“There’s a place on the corner,” she said. “I need to walk the dogs. I’ve been trying to keep them from going out back too much. God forbid my dogs enjoy their own backyard and disturb my asshole neighbor.”
“A walk would be good,” I agreed.
“Give me a minute to try and do something about my face,” she said and got up from the couch.
Kona immediately hopped off and watched to see where Thea was going. She followed her down the hall. The other two dogs were eyeballing me. Thea returned a minute later with Kona right on her heels.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said with a half-smile.
I put my hands on her hips and gave her a kiss. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Guys, who wants ice cream?”
The dogs jumped up and started barking and circling around her legs. “They know what ice cream is?” I asked.
“They do,” she said.
She grabbed the leashes hanging by the door and started to hook up the dogs. She handed me the leash for the little dog. The dogs were actually very well behaved as we walked.
“Did you hit her?” I asked.
“What? Who?”
“Stacey,” I clarified. “You said she pushed you. Did you deck her?”
“No,” she grumbled. “Rich is fast as lightning. I don’t know where he came from. He swept me up and carried me outside.”
I had to laugh at the image. “It’s probably a good thing he did.”
“I think I should be allowed one smack,” she complained. “That woman deserves so much worse. I should get one free swing.”
“I don’t remember you being so violent,” I teased.
“She brings it out in me,” she replied. “She could make Mother Theresa violent.”
“That’s hard, especially considering she’s dead.”
She looked over and smiled. “That’s how bad this woman is.”
The ice-cream shop had a window for customers that didn’t want to go inside. We stepped up and each ordered a cone. Then she ordered three puppy cones, which confused the hell out of me.
“Can you hold mine?” she asked me.
“Did you just order puppy cones?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, grinning.
The young lady delivered three tiny little cones with a plop of vanilla ice cream on top. “We’ll want to go over here,” Thea said. “This can get a little crazy.”
“I don’t know what to expect,” I said. “What do I do?”
“Sit,” she ordered.
I sat in the first chair I saw. She looked at me with confusion and then burst into laughter. “Not you,” she said while still laughing.
That was when I noticed the dogs all sitting and staring up at Thea. “Oh. No wonder they listen to you. You’re kind of scary.”
I watched as she put the cones on the cement in front of each dog. They were all staring at her. I wondered if maybe they didn’t actually like the treat. She stood up and said nothing. I felt the tension.