Love Is Patient

by Cathy Marie Hake

  “Then everybody is happy. Right, Dad?”

  “Right.”

  They reached the other side of the street, and Jeff shook free from his grasp. “We’ll run over to the big tree. Can we sit under the tree for our picnic?”

  Nathan shot Vanessa a quick look. “Wouldn’t you rather sit at one of the picnic tables?”

  “How about if we sit at a table under a tree? I don’t mind sitting on the ground, but Lick is going to help himself to the food if it’s down at his level. It’s not fair to tempt him. He’s too young to know better.”

  After they were seated and had started eating, Vanessa peeked under the table and asked Licorice, “So are they going to tell me what you did this time?”

  “He dug a hole—a great big hole.” Jeff drew a sizable circle in the air with his drumstick.

  “Hmm.”

  “I read a few suggestions on-line,” Nathan confessed. “I tried two of them. Both were abysmal failures.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I blew up a balloon, put it in the hole, and covered it with dirt. Supposedly the loud pop was supposed to be a deterrent. The only thing it did was send him running to another spot, where he promptly started digging a new hole.”

  “Persistent little monster, isn’t he?”

  Nathan thought her voice held a blend of sympathy for him and a tad of amusement. He broke eye contact and scooped in a few hefty bites of coleslaw.

  “So what else have you tried?”

  “A squirt gun!” Jeff guffawed.

  Nathan gave Vanessa his if-you-can’t-beat-’em-join-’em grin. “We discovered Lick loves water. Silly animal came charging toward me and tried to drink from the Super Squirtmaster.”

  “So I gotta Squirtmaster to play with now.” Jeff’s delight couldn’t be more clear.

  “So much for my foray into effective canine discipline.”

  “Labs are water dogs.” Vanessa took a quick sip of soda and set the can back onto the sun-bleached wooden tabletop. “The nice thing is, he’ll love going to the beach with you.”

  “If he digs there,” Nathan grumbled, “maybe he’ll fall all of the way through to China.”

  “Dad! You wouldn’t let that happen, would you?”

  “No, he was just teasing, Jeff. There are some things you can do to stop the digging. If you play with him more and tire him out, he won’t have the energy to dig. There are a few products out on the market that keep a dog from digging, and you can spray them on the ground in a few key places where the digging will destroy special plants.”

  “Okay. I know the shop is already closed, but can I go ahead and pick up some of that tonight?”

  “Sure.” She slanted him a questioning look. “Have you been gardening?”

  “Yeah. How’d you guess?”

  “He planted flowers.” Jeff’s little body swayed back and forth in cadence with how he swung his legs. “But Lick dug most all of ’em up.”

  Vanessa’s brows arched in surprise. “I thought you said you weren’t much on flowers.”

  “A certain person who helped me build the gazebo pointed out the backyard would look a lot better if I planted some.”

  Her brows wiggled as she did a truly pathetic Groucho Marx imitation. “I’ll bet that person was right.”

  “Who knows? The little black beast made mulch of them.”

  Vanessa rested her forearms on the picnic table and leaned forward. Her voice softened. “Nathan, Lick saw you digging in the dirt. He thought it was okay. Until he gets older, you’d do well not to set an example you don’t want him to follow.”

  “Oh, brother! Do I feel stupid!”

  “Now I’ll make you feel downright smart: Go get some chicken wire. Put about an inch of dirt over it, and just comb flower seeds into the soil. He won’t be able to dig, and you’ll only spend a fraction of what you would for pony packs of flowers.”

  “For that, you deserve a cherry turnover.”

  ❧

  That Friday, after the game, Vanessa gathered her gear and collected Amber from Val. “Wanna go out for some ice cream?”

  “Double fudge?”

  “Double dips,” Vanessa promised.

  Deep laughter from behind them made her turn around. Nathan rested his hands on his hips. “Double scoops of double fudge for twins. Don’t tell me you don’t see the humor in that.”

  “Dad, can we get ice cream too?”

  Vanessa saw the question in Nathan’s eyes. “Sure, you guys can come along. We’ll sit outside the shop so Nero and Lick can come along.”

