by Susie Gayle
“And how is the pooch settling in?” Sammy asks.
“Well, so far he’s only destroyed two pillows and gnawed the leg off a chair, so… pretty good.” That’s right, I decided to formally adopt Rowdy as my own. Let’s be real; you saw that coming. “He’s a lot smarter than he lets on. I think he might be some kind of genius dog.”
Sammy and Sarah glance at each other, as if they’re not sure we’re talking about the same dog or not, but I saw what he can do. A little bit of work with him, and I’m certain he can be a super-dog.
Sammy nudges me slightly and nods his head in the direction of the entrance. I follow his gaze and see that Karen has entered the Runside. She sees me looking, and quickly looks away sheepishly.
Sarah picks up on the tension and asks, “Who’s that?”
I take her hand and tell her, “Sarah, that is my ex-wife Karen who recently moved back to Seaview Rock. I found out about it a couple days ago, and I should have told you. I’m sorry. We have a lot to talk about later; you deserve to know the whole truth.”
Sarah nods slowly. “I see.” Then she pounds one fist against the flat palm of her other. “You want me to beat her up for you? I learned a few things in jail.”
I laugh. “No. Actually, quite the opposite. If we’re going to be running into each other, it’s only right that we learn to be civil.” I take a long swig from my glass, emptying it, and then stand. “Excuse me a moment.”
I walk over to Karen as she’s trying to squeeze up to the bar to order a drink. I motion for Holly and she nods to me.
“Hey,” Karen murmurs.
“Listen, I don’t like you very much.”
She blinks at me. “Well, that’s very… blunt.”
“Yeah. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be courteous to each other. I am willing to forgive whatever has happened in the past between us, even the recent stuff, with the promise that you’re not going to meddle in my life anymore. We’ll be two people that sometimes see each other in public, and can say hello, and live their lives separately the way they want.”
Karen nods. “Okay. I can live with that.”
“Great. I appreciate it. Also, I’m pretty glad you didn’t kill that guy.” I turn and walk away, catching only a glimpse of her shocked expression.
“Will? Did you think I did it? Will? William!”
I return to my table and settle in. “I think that went well. What are you two talking about?”
“Oh, nothing,” Sammy says.
“Yeah, nothing,” Sarah mimics.
“Sure, nothing. What is it? Tell me.”
“We were just talking about… you know, how cool-headed you were in the face of being murdered…” Sarah says casually.
“And how good that dog’s sniffer seems to be,” Sammy adds.
“And what a great TV show that would make,” Sarah finishes. “Like, a detective and his dog, on the case. But he’d have to have a very attractive girlfriend, of course.”
“Right, and he’d need a best friend-slash-barber,” Sammy says.
I laugh at them as Holly brings another round to the table. But as I’m taking that first sip, I think about it.
“You know?” I tell them. “That’s not such a terrible idea.”
THE END
