by Grady, D. R.
After attaching the pictures, she began hitting keys, trying to remember everything she had attempted to store in her brain to tell him. Bentley did so many funny things, and she wanted to remember them all so she could tell Mitchel.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Bentley, the squirrel chaser
Attachments
Dear Captain Monahan,
Did you know Bentley has this thing about chasing squirrels? My yard is now squirrel free. Bentley takes squirrel chasing very seriously and I believe is contemplating securing the neighbors’ yards as well. (Which is okay because they're all related to me anyhow.) He has also taken an intense dislike to my Great-Aunt Tilly's cat. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm doubtful even my aunt likes this cat, and definitely no one else does. And we're all animal lovers. Perhaps more on The Terror, which is his name because he's obnoxious, later. Just let it be known that the Terror no longer comes calling at my house, and I have Bentley to thank.
My family has a vacation planned for this weekend. A bunch of us own several cabins (well, 800 people dictates this, of course, but fortunately, only about 30-60 people show at a time) along a lake near here and we all go up during the summer. Does Bentley swim? Being a Marine rather than a Navy dog, I wasn't certain, and if he doesn't I probably need to know this in advance.
That way when we get thrown into the lake, (and trust me, we will! - HEY does Bentley bite?! This could be good, VERY good! Brothers are awful....) I need to know whether I'll have to bail a sodden dog out of the lake along with myself. I'm telling you, brothers are wicked and none of us four girls escape their demonic teasing. One of my sisters, Dory, was pregnant last year, and still ended up in the lake. They were gentle about it, but she got the requisite dunking. And of course, her useless husband thought it was funny. (He's useless because he threw me in last year, first thing. I had barely arrived and in I went, glasses, purse, and all. Man I hope Bentley bites!) ☺
Well, we're both yawning. Bentley keeps us on a tight schedule. There are squirrels out there, you know. We have thus avoided the root beer thing, but I bought a case of the stuff to take to the lake with us. I'm so handing root beer out when the boys are near the water! (Hee hee!)
Goodnight.
Bentley sent some of his favorite pictures, hope you enjoy them.
Lainy M.
Still chuckling over her root beer comment, Mitch clicked on her attachments and opened a picture of Bentley. His dog looked awfully sad, droopy-like, and his heart clenched when he read the caption. Miss you, Dad. Smiling at the caption and the picture together, Mitch sent up yet another thankful prayer for this woman who had unselfishly opened her home to his dog. And who was willing to share his only family member’s life with him.
The next picture showed Bentley looking just like he remembered his pet. Happy and goofy, and like he smiled at the camera, or maybe the person behind the camera. The caption on this one read, Got root beer?
Laughing out loud, Mitch hit the command to print the pictures. So he only had regular paper, and not photo paper. These were better than what he currently had. Which was nothing. He caught himself caressing his dog on paper and stopped but as he stared down at Bentley, he was very, very grateful for a selfless, unknown woman far away.
Chapter Four
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thanks for the pictures
Attachment
Dear Lainy,
I got the pictures you sent. Actually printed them out. Bentley brightens my tent. (You laugh, but there's just enough room for a cot and a footlocker. I share this tent with ten other officers and there’s another one due in at any time. Where we’ll put him, I don’t know. And I can't even complain because most of the guys are in open walled barracks, with many more beds.)
How many brothers and sisters do you have? You mentioned four girls, and the boys, so that makes how many in your immediate family? I'm assuming your parents contributed to the 800 relatives number. I've sent you a picture of my company. Can you guess which one is me? And no fair asking Bentley to help. Or your sister!
They're calling for another sand storm, so I need to protect the computer. This thing wasn't working right before I landed, but sand in the drives isn't helping, of course.
Goodnight and have fun at the lake. Oh, Bentley does know how to swim, and he doesn’t bite as far as I know. He really enjoys the water, so you may have more trouble coaxing him OUT of the water than into it. And he really likes kids, too, so if you've got a herd of nieces and nephews, that's where he'll hang out. And if you feel the need to throw your brothers in the lake, Bentley will help, for root beer.
Yours,
Mitch (Bentley's Dad - I'd never thought of that before, but it's exactly how I feel.)
*****
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Bentley the root beer tosser!
Attachment
Hello Mitch,
Bentley would say hello, but you totally called it. He's having so much fun with the herd of nieces and nephews (the entire family loved that description, it's quite apt) that I don't see him much during the day. He sleeps all night just like the kids. They LOVE him and so do their parents, because he won't let them do anything he thinks is unsuitable.
So far the root beer trick has tossed five of my brothers into the lake. (Just two more to go! By brothers that’s brothers-in-law, too.) Bentley is quite happy to oblige. I may need to purchase another case of this stuff. I'm happy to report I haven't gotten tossed yet, because my sisters and sisters-in-law and the herd have discovered what fun it is to watch Bentley pitch the men into the lake that none of us have gotten likewise. Bentley has totally earned his keep. (Root beer every night for the rest of the summer for him!)
