Reader in the Park

by Rachel Maldonado

  Once on the road, they fumbled through the radio station until it landed on an oldies channel. They were playing hits from the 80s and 90s like early Madonna and Michael Jackson as well as Cindi Lauper, Boy George, and Paula Abdul.

  Anna began to giggle when she heard Nikki mouthing the words to Paula Abdul's “Cold Hearted Snake.” Every time Paula sang the word he, Nikki replaced it with the word she. Anna found it amusing, so she began singing along in unison to the new Nikki version of that song.

  When the song ended, they both laughed. The next song that played was Gloria Estefan's “Conga,” which both admittedly barely knew the words too, but they had a good laugh at one another as they tried to keep up with the artist as she sang the upbeat tempo.

  “I don't think I ever knew the words to this song,” said Nikki.

  Anna laughed. “Even if I knew the lyrics, I'm not so sure I could sing them as fast as she does. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the music!”

  Nikki and Anna both shared a laugh as they tried to sing along to the music each struggling to both keep up with the music and to try to figure out what the words were.

  When the song was over, Nikki change the music station to Easy Listening where the music was much more slow and romantic.

  After about an hour so, when they were half way home, they saw a sign posted to turn off for Feisty Frieda's Fun Fruit Stand. The sign was a large painting of Frida Kahlo with her hair up and dressed in a dress and shawl of very bright warm colors of red, orange, and yellow. She was holding a giant fruit cup filled with cantaloupe, honey dew melon, grapes, and watermelon. Anna couldn't resist the temptation and turned off at the exit.

  “Where are we going?” asked Nikki not noticing the sign. She had been too busy messing with the visor trying to keep the sun out of her eyes.

  “We're headed to Feisty Frida's Fun Fruit Stand for a snack.”

  “What in the world is Feisty Frida's?”

  “From the sounds of it, it's a tongue twister. But judging from the billboard, it looks to be a great place to get a fruit cup.”

  Nikki attempted to say the name of the place several times fast, “Feisty Frida's Fruit Fun...no...Feisty Frida's Fruity Fun...”

  Anna chuckled. “You're not getting tongue tied. You're just saying it wrong all together.” She drove down the road a few miles before she saw the sign to Feisty Frida's. “This must be a new place. I've never noticed it before.”

  They hopped out of the Jeep, then walked over to the fruit stand. There was a long line of people already waiting, but the line was moving fast.

  “How many?” was all the woman at the stand asked when Nikki and Anna approached.

  “Two,” said Anna.

  “Six dollars,” was all the woman said. There was no 'thank you for your business' or 'have a nice day' added.

  Anna fumbled through her wallet and was glad she had some small bills. She handed over six dollars exactly and didn't need have to wait for change. They quickly scooted out of the way and returned to their vehicle. They were sitting in the Jeep comparing fruit cups and eating grapes and melon when they saw a small dog walking through a mud puddle.

  “Check out that little dog,” said Anna motioning with her hand as she held a grape in between her thumb and finger. “Do you think it belongs to anyone?” she asked popping the grape in her mouth.

  “Oh, it's so cute!” said Nikki. “Let's get her. She looks like Sherlock Chiweenie from the Ocean Life pet and animal show that we saw.”

  “She is cute. But she's all full of mud. And what if we take her and she belongs to someone?”

  “If she belongs to someone, they're not keeping her very safe. She's all full of mud and she could get hit by a car on this busy road. Please? I'll take care of her.” This time it was Nikki that had those pleading eyes.

  Anna couldn't say no to her. She wanted to make her happy; plus, she was right. That little dog could get hit by a car roaming around out on this road so close to the main highway. Anna set her fruit cup down in her cup holder, wiped her hands with a napkin, then got out of the vehicle. She called to it and made kissing sounds until it sauntered over to her. She picked it up being careful not to get any mud on herself. She held the small dog in such a way to where it was up and away from her clothes and body, walked back to the Jeep, then handed it to Nikki.

