’s eyes remained glued to her every move. Cute, and attractive in her own way, he now decided, Doreen was not drop-dead gorgeous or anything like that. While she had a certain composure about her, she didn’t ooze poise or charm or anything particularly compelling, but there was something different about her, different than other women he dated. Not that he dated many, but he intended to date this one. He tried to put his finger on what it was, but couldn’t.

  His thoughts were drawn back to the present as Doreen straightened in her chair, positioned herself comfortably, then smiled at him. Face to face with her across the table, he stared into her sparkling blue eyes, opened his mouth to speak, but his mind went blank.

  “I trust Bulldozer won’t be making an entrance?” Doreen playfully peeked over one shoulder toward the door, then looked back at him.

  Edwin did his best to appear chagrined, sipping his coffee to collect his thoughts. “No, I took Dozer for a walk before I came, and left him at home sleeping. I only call him Bulldozer when I give him a lecture for doing something bad. You know, like when your mother talks to you and uses everything, including your middle name, and you know you’ve done something really bad? I don’t know why I talk to him like that, but I guess most pet owners do. I once had a friend that talked to his rabbit, and he swore the dumb thing answered.”

  Doreen smiled and nodded as she started to eat her cake. “I’ve been known to talk to Gretchen at length, myself. Lots of people talk to their pets. That’s because they’re good listeners.” She pushed her plate to the side, leaned over the table in a conspiratorial manner, motioning to him to do the same.

  Entranced, Edwin leaned forward, meeting her halfway across the table. Her voice lowered to a husky whisper, making Edwin lean even closer. She glanced from side to side before sharing her secret. “I’ve occasionally caught Bill talking to the fish in the back of his store.” She sat, still leaning over, eyes twinkling, expecting a response. Then she winked.

  Edwin’s heart contracted almost painfully, his eyes widened, and his stomach clenched as he stared into Doreen’s face. He knew from that moment on he was lost. Had she suddenly gotten prettier? She absolutely glowed.

  He gulped to clear his head, trying to pick up the conversation where they left off, mimicking her sideways glances. “Do they answer back?” he asked in a stage whisper. Even though Pet Stuff was a fair distance from home, he often shopped there because he got a kick out of the old guy behind the counter. If Doreen knew the man, maybe he would have to go in more often.

  Both of them straightened in their chairs simultaneously to take slow, cautious sips of the steamy hot coffee. Their gazes locked. Edwin held the cup in front of his mouth with both hands, grateful it was ceramic and not the disposable paper variety, which was the only thing saving him from crushing it and sloshing hot coffee down the front of his shirt. “Tell me about yourself.”

  She clasped her cup on top of the table, the smile never leaving her face. “What do you want to know? I just might hold the world’s most exciting career. I do day care for dogs for a living.”

  Edwin sucked in a deep breath, deciding not to comment further. “Well,” he drawled, “I meant stuff like how old are you? What do you do in your spare time? Got a serious boyfriend? Married? That kind of stuff.”

  Her face paled, her lips parted, closed, then she swallowed before she spoke. “No, I’m not married and I don’t have a serious boyfriend. And I don’t really have any spare time.”

  He couldn’t help but grin. “Great. I’m not married, and I don’t have a serious boyfriend either. So when do you want to go out with me?”

  Doreen sputtered into her coffee, then grabbed her napkin, holding it to her mouth as she coughed into it.

  “Are you okay?” Edwin asked, wondering if he should pat her on the back or call the waitress for a glass of water.

  Doreen waved her hand in front of her face. “Fine, fine,” she rasped, then cleared her throat. “And what do you mean, go out with you? We are out.”

  “This isn’t going out,” he countered. “This is business. Besides apologizing for my dumb dog, I wanted to ask about your services. I feel guilty leaving Dozer alone all day, and your card got me thinking. Got a sales pitch for me?” Edwin sat back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest, encouraging her to go on.

  “A sales pitch?” she croaked.

  “Hit me with your best shot.”

  Doreen stared at him, but he only stared back. He was apparently serious. “Well, I’ll pick up your dog, exercise him, and bring him back home. For a fee.”

  Edwin’s lower lip quivered in a poor attempt to stifle a chuckle. “Exercise him? You mean take him for a walk? You really do that, just like the name on your card? Walk dogs?” He broke into a broad grin. “What do you do, go to the nearest park, let them. . .you know. . .then get out the old pooper-scooper, and take them home again?”

  Doreen bristled. She clenched her teeth rather than say something she would surely regret. She had heard this typical response before, only this time she liked it even less, and no one else had ever made such a production out of it.