I have four brothers and three brothers-in-law, three sisters and three sisters-in-law. Plus my folks, a couple of the in-law’s folks, my grandparents, some of the in-law grandparents and a few people I don't know. (Just kidding!) So, we're about 50 people here. (My folks won’t be here for long, they have another commitment. They’re just up for the day.)
Oh, Bentley wants you to buy him a boat when you come home. He really, really likes feeling the wind in his ears and face. He's the cool dog, you know. The envy of all his friends. (There's at least ten other dogs here, and Bentley has made friends with all of them.)
I've got a pile of pictures to send you, but I'll send them via snail mail, can you give me your snail mail address? The kids drew pictures of Bentley and the lake for you, too. They all seemed to especially enjoy seeing their fathers go into the water, so you'll notice a common theme in the drawings. Bentley is the Mighty Dog, because he's far bigger than the other dogs here. He's also the Root Beer Dog, for obvious reasons. Most of the kids have learned to drink root beer away from him. Also for obvious reasons.
Oh, I received your company picture and circled the most likely candidate. Neither Bentley nor my sister helped me. You'll have to tell me how well I did. ☺
Yours,
Lainy
Mitch, seated thousands of miles away, could feel her exuberance and amusement across the distance. Since he was here, and there was little to cheer him, he reveled in her emotions. Joy mingled with sorrow at his lack of those same feelings. Of course he was a Marine, and his service meant she and her family could gather together for some fun. At least he got pictures.
He clicked on the picture she'd attached and watched as his company took form on the screen before him. When he saw who she'd circled, he howled with laughter. She'd deliberately, he was certain, chosen the oldest, meanest looking guy in the company. Of course. Old Waldo had been with the Marines for thirty-five years plus and was as loyal as they came, but he was also the ugliest, too. Laughing out loud, Mitch couldn't help but shake his head at her sense of humor. It was only then that he noticed another mark on the pictu
re. There was a small X placed directly above his head. Mitch sobered.
How had she managed that? She’d figured him out. He could tease her that she'd cheated and asked Bentley. But something warmed inside him at knowing she'd managed to find him in an entire Marine company.
Chapter Five
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: It's hot....
Attachment
Hello Lainy,
I'm grateful you and your family and Bentley have a lake to cool off in. It's hot and sandy here and did I mention hot? The temperature hovered around one hundred twenty seven today. That's a relief from yesterday when it hit one hundred thirty one degrees. Showers don't help, because the water is tepid at best. There's no such thing as a cold shower here, at least on the base I'm at.
I'm looking forward to the pictures, as I'd like to see Bentley in action. The first time he went for someone holding a root beer, he wasn’t fully grown yet. Which was good, and my friend who he tried to tackle is on the left, in the back, third in. Yeah, the biggest guy in our company. Al saw him coming and braced and has a great sense of humor, so there were no problems. But then I opened a can a few days later, and wasn't expecting Bentley-the-demon-root-beer-dog and ended up on my backside. Which Bentley thought was funny.
After a few experiments, which my buddies helped conduct, we discovered brand doesn't matter, Bentley just likes root beer. And he'll take anyone, including Al, or me, down to steal the stuff. I'm glad you found a practical use for this tendency of his.
I received your family picture but can't get you back, since the oldest, meanest looking person in the picture looks like a great grandparent and I know you're not there yet. And, I don't have Bentley to help me.
We're expecting yet another sand storm, so I need to make this fast. This computer is dying on me. Too much sand in the hard drive now, so I have to be careful with it. The base computers aren’t in much better shape and are always occupied and used hard, even with all the sand in them.
All for now, it's time to secure everything again.
Yours,
Mitch
Lainy opened the attachment and saw her family picture download. Mitch had circled her sister Laurie, who was quite pregnant. Lainy laughed. She figured he was getting her back for choosing the oldest guy in his company. She hoped he'd gotten a laugh, and expected he had, since he'd offered her one. She'd put in a caption when she sent her family picture, which had included Bentley, that he had the advantage since he could safely discount half the people in the picture, as they were male.
She looked closer at the photo and finding herself, found a little squiggle mark next to her face in the picture. Scrolling down to the bottom of the picture, he'd left a caption.
You weren't hard to find. You told me in an earlier e-mail how your brothers threw you into the lake glasses, purse and all, so I just had to find the young woman with glasses to know who you were. Easy!
Lainy sighed. Of course she was easy to find. Just look for the nerd and there she was. The quiet one. The brainy one. The socially inept one. The geek. She left the computer and stared in the mirror, almost tripping over Bentley in her haste.
Bentley’s dad was one of the biggest men in his company, and in her opinion, the handsomest. With his square jaw and dark, liquid brown eyes, and those lips that begged to be kissed, she'd had no trouble picking him out. He radiated a humanness that appealed to her. A Marine who loved his dog so much was an incredible man, indeed. She'd simply looked for the sweetest eyes. When it had been a tossup between him or his friend, Al, a huge African American man in the back row, intuition had led her to the smaller man.
