Its Lonely Where Promises Are Broken

The concrete stairs were so cold on her body. Cold traveled up from the seat of her pants, all the way to the roots of her hair it seemed. The constant crackling of the leaves, doing back flips on the wind was beginning to grate on her nerves. Trash, transients, tight-lipped neighbors, how did she get here?

She was flexing her fingers in her gloves with cut off tips, as if picking up a quarter. She couldn’t help herself from doing this over and over again. Jamieson would be back soon, and they would take the dogs for a walk.

There was something warm around her. Wait, they were already at the lake.

Jamieson never got her point. His inability to concede, to give in when defeated, was so frustrating. She had never spoke to that man; he had never touched her hair, only returned her hat when it was blown away by the wind.

A crow talked to her left and her head moved excruciatingly slow to see what all the fuss was about. The dogs always loved when there were birds to chase.

Is the temperature dropping? I feel chilly, she thought.

As a matter of habit, she started to go through her checklist for the day. Before Jamieson came home, and before they walked the dogs, she would check to make sure everything was as it should be. Load of laundry done for the day, no dishes in the sink, all her papers straightened. She would have exercised and showered for the second time that day, keeping her body perfect and above all clean. The meal would be prepped and the table set, with the mail next to Jamieson’s plate. The dog food would be ready to be poured when they returned from their walk. The dogs would be leashed; they would be standing, well-trained, by the door for when their master opened it.

God, is that Rupert? She puzzled. She was closing her eyes, to adjust to find the crow when she saw him. What is he doing laying there? His black fur was lifting slightly in the wind.

“Boy?” Her voice was raspy. Great, now I am getting a cold, she admonished herself. Why this spot? Why choose this place to confront Jamieson? It was cold with the wind coming off the lake. And the only place to sit was a set of deserted stairs that led down to the small beach.  What had she been thinking?

“I’d let you stay if you promised it was just once.”

“If you wear my ring, then you are my property.”

“It’s too much.”

“I have given you the world”

“No security if every little thing is a betrayal.”

“Too sexy, too attractive in those clothes”

“I did not sign up for this”

“I saw his fingers, you took his business card.”

“They are my dogs too”

“I’d let you stay if you promised it was just once.”

Their voices alternated in her head, back and forth like watching a tennis match. She jumped at the sound of his hand raised and brought across her face. It was unfair and she was not going to allow it again. Were those Jamieson’s shoes next to Rupert? Why was he laying there?

What s happening? Her thoughts were running around. Where is Cheddar?

The barking started,  then stopped and then started again.

“Cheddar!!” She felt his rough tongue licking her face. “Ok Boy, its ok” She brought her hand up to pet him and left a muted red streak on his gorgeous, buttery fur.

What the fuck?

Then her thoughts concluded the chase, pouncing on what must be the truth. They had been talking! She knew this. She had carefully planned her speech, and like always, he had turned it around on her. He had brought his gun up to smash her face. She had not expected such a reaction from his dogs. But they had become her dogs too. She saw it spelled out in black letters on a white billboard, in her mind, although it was tinted and fuzzy, like an old photograph.

I told him if it never happened again, things would be fine. Once can be a mistake!

She couldn’t get up. She started to panic. She could raise her knees, bend them, but they refused to help her sit up, never mind stand. How did she not realize this whole time she had been looking at the sky?

The sounds of the leaves picked up, and a train passed nearby, heard not seen.