  Jeff knelt between the two Lab puppies. Both turned as if on cue and licked him. “What about Amber? Won’t she come?”

  “Amber is allowed to go into most places like church and restaurants and stores because she’s a service animal.”

  “Sis?”

  Vanessa turned to Val. “Huh?”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I changed his name. Nero was a madman, and I wanted something a little more. . .noble.”

  “I don’t care one bit. What did you decide on?”

  “Hero.”

  “Oh, that was clever. I’ll bet he’s responding to it right away.”

  Valene beamed. “He is. He’s so bright. I want him to start in with the next session of puppy obedience. When does it start?”

  “Next Saturday.”

  Nathan knelt and scratched both Lick and Hero behind the ears. “Did you boys hear that? You’re going to be classmates.”

  “Can they have ice cream too, to cel’brate? You taked me out for ice cream when I started school.”

  “I don’t know.” Nathan looked up at her. “You didn’t let us feed the dogs at our picnic.”

  “Amber eats twice a day. I give her treats, but not while I’m eating or socializing, because I don’t want her to turn into a beggar.”

  Val hitched the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. “We probably ought to use the same system we did back when you had Thane.”

  Vanessa nodded and explained to Nathan and Jeff, “I had my first guide puppy in my senior year of high school. We still had our family dog, a poodle named Fluffy. Fluffy wanted treats like she used to get—she was pretty spoiled. We taught the dogs that Fluffy got a treat when Thane got to go on an outing.”

  “Then I guess going on the trip is enough. Lick won’t get a lick of ice cream.”

  Jeff giggled. “That was funny, Dad.”

  “Ice cream?” Kip sauntered up. “Are you going out for ice cream? I’m inviting myself along.”

  As they sat on the little wrought-iron patio set outside of the ice cream parlor, she watched Nathan wipe a dab of Very Berry from Jeff’s face. He looked up at Vanessa just as she realized a little chocolate had dripped on her chin. He beat Kip to the stack of napkins in the center of the table and handed one to her. “So you got your first dog in high school. Why?”

  “I love animals, and it seemed like a neat thing to do. Since we’d be in college in a year, it wasn’t right for me to get a dog of my own and leave it behind with my folks.”

  “That makes sense, but then I’m running into a logic problem. You told me this is your fourth guide puppy, so you had to have a dog or two while you were in college.”

  “I listed puppy training on my college application under community service. The college admissions officer noticed it and mentioned that he’d give me clearance to have a puppy in classes as long as we didn’t have any major accidents or disruptions.”

  “Did you?”

  “Mom does a lot of volunteer work, and Dad was able to take the dogs to work with him at the phone company some days. Between Val and me juggling class schedules and our folks filling in, we breezed through college with the pups. Our first dog, Thane, was the biggest challenge. He was a riot.”

  Val choked back a giggle. “He about caused a riot on more than one occasion. The poor thing pitched a full-scale fit the first time he spied you in your shark suit. She came into the auditorium for a scho
ol assembly, and I think Thane thought the shark had eaten her.”

  “If Val hadn’t let go of the leash, it wouldn’t have been such a disaster. It took all but one member of the football team to catch Thane.” Vanessa ignored her sister’s don’t-you-dare look and added, “The quarterback was a little preoccupied, flirting with my sister.”

  “Which is why she’d let go of the leash?” Nathan ventured as he gave Val a knowing grin. “Can’t fault a man for having good taste.”

  “Sure can’t,” Kip agreed in a hearty tone.

  “Thanks, guys—but you’ll notice, my sister had the full attention of the rest of the team.”

  “Yeah,” Vanessa snorted. “And who wouldn’t, dressed up like a huge stuffed shark with a growling puppy clamped onto the fin?”

  “What did you do?” Jeff wondered as several rivulets of ice cream ran down the cone, onto his hand.

  “Yeah, Van,” Kip nudged her arm. “What did you do?”

