I toss a tennis ball as hard as I can and I watch the dogs run like they’re on fire to go after it. Is there anything better than watching dogs run like mad? I think not.
As I do this, I think about how everything ended last night with Daniel. I’ve been thinking about it all day and have come to the conclusion that he was really freaked out by the fact that I’m a virgin.
He abruptly stopped kissing me, helped me hop down off the table and adjusted my nightie. He brushed my cheek, kissed my forehead and said, “And this is where we end our negotiations for tonight.”
I was so stunned that I didn’t say anything for a few seconds, then risked looking clingy with the words, “Did I do something wrong?”
He made a move like he wanted to kiss me again, but then he stopped. Why did he stop?
His reply was mannerly and totally unacceptable. “You deserve your first time to be with someone you care deeply for, not just someone you enjoy flirting with. And, little lady, we don’t even like each other.” Then he walked out and I haven’t seen him all day.
It’s odd. A construction crew has been working at his house all day, but I haven’t see Daniel anywhere.
Just like Terrence.
Something in the more paranoid chamber of my brain wonders if the two things are connected. But no, that’s crazy. He doesn’t even like dachshunds. He told me.
Unless…unless he really, really doesn’t like dachshunds and decided to make Terrence disappear. That would make him a monster, and there’s no way Daniel would do that. I mean, I barely know him, but I know he wouldn’t do that. Would he?
The dogs and I approach the portion of the fence that backs up to Daniel’s backyard, and I see something. The construction crew has gone home for the day but there’s a gap in the fence. When I approach it, it’s clear that the chicken wire has been cut. Just big enough for a small dog to fit through.
“That dirty bastard,” I say out loud, my mind reeling in disbelief.
Dolly barks, seemingly in agreement with me. Then I look at what she’s barking at and see Daniel coming this way.
I’m so worked up over the hole in the fence and the evidence before me, I can’t even keep my cool and wait for him to approach.
“Where’s Terrence?”
“Who?”
“Who. He has on a collar with his name and tags and everything. Making one of my own dogs disappear is one thing, but a client’s dog is another thing. If his owners come back from vacation and he’s not here, I’m sunk. I’ll get sued. Worse, Terrence could be lost and hurt and I’ll never forgive myself.”
He puts up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Molly. What are you talking about?”
“Terrence, a very important wiener dog, has been missing all day. The same dog who woke you up last night before you came over to my house. And there happens to be a brand new cut in the fence, right by your house, big enough for a dachshund to fit through.”
“Little lady, you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t take that dog. I wouldn’t take that dog. I don’t even like wiener dogs.”
“So you said. Everyone loves dachshunds. What is wrong with you?”
“No, they don’t. They’re mean and their weird snouts freak me out. I don’t trust them.”
“You’re a dog racist, that’s what you are! You cut the fence and let him loose. He’s probably already been carried off by a bobcat by now.”
“Let’s not get our hopes up,” he mutters.
“Oh my god! You are such a jerk!”
He laughs. “I know. I can’t help it.”
“And to think I almost let you into my panties.”
“As I recall, you weren’t wearing any.”
“Ugh!”
An engine rumbling distracts me from this conversation. We turn our heads and see a beat-up truck with oversized tires at the gate. Just idling.