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Her expression shifts somehow when I mention the military. It makes me remember what she had said when we first met.
I wonder why she dislikes the military so much.
We head toward the back door, and when I step through, I glance upward to see that the clouds have completely passed already, and I picture sitting out here at the end of a day and watching the stars.
It’s barely a moment with my chin turned toward the sky, but just enough time for me to not notice the sixty pounds of fur making a beeline toward me. Before I can even brace myself, the dog leaps up and I’m literally knocked to the ground. I’m a big guy at 6’4” and pretty hard to topple. So I wasn’t expecting that.
I’m smothered in dog kisses. Long, wet licks cover me, and a wagging tail sends fur flying.
I soak up the attention. I’ve always wanted a dog.
Millie’s eyes look apologetic.
“Down, Junie. I’m so sorry,” she says quickly. “She just loves company. And I can’t seem to break her habit of jumping on people.”
“No worries. I always wanted to end my day with a greeting like this. You could charge me extra for it.” Still contentedly sitting on the ground, I break my gaze from the dog for a moment and glance at Millie.
She giggles uneasily. “Don’t tempt me. I could use the money.”
Her dog darts away from me for a moment, then returns, putting a smelly, wet toy in my face. “Junie,” I say, remembering the name as I toss the toy she’s offered me. “Did you get her in June or something?”
“No. Her prior owners gave her that name. I got her when she was ten years old, so I didn’t want her to have to get used to a new name.”
“Ten years old?” I look at her dog again as she bounds across the yard toward me. She might not be as spry as a puppy would be, but her energy is pretty impressive. “How old is she now?”
“Almost fourteen. Which is really old for a golden,” she adds.
“Wow, Junie. You’re in great shape.” I give her another pat on the head as I get off the ground and join Millie, sitting on her patio’s bottom step. Junie follows, never more than an inch from me.
Yep, I love dogs. “So what made you want to adopt a senior dog?”
“I was looking for a younger one. Maybe three or four years old. But after I met her, how could I possibly say no, you know?”
I rub the dog’s face and find that the fur along her cheeks is the softest. “Agreed.”
“But if you decide to live here, you really need to keep your bedroom door shut and keep everything off the floor downstairs. Or your stuff will be target practice.”
“Duly noted.”
Her smile as she looks at me is hesitant, and almost hopeful. “She’s the best,” she tells me. “But not everyone appreciates her quite like I do.”
I grin as I toss the toy again. “I’m sensing there’s a story there.”
“A story that ended with me paying for three hundred dollars’ worth of my former housemate’s college textbooks.”
“Those college textbooks will kill you every time,” I say only because I’ve heard other people complain about the cost. At West Point, I didn’t pay a dime for textbooks. That’s the one good thing about the Academy. Sure, people will shoot at you and try to blow you up after you graduate. But hey, free college.
“Was that your only housemate?” I ask.
“No, I tried one more time. And I warned her not to leave anything on the floor. But her $280 heels still got a golden shower.”
A snort escapes me. “Hey, if she didn’t keep her shoes off the floor, then I say, that’s her fault.”
She grimaces slightly. “They, uh, were on her feet at the time.”
I burst out laughing.
“So, after that, I kind of gave up.” She takes Junie’s furry face in her hands and plants a kiss on the top of her forehead, then looks at me.
