It had been a month since Carol sent her friend Leona an email telling her about Brute, the dog Carol had recently rescued. She thought maybe they could go hiking together along with Peggy, Leona’s partner. Carol had never been included on their hikes and she’d always hoped to join them. Maybe Brute would be a draw.
Leona and Peggy were lesbians, but Carol never for a moment thought that should make any difference. She could be dead wrong, but still, it didn’t make sense for Leona not to answer her. They’d been friends. And Carol missed Leona. Carol had heard about ghosting and wondered if that’s what had happened to her and Leona had simply disappeared. But why? What had Carol done? If there was something she should apologize for, she would. She had a hard time understanding anyone so afraid of confrontation they preferred to go silent. She spread out on the sofa and thought about the situation.
Dan, her ex-husband, hadn’t died from his recent heart attack, but now he was in rehab so she still had his dog Big Black at her house. Dan had left her fifteen years ago for his secretary and Carol had no interest in doing him any favors, but she’d never say no to a dog. Meanwhile, their son across the country still hadn’t bothered to get off his ass and onto a flight to see his father. Or better yet, to take his dog off her hands. Brute was on the sofa with her and since there wasn’t enough room, Big Black rested his chin on the edge with a forlorn look in his eyes, then stretched out below like a furry farting rug.
When she got to her office the next day with Brute and Big Black dragging her through the door, she told Troy about the Leona dilemma. Troy was Carol’s assistant and her friend. He was also gay, so maybe he had some gay wisdom to impart, although she knew it was dumb to think such a thing.
“Fuck her,” he said. “She was never really your friend.”
“But we’ve known each other for years, even before she found out she was a lesbian.”
Troy rubbed all four dog ears and gave Carol one of his most withering looks. “She found out? You mean, like she got a notice in the mail: we are pleased to inform you, you’re queer?”
“She said she’d been engaged to a man, but couldn’t go through with it. So maybe not everyone knows they’re gay at three years old?”
“Forget her, doll. She’s part of a club you’re never getting into.”
But Carol didn’t want to forget it. She wanted Leona to acknowledge her, she wanted resolution. So she sent her flowers and a picture of Brute.
By four o’clock, Troy had finished the specs for the bridesmaid dresses Carol had designed, and after sending it to the cutting room, they decided to duck out early for a drink. They did this every couple of weeks. Carol, older than Troy, and hopelessly in love with him, relished these times. It was a warm evening and they found a table on the patio at El Coyote, a favorite. The two dogs rested nearby with a water bowl between them. Margaritas were served.
“You think when Danny-boy gets out of rehab he’s going to be up to walking Big Black?” Troy asked.
Carol hadn’t thought about it and pictured herself driving over to Dan’s house three times a day to walk his dog. “Might be I’ll have to keep Big Black a bit longer.”
“Like maybe forever.” Troy scooped guacamole with a giant chip. “You poor dearie.”
Carol checked her phone. Leona should have received the flowers by now. She scrolled through her few messages. She knew people complained about having too many emails, but it wasn’t one of Carol’s problems. And, there it was. Leona: “Thank you for the flowers, your dog looks nice. But I think we should stop bothering each other…”
Carol read it out loud to Troy. “Stop bothering each other? What the fuck? I guess that means I’m bothering her. Because she wasn’t bothering me.”
“She’s just a bitch, forget her.”
“She’d never been a bitch before. Maybe she has a brain tumor. You think that’s possible, that she’s not in her right mind?”
“Entirely.” Troy touched Carol’s elbow resting on the table and looked around for the waiter. “Let’s have another margarita.”
Carol brightened. “And drink to bitches who’ve lost their minds.”
They sat for a while, then took the dogs for a short walk. Troy gave her a hug and told her to keep her chin up. As always, he made her feel so much better. When she got home, she gave the dogs dinner and fixed herself a bowl of cold cereal. When the phone rang, her first thought was Leona, but it was Caleb, or Cal, as he preferred. Carol had gone on a date-and-a-half with Cal that included afternoon sex under the steady gaze of two dogs at his Venice apartment with a view of the ocean two blocks away. Some women would never have sex on the first date, but Carol wasn’t one of them. Life was short. And she wasn’t young. Why wait? She was also pleasantly surprised by how much she liked Cal.
“How about dinner tomorrow?” he said. “No dogs. Seven o’clock, I’ll pick you up.”
Third date, if she counted a walk they’d taken. Three dates was getting serious. She gladly accepted and they hung up. No cereal tomorrow night. At work the next day she didn’t complain to Troy about Leona. Whining was unattractive, and now she was looking forward to seeing Cal. She decided she would make an effort and dress up a bit. When she got home, she took the dogs for a long walk, changed into a simple gray wool dress with high black boots, and put on mascara and red lipstick. Her dark hair shined. She thought she looked pretty okay. When the doorbell rang at 6:50, she didn’t bother to ask who it was. She liked people who were on time, even early, and opened the door wide with a welcoming smile. Leona stood on the porch beside Peggy holding a frosted cake the size of Pittsburgh perched on top of an ornate silver cake platter.