  Edwin wiped his eyes, then his smile instantly dropped when he looked up. “Uh, did I say something wrong? You’re not saying anything.”

  Battle lines had been drawn. Before she could stop herself, Doreen began a verbal tirade. “There’s a lot more to it than simply taking a dog for a walk. First of all, I’m bonded because I have access to all my client’s houses, and I’m responsible for locking up and resetting any alarms. I have a special large, air-conditioned van to hold up to twenty dogs, each of which has to have a kennel and leash. And
I can’t just run twenty dogs around the local park. I bring them to my two-acre property, which is completely fenced and secure. I’m also fully qualified to teach dog obedience. There’s more to this than simply taking a dog for a walk around the block.” She sat back in her chair and folded her arms, waiting for him to make a smart comeback.

  He looked appropriately contrite. “Oops. I guess I never thought about it that way. Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Hesitantly, he held his hand out over the table, in the offer of a handshake. “Still friends?”

  Still friends? She had never been friends with him in the first place. However, in view of his repentance, Doreen regretted her brusque response. Edwin was far from the first person unable to take her business seriously, nor was he likely to be the last. Even though she tried not to take it personally when people laughed, it still stung.

  Unable to ignore his friendly gesture, Doreen reached out to take his hand, gave it a timid squeeze, and quickly let go, folding her hands in her lap. “No, I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t be so sensitive; after all, it’s not like no one’s ever laughed before. I must admit, it’s not a very mainline profession.” Doreen smiled tightly and reached under her chair for her purse. “If you want to think about it, I’ll give you my brochure. It has a brief description of my services, and my requirements before I accept a dog. After all, I have to worry about my own safety, too.”

  He quirked one eyebrow, all traces of laughter gone. “Oh? Have you ever been bit?”

  She hesitated, then continued to sort through her purse, remembering the instance well. “No, but I came close once. I refused to take on a couple of pit bulls, not only because they almost bit me, but I have to consider the safety of the other dogs. It was too bad, because I really could have used the money.” Finally reaching the pile of brochures at the bottom of her purse, she slid one across the table. “And I didn’t like the owner.”

  Thinking this would be a good time to shut up, Edwin scanned the information. “You got your prices on here? Oh, never mind, I see them.” He turned it over to read a list of various charges for other services on the back page. “Hmm. . .day care, veterinary visits, obedience, accident notification.” He stopped reading. “Accident notification?”

  Doreen blushed. “You know, accidents. . .”

  “Uh, I’m afraid I don’t. . .”

  “Um, most of the time, people hire me not so much out of guilt for leaving their dog alone, but because the dog, uh, has difficulty being locked inside for so long, and um, messes in the house. I call to let them know what to expect, and where.”

  “Oh. Accidents.” After she had gotten so angry with his reaction earlier, Edwin didn’t know if he was allowed to laugh, but if she kept gawking at him, he wasn’t going to be able to contain himself much longer.

  Doreen looked down at her hands, unable to face him. “It’s not my favorite part of the job, but it happens.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “And thank you for not laughing.”

  One corner of Edwin’s mouth twitched, as if he was trying very hard to keep himself from laughing again, no doubt afraid of her reaction. She smiled at his admirable attempt, which destroyed all his noble efforts. Both of them started to giggle, clearing the heavy atmosphere that had developed between them.

  Edwin’s eyes twinkled. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

  “Question?” She couldn’t remember him asking anything specific.

  “Yeah. I asked when you were going to go out with me.”

  A blush spread from cheek to cheek and down her neck. Keeping her head down, she picked at the piece of cake, hoping to avoid answering.

  “So, you busy tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “How about Friday, then?”

  “Sorry, I’m busy Friday evening.”

  “Saturday for lunch?”

  “Sorry, I’m busy all day.”

  “Oh,” he mumbled, then lowered his head. He toyed with the last bit of cake on his plate, then laid the fork down and pushed the plate away. “I’ll probably call you sometime about Dozer, then.”

  A pang of remorse stabbed her. She hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings, she really had obligations. “But I’m not busy Saturday night,” she added quickly, reaching out to rest her fingers on the back of his hand. As soon as her fingers brushed the fine hairs, she pulled her hand back, realizing what she had done.

  His head jerked up as he spread his fingers wide, then drew his hand back, rubbing where she had touched with the fingers of his other hand. “Want to go to dinner, then?”

