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All of this was a fantastic distraction from my personal life. After a few days of silence, Trip began bombarding me with texts. First he suggested getting back together and forgetting all about our fight. Then he asked me to meet for coffee to talk things over. Then hedemandedthat I respond to him, because I owed him a chance to make things right.
I ignored all of the texts. After all,hewas the one who gavemean ultimatum and then walked away. I didn’t owe him anything, and I certainly didn’t have the energy to deal with his nonsense while the rest of my life was quickly becoming busy.
But there were other texts I didn’t ignore.
Braden: Hi dog lady! How’s business?
Me: I don’t think I’ve ever had someone call me “dog lady” and mean it in a positive way!
Braden: lmao
Me: But yeah, business is good! I’ve had people coming to check us out all week.
Braden: Good. Chrissy and I have been pushing everyone on the team to use you.
Me: I don’t want them to feel pressured!
Braden: Nah, it’s the GOOD kind of pressure. Like finding the best pizza joint in town and insisting everyone try it.
Braden: Speaking of pizza, I’ve been searching for a good slice. New York style. Any recommendations?
Me: Hmm. There’s Joey’s Pizza close to downtown that’s pretty good. Another one is Sal’s Pizzeria on the west end. I haven’t had it, but I’ve heard it’s good.
Braden: Already tried Sal’s. Couldn’t stand the sauce. Tasted like rat vomit. But I’ll try Joey’s for sure.
Me: You know what rat vomit tastes like? ;-)
Braden: I’ve got a powerful imagination! And trust me: it tastes BAD.
Me: Lol, I’ll take your word for it!
Braden: Hey, have you thought any more about coming to that charity event on Friday?
Me: Was that a serious invitation? I thought you were just being nice.
Braden: Just being nice? What else would we be, assholes? We’re definitely not assholes.
Braden: I take that back. Chrissy can be moody after a bad loss, but he’s the quarterback so there’s always more pressure on him. So are you in for Friday?
Me: I’m on the fence. The problem is I can’t leave the dogs here alone. I’ve been looking at resumes for part-time help, but I haven’t hired anyone yet.
Braden: Tell you what. I’ll put you down as a ‘yes’ because I’m confident you’ll hire someone in the next couple of days.
Me: Hah, okay. But don’t get mad if I can’t get someone to cover by then!
Braden: I don’t get mad! It’s all good!
I smiled while reading the texts. Braden made me feel good about myself. He had an infectious personality, even while just texting.
But I wondered what his intention was for the invitation. Was it meant as a date? Or was he truly just being nice to the person who was now dogsitting for Pickles? I wished there was an easy way to find out, but that wasn’t something you could just come right out and ask. It would make everything awkward.
I glanced at the stack of resumes on my dining room table.We’ll see if I have hired someone by then.
That afternoon, while I was brushing one of the dogs in the field, a big black SUV came rolling up my driveway. I tucked the dog brush into my pocket and walked over to the fence to greet the man that was stepping out of the driver’s door.
Before I could get a good look at the man, he opened the back door and four dogs came pouring out of the car. They were all mutts of varying sizes and colors. A Shepherd mix, a Lab mix, and two Chihuahua-sized dogs with underbites that left their teeth sticking out.
“Look at all of you!” I said when I reached the fence. One of the smaller dogs was keeping his distance, but the others were at the fence wagging their tails and sniffing me. “Come here, little guy! I don’t bite.”