“Oh!”
“I know,” Leona said. “I was wrong. I apologize for disappearing on you.”
“I had a talk with her,” Peggy said. “Can we come in? This cake weighs a ton.”
“Peggy bakes wonderful cakes,” Leona said.
“Yes, of course.” Carol looked around outside, then stepped back and let them in.
“Your place is adorable,” Leona said. “I don’t remember the last time I was here.”
“Never,” Carol said. “You were never here.” They all stood awkwardly in the middle of the room until Peggy walked over and put the cake on the dining room table. “I only moved here six months ago.”
“Oh, right, I forgot. Well, it’s charming. I love the colors.” Leona had a way of paying a compliment that was utterly convincing. A quality Carol admired and made her wonder if we choose our friends in part because of how they make us feel about ourselves. She believed we did.
Brute licked Leona’s hand. Carol was concerned she might be annoyed, but Leona kneeled down and scratched Brute’s big ears and told him he was a good dog and his tongue hung out pink and moist in appreciation. Big Black, seemingly unsure of his position in the house, stood back waiting his turn.
“I didn’t know you had two dogs,” Leona said.
“It’s a long story,” Carol said. She tried acting cool though she felt awkward with Cal due anytime. The doorbell rang again.
Carol turned. “Please, have a seat. Hopefully the dogs won’t crawl all over you.” She opened the door.
Cal stood in the porchlight looking like a shiny penny, as her mother would say. All spiffed out with a fresh haircut, clean shaven, and wearing a leather bomber jacket over a blue shirt. He handed her a small bunch of daisies mixed with eucalyptus. The scent was like the park where they’d walked in the wind.
“Hey.” Carol opened the door wider and Cal entered the room. He looked from her to the
two neatly dressed women seated on the edge of the narrow green sofa with two large dogs
sprawled across their laps, eight dog legs dangling among four human legs.
“Cal, this is Leona and Peggy. They just stopped by.”
“With a cake,” Peggy said.
“Yes, with a big cake,” Carol said.
Cal took a step closer. “That’s a whole lotta dog on top of you ladies. Happy to shake hands, but I’m afraid you might lose your balance.”
Brute’s wagging tail slapped Peggy’s thigh.
“Wait, it looks like you and Cal here have plans,” Leona said, shifting her weight under the dogs. “We’ll be on our way, you weren’t expecting us.…” “No, don’t leave.” Carol put her hands out as if she was going to physically keep them from getting up. As if the dogs weren’t already restraining them. She wondered if somehow Cal could possibly just leave, come back another time, but was that what she wanted? He looked really good to her at the moment.
Cal, cracker-jack private investigator that he was, got it. “No, of course, you shouldn’t leave. Plans are made to be changed, right? Anybody hungry? How about some dinner? Happy to have something delivered or would you all like to go out?”
“Pizza!” Carol said and whipped out her phone. “And, I’ll make a salad, I’m good at salad.”
“I’ll order,” Cal said. “It’s on me, I insist.”
Meanwhile, Leona and Peggy tried to extricate themselves from under the dogs who were having none of it, instead rolling their big heads back in pure doggy contentment.
“We’re going, really. You two carry on.” Leona attempted to move the dogs and stand up, but failing, she started to laugh as Peggy tried the same maneuver that ended in another round of laughter. Finally, Cal and Carol each took a dog and slowly shoved them to the carpet, the sofa cushions moving along with them and Leona and Peggy ending up on the floor with the dogs licking tears of laughter from their faces. Leona caught her breath, then started laughing harder.
“We’re going to need some wine,” Peggy said, crawling onto all fours in order to right herself. “Fortunately, I have two good bottles of red in the car.”
“You do?” Leona asked. “I didn’t know that.”
“Ah, little known fact about yours truly,” Peggy said. “Some people carry flares or extra water. We all have a different idea of what constitutes an emergency.”
Carol was on the floor scratching both dogs to keep them calm as Cal phoned in the order and suddenly it was a party.
“Stay where you are, Carol,” Peggy said. “I’ll make the salad.”
“But you made the cake.”
“Don’t try to argue with Peg about anything having to do with food,” Leona said. “You’ll never win.”
Peggy, already in the kitchen, stuck her head out. “And, you don’t have to tell me where anything is. I have a sixth sense.” Cabinets were opened and slammed shut, bowls and silverware rattled on the countertop.
“She’s good, but noisy,” Leona said.
“The food will be here in twenty minutes,” Cal said, “Got some lasagna, too. You never know.” He relaxed into Carol’s old leather chair like he belonged there and the dogs turned their attention to him, freeing Leona and Carol to brush dog hair from their clothes and wash their hands.
“I have dog slime on my face,” Leona said.
“La crème de puppi, the new anti-aging sensation,” Carol said. “It’s all the rage.”
Leona stopped to look at her. “I really missed you.”
Carol nodded. They were back.
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