  “I love her already,” said Nikki.

  The dog which was covered head to toe in mud soon spread that mud to Nikki's face, clothes, hands, passenger seat, and floorboard.

  By the time Anna arrived at Nikki's to drop her off after their weekend get away, the dog was practically clean. It was everything else in the Jeep that was now full of mud.

  “I'm sorry,” said Nikki with big doe eyes. She looked down sadly averting her eyes. She was expecting Anna to explode with anger at how everything inside her new Jeep was now filthy, but surprisingly enough, she wasn't at all upset.

  Anna took one look at Nikki covered with mud, and the little dog that was licking her face and happily wagging its tail that she just had to laugh. She laughed and laughed.

  “What's so funny?” asked Nikki.

  “Nothing,” said Anna, shaking her head. “You're just cute. You're absolutely perfect.”

  “You're not mad about the Jeep?”

  “No, I might have to drive us all through a Car Wash Hut though to make sure you and...” Anna paused for a moment realizing the dog didn't have a name. “What are you going to call her?”

  “Isn't it obvious by her little face?” asked Nikki, holding the dog's cute reddish-brown face with its large saucer-like dark brown eyes toward Anna. “She's Sherlock Chiweenie.”

  Anna laughed. “Okay, then you, me, the Jeep, and Sherlock Chiweenie are going to have to go through a car wash.”

  Anna was able to stop at the car wash close to her home, but only after having dropped off Nikki and her new chiweenie friend Sherlock. She was cleaning out the front seat and picking up papers, wrappers, and tossing out empty fruit cups when she suddenly remembered she needed to go to the impound lot to search through her car before it was destroyed. She only prayed that it hadn't already been pulverized into recyclable metal or sold off to the highest bidder.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Anna was relieved to find that her sedan was still at the impound lot. She walked up to it and immediately felt her heart sink. The car was completely totaled. It looked like a child had crumpled it up like a sheet of notebook paper and was about to use it to try to make two points as he tossed it into the waste basket. She couldn't believe she had survived. She felt the warm tears stream down her face as she walked up to the vehicle.

  The car's windows were all busted out, but somehow the roof managed to stay on the car despite its crumpled condition. She couldn't open the doors, so she just searched as best as she could to see what was on the seat or in the glove compartment.

  As she was digging around, frantically searching for Lord only knows what, she suddenly realized what it was that she had been dreaming about. The memory became clear in her mind like a camera lens coming into focus.

  “I know what I was searching for!” she said aloud to herself. Then dumped out all of the contents of the glove box onto the passenger seat. There, among all the insurance papers, napkins, receipts, and car manual was what she had been searching for the day she had had her car accident! It was almost as if she wanted to shout, “Eureka!”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  After her stop at the impound lot, she had several errands to run before she could go home to finally relax and phone Nikki to check on how she and Sherlock Chiweenie were doing. In her mind, she pictured Nikki's entire house flooded with soap suds and the floor and walls covered with muddy paw prints and soapy bubbly splatters of suds.

  Anna spoke on the phone briefly with Nikki to see how things were going.

  “It's going,” said Nikki. “I gave her a bath, then we went to the local PetMart together. Everyone thought she was adorable, of course.
”

  “What did you get there?” queried Anna curiously.

  “The usual dog stuff; a pet bed, bowls, leash, collar, a Sherlock Holmes outfit.”

  Anna laughed. “I don't think a Sherlock Holmes outfit falls into the category of the usual dog stuff.”

  Nikki giggled. “It does for me and Sherlock. How was the rest of your day?”

  “Tiring,” said Anna. “I had a few errands to run, stopped at a store to get you a surprise, washed the Jeep and cleaned it out.”

  “Detailed?” asked Nikki wondering about the muddy mess she and Sherlock had made.

  “No, I drove by the Car Wash Hut, and there was a long line of people waiting in their cars. I just went to a smaller place where you have to wash and clean it out yourself.”