And there went her fantasies about him coming home and thinking her the most amazing creature ever. Because when she looked in the mirror, she saw a nerd. A Marine attracted to a nerd? Not going to happen. Her stomach tightened. She’d have to talk to him, and that wasn’t going to happen, either.
What had she overheard at a high school dance all those years ago? “Lainy Morrison is too intelligent to date. Talking with her is fine, sometimes, but dating, no way.”
A cheerleader had added her own comments. “Well, she’s so tall and has so much hair.” Another cheerleader had chimed in then, of course. “And she wears glasses, I mean, come on.”
The star football player in the group had another comment. “Yeah, that means she’s intelligent, remember? Men don't date smart women.”
Lainy had slunk home that evening in despair, knowing her sisters were the beauties in the family and her, the ugly duckling. The clever ugly duckling.
Her two relationship experiences since then had been unmitigated disasters and furthered her belief that she wasn’t life partner material. Unlike the rest of her family.
Lainy’s gut clenched as the painful memories swirled around her. Brushing them aside, she reflected instead on her successes. The excellent study habits she’d earned had taken her through college and graduate school with little effort. She’d possessed profitable patents by her freshman year of college.
Sighing, Lainy turned back to the computer and closed the picture. She had an e-mail to write. She also needed to sound happy and upbeat, because she figured Mitch had enough sadness, and she wasn't willing to add to his burden.
Rereading his last paragraph, she realized she might lose communication with him if his computer died. Sand would not aid the hard drives ability to work properly. Hope rose inside her as she glanced at her parts table.
A table that had mysteriously been rearranged – the part she reached for had been leaning against the wall yesterday, but now teetered on the edge. She had a bad habit of rearranging things sometimes though, with no memory of the activity. Spotting other parts, she assembled what she needed and set to work.
Building a computer was not difficult and building one to resist sand proved to be a challenge she couldn't resist. It might not be the prettiest laptop, but she wasn't looking for pretty anyway. The man was a Marine. He'd probably prefer function and practicality over looks in his computers. She purposefully didn’t think about what he’d prefer in women.
Lainy forgot about sending an e-mail for a few hours, so immersed with her computer building project. She did glance at Bentley when he whined loud enough. She’d lost all track of time. Not unusual for her. She let him outside and then noticed the computer screen blinking at her.
Seating herself in front of her laptop, which she was really itching to take apart now and see inside, she instead typed a message to Mitch.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: No fair
Attachment
Hello Mitch,
Greetings from Hershey, Pennsylvania. The air is heavy today with the smell of chocolate, but I can't hear the park. We actually live outside the town in a small village nearby. Population 1300. So we're not very big and yes, everyone knows everyone and all their business. Which is sort of nice, because over half the town would know my business anyway, since they're related to me and my mom likes to talk. Your base is probably bigger than my town, which you probably are familiar with, since you live near here while not overseas.
Bentley is outside, ridding the yard of all squirrels and Aunt Tilly's obnoxious cat. He had to badger me to get my attention. This is probably why I've not been a dog owner before. (Thanks for loaning me your dog, by the way, now I know I can do this.)
I get caught up in projects and there goes everything else. As you saw by the glasses, I'm sort of the family nerd. I love electronics of any type. So, I spend my days inventing. I hold several patents, which provides my income, therefore I'm free to continue inventing new things. (Inventing is a necessity for me... ☺) Bentley has adapted quite well and knows when to get my attention, and how. Which is good. Even dogs need potty
breaks and to squirrel chase.
My sisters are planning to do a kids play group and they all said they'd bring their dogs, too, so Bentley is invited. He's quite excited. They go to a playground in town and the kids love to run, so Bentley will fit right in. (I'm sure there are squirrels there, too!)
I've only sent one picture, from the lake. You can see the lake in the background and to the right is one of the cabins. Bentley and I are front and center. He'd just taken a dip in the lake, which is why he looks like a drowned rat, I mean dog.
My grandmom organized a package for you, so I hope you have a good cart or something there to take it to your quarters. She took an instant liking to Bentley and he to her, and thinks you need fattening up, even though one can't tell from your company picture. I printed it out to show the family, and I'm pretty certain she took it. Or my granddad. He was a Marine, too, which makes you the current favorite.
They've offered to Bentley sit any time, and they're only two houses down, which he's figured out and now goes visiting. (There's a huge box of dog treats on their counter these days. If he's fat when you come home, I think they're going to be the ones to blame.) ☺
He's scratching at the door, the Squirrel Chaser's duty is done so he's ready for a rest again. Looking out, there's not a squirrel in sight. Nor any bunnies, birds, or cats. Hhmm. I'm certain he left a few butterflies. ☺
Ah, a knock on the door. Eight of the herd, wanting to know if Bentley can come out and play. Guess who wasn't so tired after all? He's out herding, now. I can hear their laughter and I wish I could bottle it up and send to you. They're having a great time.
