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After Alfie ate his breakfast, she took him on a walk through the neighborhood park—or tried to. Despite his small size, Alfie was strong, pulling whenever he wanted to smell something or visit with another dog.
Stopping near a large oak tree, Alfie took his time smelling every blade of grass.
“What are you waiting for?”
She had no clue how to read a dog’s body language, but because of his imperious stance, she had no doubt Alfie was saying ‘fuck you.’ He gave her a suspicious side-eye and sniffed around the edges of the tree trunk.
After much investigation, Alfie finally found the right spot to do his business. “Yuck,” she said, picking up the mound of poop with the bag and tying it closed with a knot.
“Be glad he’s a small dog,” a woman’s voice said behind her. “The big dogs sometimes need two bags.”
Colleen turned over her shoulder to see a woman in her mid-sixties with short, gray hair and dressed in athletic walking gear.
“No kidding,” Colleen said, tossing the poop bag in a nearby garbage can.
“I’m Daisy Harris. Good morning,” she said, leaning down to pet Alfie. “Alfie and my Wally are best friends.”
Wally, also a west highland terrier, greeted Alfie and then they proceeded to circle around each other.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Colleen Murphy. I’m a friend of Finn O’Connor.”
“I’ve known Molly and Finn for years. It’s a beautiful morning, do you want to join Wally and me on our walk?”
“Sure.” It would be great to have someone with her who knew more about dogs. Colleen and Daisy continued to walk through the park, staying on the path even though Alfie kept pulling on the leash.
“Molly and I usually meet here every morning to walk the dogs. How’s she doing?”
“Right now, she’s with my mom in Montana on a volunteer vacation with Habitat for Humanity.”
“I think that’s a great idea. I worry about her sometimes. She enjoys her solitude so much that sometimes I think it’s not good for her. But Finn is a wonderful son. He comes out often to visit her on the weekends.”
Finn had only been gone a few hours and Colleen couldn’t wait to see him again and to make love when he got back. “Yeah, he’s pretty special.”
“You’re blushing a little,” Daisy said. In a more serious tone she asked, “Molly told me all about you and your family. I was sorry to hear your father died.”
She was touched by Daisy’s kindness. “Thank you. It’s still hard some days, but we’re coping.”
“But isn’t it great that your mom and Molly have reconnected again?”
“It’s great for both of them.”
“Sometimes good can come from bad situations. You have to be open to letting it happen.”
Colleen nodded, her thoughts turning to Finn. If her father hadn’t died, she would probably never have reconnected with him. Her father had never said a bad word about Finn, no matter the gossip about his antics in New York. Maybe he’d been aware of her interest in Finn.
During Finn’s last visit, she’d interrupted her father in a deep conversation with Finn aboutIrishhistory. Her father had given her a big smile when she walked into the room. “Here she is. MyIrishqueen.” Finn hadn’t said a word, but kept his eyes focused on her. It was later that same day she and Finn kissed in the park. It was also the first time Finn called her Clíodhna. What had Finn and her father discussed that day? After Finn left, her father knew Colleen was angry at him. He told her she should be more compassionate and try to understand the difficulties Finn had to confront. Would things have been different between Finn and Colleen if her father had shared what he knew about Finn?
“Colleen?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, startled out of her thoughts.
“I asked you if you’d like to get some coffee. I know a place where we can bring the dogs.”
“Okay.”
As they walked the short distance to a coffee shop, Daisy mentioned that she was a retired kindergarten teacher. Colleen shared her art history teaching experience and found she had an admirer.
After getting coffee, Colleen and Daisy sat with the dogs at an outdoor table.