  “I'm sorry about that. I would've done it for you. She's my dog and it was our mess not yours.”

  “It's no problem, really,” Anna reassured her. “I needed to clean it anyway. It's not good to drive around with salt water or sand on the car. It ruins the paint or can cause rust.”

  “I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I hate leaving Sherlock all by herself.”

  “Did you buy a kennel?”

  “No, I'm going to put down some paper in the bathroom and close the door. She should be fine.”

  “Those sound like famous last words of a trusting dog owner,” said Anna laughing. “I'll just put down some paper and leave her all alone in the house. She should be fine.” She laughed once more.

  “Stop it. I'll pick up anything she might want to chew on or tear up and leave her food and water bowl. As long as she can't get out of the bathroom, I'm sure she'll be okay.”

  “If you say so,” said Anna. “I have quite a few clients I have to see this week, so I may not get to see you until this weekend.”

  Nikki frowned. “Really? Female clients?”

  “Yes, actually. You're not jealous, are you?”

  “I didn't say that.” Nikki paused for a moment. She was hesitant to ask for fear of sounding as if she was nosy or in fact jealous even though she knew she was. “Where are you taking them?”

  “I'm not sure yet. I think one of them wants to go to the beach, so I might wind up parasailing again. One of them is a regular client that likes to meet to keep up to date on things. We usually go hiking or golfing to talk about new ideas and what's worked well or not worked for her in the past.”

  “A regular client, huh? How often do you see her?”

  Anna laughed. “I see her often. But don't get yourself all worried over nothing. She's old enough to be my grandmother.”

  “Really?” asked Nikki surprised. Then she felt an unsettling feeling of suspicion, “Grandmother, huh? And she still hikes?”

  Anna laughed. “She's a very active grandmother. I promise, there's no need to be jealous. She's probably near eighty.”

  Nikki never pictured herself as being the jealous type, but now that it seemed like things were more serious with Anna, she started to wonder about all the women that she had to entertain for her business. When she pictured Anna ziplining, hiking, parasailing, and wining and dining other women on a regular basis, those feelings of jealousy began to slowly bubble and rise to the surface.

  “I'm going to put Sherlock to bed and go to sleep,” said Nikki. “I will probably also have a busy week. I have to look over what patients I have to see and what surgeries and appointments I have. I'll get back to you when I can if you should message me.”

  “I love you,” said Anna just as she was nearly about to disconnect the line.

  “I love you, too.”

  With that, both women ended their call. Each wondering where their relationship was heading. There was love, there was jealousy, there was a bond they shared. But was there a future?

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The week was filled with the usual text messages, but it was almost as if it was hit or miss. Sometimes they were available to answer messages right away, but most of the time it was like playing a game of tag where they were chasing one another around trying to catch each other. It especially felt that way if they left one another voicemail messages. They would each try to phone back when they found the time to get away from work for a few minutes and find that the line would go straight to voicemail.

  When Friday night finally rolled around, Nikki was relaxing in her bathtub while Sherlock was playing with a rubber ducky on the bathroom floor. She had set her phone carefully on the corner end of the tub, so that she could answer it quickly if Anna called. And just as she had hoped, Anna called her when she was off from work.

  “Hi, Nikki. I can't wait to see you again. Want to get together tomorrow?” was the first thing that Anna said. She didn't care how it sounded. She had something important to say and couldn't wait to talk about it in person.

  Nikki wanted to shout, “You bet!” But instead tried not to sound so enthusiastic. “I don't know,” she said, pausing for a moment as if to give it some thought. “What did you have in mind?”

  “It's a surprise,” said Anna probably for the hundredth time since they'd met.

  “Okay, pick me up tomorrow bright and early,” said Nikki.

  “Eight okay?” Anna was busy changing into her clothes for the night. She put Nikki on speaker phone for the last few minutes.