  “A very funny dance,” Val answered. “You started this, Van, so I’m telling the rest of the story. The dog wouldn’t let go of the shark, and the shark kept running in a circle and wouldn’t let go of the dog. There’s a great picture of it in our yearbook as one of the football players took a dive toward them. The caption is Bait and Tackle. ”

  “Oh, well,” Vanessa laughed. “What do I say? She’s brainy, and I’m zany. I think I keep her guardian angel and mine busy enough for both of us.”

  “My mom is with the angels.” Jeff’s comment immediately changed the focus of the conversation.

  “Then she’s in a very happy place.”

  Vanessa heard her sister’s sweet words as she watched Nathan wrap his arm around Jeff’s shoulders. “That’s right, Son.” His action bespoke support and love, yet he didn’t let anyone give him that same comfort.

  If he were a puppy or a kitten, she would have known a score of ways to coax him to draw close and let her give comfort. Originally he’d seemed bitter; now he had become matter-of-fact, like someone who woodenly recited a rote prayer but the meaning behind the words didn’t register. Nathan built walls and constructed defenses she couldn’t begin to get beyond. Until he was ready, no one would be able to reach him. All she could do was pray the Lord would work in his heart. . .and trust that when the time was right, God would have someone there to show His comfort and consolation to Nathan.

  Ten

  Nathan sat in the shady courtyard with five other puppy owners. Had anyone asked, he would have said Vanessa looked like a luscious slice of lemon meringue pie, dressed in her crisp yellow walking shorts and a gauzy white blouse. He watched Vanessa demonstrate the simple commands she’d be working on with the “puppy kindergarten” members. Amber obediently followed each order.

  “Just how long before Marzipan does all of those tricks?” one woman asked.

  The burly man next to Nathan tried to untangle his beagle’s leash from around his own legs and muttered, “Right about now, I’d settle for this mutt learning to sit. I’m going to fall and break my neck if Soupy keeps running circles around me.”

  After the session was over, folks wandered into Whiskers, Wings, and Wags to make some purchases. Jamie, the clerk who had been minding the store, slipped out for her lunch break. Nathan saw several other customers browsing too.

  “What if I hang out with Hero and Licorice for awhile in one of the enclosures so Val can help you out?”

  One desperate glance at the line at the register, and Van gave him a grateful smile. “Bless you!”

  Nathan watched the puppies frolic and listened to Vanessa’s cheerful voice as she helped her customers. Her zest for life appealed to him. She was every bit as sunny and bouncy as her hair.

  For the past five years, he’d had a deep shadow of grief over his life. Evie begged him not to run from life, to feel free to fall in love again. “God has someone special in store for you and Jeff. I have an assurance about that.”

  He’d shaken his head. He didn’t want any other woman. Since Evie died, not a day went by that he hadn’t looked around the home they’d lovingly restored and missed her. . .until he met Vanessa. Oh, there had been plenty of beautiful women who made it abundantly clear they’d be happy to be the new Mrs. Adams. Not one of them deserved a second look or thought.

  How could it be? In one slim month, Vanessa crashed right through all of his defenses. One month? One day. That very first day he’d been here, he’d changed. Nathan could hardly imagine it, but now he was sitting on the floor, two little black Labs playing with his shoelaces, and feeling perfectly content to hear Vanessa talk to old Mrs. Rosetti about the lamb-and-rice dog biscuits.

  A father couldn’t exactly dive into dating and courtship. Nathan resolved to take things slowly. He had Jeff to think of. Then again, he needed to kick things up a few notches. The thought that Vanessa and Kip might be an item had had him in knots. Now that he knew this wasn’t the case, he wanted to be smart enough to start reeling her in. He wasn’t about to sit back and let another man steal his sunshine.

  “Who are your pals?”

  Nathan didn’t have to look up to identify the speaker. “Val, if you can’t recognize your own four-legged kid, your sister’s going to disown you.”

  She laughed. “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s been tempted.”

  He clipped a leash back onto Hero’s collar, lifted him over the hip-high wall, and placed him in Val’s arms. “Jeff’s hoping you’ll bring Hero to the park next Thursday for our baseball practice. He thinks the brothers need to play together.”