  Anticipation heightened his handsome features, making her heart quicken. What had she done? But since no serious commitment was implied in accompanying him for dinner, she decided to go ahead. “I should be free about six. Is that too late?”

  “Not at all. The timing is perfect. We can avoid the dinner rush. Let’s say I pick you up at, say, seven?” He turned the brochure over, then pulled a pen out of his pocket. “Where in the world is Cumberland Road?”

  “I’d rather meet you at the restaurant. Either that, or I could go to your house.”

  The pen hovered in midair for a few seconds before he put it down. First she refused to allow him to pick her up, claiming her house was difficult to find in the dark. He wondered what her excuse could be this time. “Why don’t you want me to see your house?” he asked. Did she have a boyfriend or husband after all?

  “I don’t care if you see my house. It’s just that I live out a ways and I’ll already be in town; in fact, not far from here. It seems silly to have you go all the way to get me when I’ll already be close by and all dressed to go. Or is there a reason you don’t want me to pick you up?”

  It didn’t do wonders for his ego to have a woman pick him up for their first official date, but if that’s what it took, Edwin decided it was worth it. Of course he would insist on doing the driving. “Whatever,” he mumbled.

  Doreen smiled her response, and continued to nibble on the cake while Edwin wondered about her plans for tomorrow and Friday night, and then again Saturday afternoon. Was she going out with someone else? Despite her denial of having a serious boyfriend, the thought of any type of boyfriend, however casual, did not sit well with him. And he noticed she wasn’t volunteering any information on her plans, or explaining why she would be all dressed up and ready to go out. How could he find out without looking foolish, or worse, jealous?

  “So,” he started, his mind racing as he tried to find the right words, “is your other, uh, engagement, going to let you go in time for a seven o’clock dinner?”

  “Engagement? Well, it starts at four-thirty, so it will probably be over no later than six.”

  “Over?” No date he had ever been on had been timed by a punch clock.

  “Sure. Most brides are late, but usually by no more than fifteen minutes.” Doreen finished the last of the coffee in her cup and dabbed her mouth with her napkin.

  “Bride? You’re going to a four-thirty wedding, and everyone is going home before six? What kind of boring wedding is that?”

  “Oh, I’m not going to the reception. I don’t even know them.”

  “Then why are you going to the ceremony?”

  “It’s part of the job.”

  “Part of the job?” he echoed. I thought she baby-sat for dogs.

  “I play piano for my church, including weddings. I’ve been to dozens of weddings over the past few years. It’s a good thing I don’t cry at weddings, or I’d be in trouble.”

  “You play piano for weddings? You mean you get paid for that?”

  Except for the staff, Doreen and Edwin were the last patrons at a table. She bent to retrieve her purse, checked over her shoulder at the wall clock, then back to him. “Yes, I get paid for weddings because they’re on the weekend, but I do Sunday mornings as a volunteer.”

  “Sunday mornings? Like, for church? Hymns and stuff?”

  “Of course. Edwin, I think they want to close. We sho
uld leave.”

  He remembered the little old nun who played the organ at the church his family went to when he was growing up. She was awful, and the huge pipe organ blasted so loud it rattled the windows. He couldn’t imagine Doreen playing like that.

  She stood first, so Edwin picked his keys up off the table, and accompanied her through the parking lot. As they walked to her van, he tried to picture Doreen playing the wedding march, hoping she played better than Sister Mary. The thought of Sister Mary and her hard line with the children in her charge almost made him shudder, despite the warmth of the evening air. Of course, he hadn’t seen Sister Mary or the inside of a church any more often than he had to.

  “Good night Edwin, thanks for the cake and coffee. I had a nice time.” Doreen stood beside the open door of her van, her hands clasped in front of her, waiting for his response.

  Edwin blinked and shook his head a couple of times. “You’re welcome. See you Saturday, and I’ll call you.”

  “Sure.” Doreen hopped up into her seat and closed the door. She started the engine, backed out, and drove away, leaving Edwin standing fixed in the same place.

  Before she turned the corner, she checked the rearview mirror to see if Edwin had moved. She had felt oddly hurt to see the change in his expression and demeanor when she told him that she volunteered as a church pianist. Did it matter to him that she was a Christian, and that she actively participated in her church? And if he wasn’t a Christian, should she really be going out with him?

  As she got closer to home, Doreen realized that he had not given her his address or offered directions to his house, nor had he given her his phone number.

  He had said he would call her, but from the look on his face, she wondered if he would. It was probably just as well. Nevertheless, she felt a twinge of disappointment.

  four