  “Yes, I'll be ready,” said Nikki, her voice filling the quiet of Anna's bedroom. “You don't even have to come to the door to knock. I'll run out.”

  “Great. See you then,” said Anna as she picked up the phone, then turned off the speakerphone and disconnected the call.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The following morning just as Nikki had said, she was waiting for Anna to arrive. She was standing on the front porch just as Anna drove up to her house.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” said Anna as she hopped out to greet Nikki and open her door for her.

  “Good morning,” said Nikki as she embraced Anna, kissing her softly on the lips. Nikki had just showered and applied fresh make up, and she smelled of a mix of clean soap, shampoo, lotion, and a faint aroma of blueberries.

  “Did you just eat a blueberry muffin?” asked Anna curiously.

  Nikki giggled. “No, blueberry pancakes. Why?”

  “I thought I smelled blueberries. Where's my stack of blueberry pancakes?”

  “I wanted to be ready to go when you got here. Do you want to come in? I can make you some.”

  Anna shook her head. “No, I'm just messing with you. I had a protein shake before I left the house. That ought to hold me over until lunch.”

  “Lunch. What's for lunch?”

  “I brought a picnic lunch with me.”

  Nikki smiled warmly. “Picnic in the park?”

  “Yes and no,” said Anna. “Thought we'd go to a different park today. I have to give you your gift, and I know the perfect place to give it to you.”

  Anna drove down a familiar road and Nikki was sure that they'd driven that way before. She turned to look at Anna as she was driving. “Colson Park? Is that where we're going.”

  Anna held a smug grin. “I had something made especially for you, and I wanted you to be able to use it while we were there.”

  “Oh, yet another surprise. I wonder what it could be. It's not a hang glider made of solid gold, is it?”

  Anna laughed. “No, if I was going to make you a hang glider it wouldn't be made of solid gold. You'd drop off the cliff like a stone.” Anna paused for a moment before adding, “It's just something silly I had made. I don't want you getting all excited with anticipation thinking I made you something as extravagant and expensive as a hang glider.”

  “I know. I was just joking. I'm sure anything you made will be fine. It's the thought that counts, right? But now the anticipation is getting to me because I can't stop wondering what it could be.”

  ******

  When they finally arrived at Colson Park, Anna began unloading her rock climbing equipment, securely fastening her picni
c basket to some rope, and strapping a small backpack to her back.

  “I think I'm ready,” said Anna at last.

  Nikki grabbed her ropes and equipment. “Do you think you brought enough stuff?” she asked when she noticed the backpack and picnic basket that Anna had in tow.

  “I thought we could eat at the top of the hill.”

  “That seems dangerous.”

  “Eating at the top of the hill?”

  Nikki shook her head. “No, climbing up the side of the hill while you're trying to carry a picnic basket.”

  “Okay, then I have a better idea. I'll just give you your gift right now, then my backpack will be empty. I'll place our lunch in the bag and we won't have to take the picnic basket. How's that?”

  “I like that idea better.”

  “Okay, hold on.” Anna took her backpack off, unzipped the compartment, and pulled out a black cap and T-shirt with square studded silver lettering across the front. She held them up for Nikki to see.

  Nikki took one look at them and couldn't stop laughing. Clear across the front of the cap and the T-shirt in big letters was the word BEDAZZLER.

  “Oh, my gawd!” she shouted. “I know exactly why you did that!” she laughed again.

  Anna laughed and nodded her head in agreement because they were both on the same page with the memory. “I thought you'd figure it out. That first time we were out here, you asked me to be your bedazzler instead of your belayer, remember?”

  Nikki laughed again. “I thought about it in the days afterward because I was up late one night watching TV, and I saw a commercial for that dang Bedazzler gadget. It made me realize that I had told you bedazzler and not belayer! Why didn't you tell me I said it wrong?”

  Anna held Nikki in her arms. “I didn't want to poke fun at you for saying it wrong, hon. You were scared, and I thought I'd just point it out later when you weren't so frightened.”