  “Smart kid you have there.” Vanessa refilled the treat jar by the enclosure. “Puppies need to socialize so they learn to get along well.”

  Val agreed to the plan and left, but Nathan found he wasn’t eager to go. He sauntered to the front of the shop and watched as Vanessa deftly straightened up a display of squeaky toys. He liked that about her—she managed to keep things tidy without making a big fuss or to-do about it.

  “Do you think I’ll ever manage to train Lick to be as obedient as Amber is?”

  “I think you have an excellent start.” She gave him a hundred-watt smile. “You have to remember I’ve worked with Amber for ten months. She was only eight weeks old when I got her, so we’ve had plenty of time to develop rapport. Several months from now, you and Lick will be a great team.”

  “Yeah, but probably not like you and Amber. You’re with her twenty-four/seven.”

  “That bonding and intense teamwork do pay off. I won’t pretend otherwise, but the world is full of well-behaved dogs that haven’t been with their owners any more than you’re with Lick.”

  “I hope you’re right. I watched Val, and she seems to have Hero well in control—much better than I do Lick, and I’ve had him longer.”

  Vanessa’s eyes twinkled. “She was moaning about how much better you are with Lick.”

  “No kidding?”

  “It’s the absolute truth. Everyone wants a cute little fluff ball, but they forget that the little guys have to learn the rules of the home, just like a child would. The first month with a puppy is always challenging. As of this week, you’ve passed that mark. You’ve had him for five weeks. Things ought to start improving a lot.”

  Her words carried the assurance he sought, but he wanted to keep visiting. Nathan shifted his weight and wondered, “Are you as hungry as I am?”

  “I’m starving. Why?”

  “Two reasons. First, because I thought we could go snag a burger. The second is, I think it’s going to be a persistent issue after these Saturday classes.”

  “Why would that be?”

  “Because every last dog in the class is named after food!”

  Vanessa tickled a kitten through a cage and mused aloud, “Oh? I didn’t even notice. There was Marzipan. And Pepper.”

  “I’ve got Licorice, and that guy next to me had Soupy. The English pug is Cheerio.”

  “But Val’s dog is Hero. It doesn’t—”

  “Hero
sandwich,” Nathan reminded her.

  Vanessa’s laughter pealed through the air. “Know what? I limit the class to six. I had another request that I slotted for the next series: ‘Brownie.’ ”

  “So what do you say? Jamie ought to be coming back from her lunch break soon. She can hold down the fort while we fill up after our brainwashing ordeal.”

  “What about Lick?”

  Oops. Blew it on that account. Nathan tapped the toe of his athletic shoe on the linoleum floor, then grinned. “How about if he takes a nap in the grooming room?”

  “Poor baby. Is he plumb tuckered out after his first day of puppy kindergarten?”

  “Yes, but his daddy is trying to get on the teacher’s good side by offering to take her out for lunch.”

  “I always thought you were supposed to take the teacher an apple.”

  “Oh, that’s for teachers who have children for their pupils. Dogs are a different story entirely.”

  “Do tell.” She shot him an entertained look.

  “Kids take apples to the teacher; puppy owners take the teacher to apple pie.”

  “I thought I liked my job. I was wrong—I love it!”

  Ah, Vanessa, he thought, if only a slice of apple pie could change how I felt about my life and job. There was a time when I had that same enthusiasm you have, but it’s been gone for years now.

  ❧

  Vanessa fumbled for the telephone. It shrilled again, and she groaned as her fingers curled around the receiver and lifted it. “Hullo?”

  “Vanessa?”

  “Nathan?” She squinted at the neon orange numbers on her alarm clock—4:17? This has to be a nightmare. It’s not really happening.

  “Listen, I’m sorry to bother you—”

  She shook herself. “Is it Jeff? Is something wrong?” In an instant, she was blazingly awake.

  “No, but yes. Here’s the deal: I just got an emergency call. The night watchman from the apartment complex I’ve started over on Beach and Tenth says it looks like the second story is buckling.”

  “Oh, no!”

  “Jeff’s class is going—”