After a good run and a game of fetch with a stick, Anna and Nia joined Max on the bench. They spoke for an hour, each sharing details of their lives while apart over the past several months.
“Fleck changed my role to a substitute trainer,” Anna said. “Much of my duties are focused on caring for shepherds with Emmi.”
“Why?” Max asked. “You’re the best trainer in the school.”
“Fleck didn’t give a reason. I assume he thinks my success with training Nia was a fluke.”
He held out his hand.
She clasped his fingers.
“You’ll train again,” he said. “Someday, there will be scores of guide dogs—all across Deutschland—that will have been instructed by you.”
“That’s a lovely thought,” she said.
He entwined his fingers with hers and gently caressed her hand with his thumb.
Nia nuzzled them.
“I feel lucky to have Nia,” he said, “especially considering my diagnosis.”
“How so?” she asked.
“It would have been easy for Dr. Stalling to have switched Nia’s assignment to a healthier veteran. It was kind of him to allow us to remain together.”
Anna squeezed his hand.
“I wish you could have seen what Nia accomplished over the past several months.” He turned toward her. “She performed admirably. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Nia’s ears perked, and she tilted her head.
“But, most of all,” he said, “she’s been a caring companion.”
“I’m glad,” Anna said.
Max dreaded bringing their time in the park to an end. He wanted to stay with her, talking and holding hands, but his diaphragm began to feel constricted. Regretfully, he slipped his hand away and rose from the bench. Together, they left the park with Nia between them.
Upon returning to the apartment, Max, who needed to stop twice on the journey home to catch his breath, slumped onto a sofa with his head on a small, decorative pillow. “I’m sorry to be a poor host,” he said. “But I think I need to rest.”
Anna approached him and gently ran her hand over his forehead.
His muscles relaxed. “Your touch is like heaven,” he breathed.
Anna smiled. “Take a nap, and when you wake, I’ll have something prepared for us to eat.”
He felt her touch fade away, and he drifted into a deep, cavernous sleep.
* * *
Max woke to the sensation of Nia’s tongue licking his face. He stretched his arms and labored to sit up. “Good girl, Nia.Dankefor waking me.”
Nia gave him another wet lick to the nose, and then padded to Anna.
“How do you feel?” Anna asked.
“Better,” Max said, his head a bit groggy. “Is it time for lunch?”
“Dinner.”
