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If my mother only knew I was about to be traipsing through the woods.
But it was still daylight, and I could see a young family walking further ahead on the path, so Dolly and I embarked down the wooded lane.
It opened up into a huge clearing with a large, fenced area marked “OffLeash”, and a smaller fenced area marked “Under 20lbs,” and a built-in agility course. There were several people there of all ages with dogs of all sizes. I was surprised to see only one Dolly-sized dog who was currently alone in the small pen, so I quickly walked over and placed Dolly inside, keeping her leash in my hand in case that dog wasn’t friendly or not interested. The other dog, a small white, frizzy-haired mutt with a head like the Chihuahua we met at the pet store, but a larger, plump body with skinny legs. It looked like its proportions were drawn by a toddler, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter when it walked over to Dolly because its hind legswiggled.
“That’s Prince Henry,” a woman called over to me from the benches. “He’s friendly, don’t worry. Not a mean bone in his body.” She was referring to my clenched fist on Dolly’s leash when I realized even my body was hunched in anticipation.
“Oh, okay. This is my first dog. Just got her yesterday.” I called back to the woman.
Several people looked over at me and nodded, smiling, throwing out words like “congrats” and “nice.”
Dolly and Prince Henry acknowledged each other briefly. Dolly seemed more interested in the grass Henry was standing on than him, but they both started to play after a minute, and it did seem harmless. I unlatched her leash and awkwardly walked to the benches marked “Pawrents.” I sat beside Prince Henry’s mom for a while. Neither of us said a word until I became very curious about her dog. “What breed is Prince Henry?”
The woman cackled. “I call him a torpedo. It certainly is the shape of his body!” She laughed, and I stood to examine his shape from a distance, seeing it was an accurate description. I started laughing a littletoohard, and she just shrugged and smiled, saying, “I know, it’s crazy.”
After a few minutes, I began to feel bad for laughing at this little creature who couldn’t control the shape of his body, so I tried to scale back my laughter, only for her to pull up a picture of when he was a puppy.
“He was born fat,” she explained, which made me giggle again. Looking at this puppy picture of a sad little face, wiry hair going every which way, and a nearly naked body sitting in a pen, I realized he too had been at the animal shelter, and my laughter subsided at the sobering reality of the pets who needed homes.
“Dolly is from Newtown,” I told the woman, pointing at her as she was now playing a rousing game of chicken with Prince Henry.
The woman nodded, smiling. “Adopting is the only way for me.” She pulled out a small photograph that was in her purse next to her.
“This is Cora. She was dumped by her “family”at the animal shelter when she was twelve because theybought a puppy.”The woman made air quotes with her fingers when referring to the dog's previous owners. In the picture, there was a precious older dog with a white face and big brown eyes. She was surrounded by blankets and toys and had a chew bone sticking out of her mouth. “After my husband left me for a younger woman, I heard about Cora, who’d been through the same thing, and knew I had to get her. We helped each other heal.” The woman put the picture back in her purse. It appeared she had a designated spot for it. “I’ll never stop missing her, but she improved my life.”
CHAPTER 6
TAKING CREDIT FOR MY PET’S APPEARANCE
Prince Henry started trotting away from Dolly and found something to roll in. “Henry, no! You naughty boy!” The woman jumped up and ran after him, laughing. She stepped into the pen and picked him up, giving him a once-over to see if he smelled.
“That’s our cue,” she walked back with Prince Henry and took her purse. “Someone needs a B-A-T-H!” Prince Henry’s eyes immediately went wild, and he squirmed, nearly falling out of her arms. “Oh, I forgot, he knows how to spell!”
She started walking away when she looked down at Dolly. “Oh, I know you!” She called out to me. “She was here earlier—with your husband?” The look on my face must’ve been cross, as she immediately backtracked. “Or brother?” She smiled to break the stale moment.
Hollering back, I fumbled my words. “I’m lonely.” Oh no, “I mean—I’m alone. Ugh! I’m SINGLE!” I nearly screamed when I realized how embarrassing my slip-up was, with all the other people turning to listen to this exchange, and I hadn’t even answered her question. Even Prince Henry was completely still, eyes locked on me.
She nodded, understanding. “She must have a doppelganger in the neighborhood. Take care,” she picked up her pace and quickly disappeared into the trees.
My face was hot from my Freudian screwup, and I beelined to pick up Dolly, leave, and never return to this park. I remembered there was another park in the area and vowed I wouldn’t make a fool of myself at that one. To prolong the pain,when I hopped into the pen to catch Dolly, she took off thinking we were playing.
Remembering Jenna's words about Dolly's adjustment period, I didn’t want to discourage the play time. I worried it would hurt our relationship if I acted rashly, so I started whispering to her to reason. “If you let me catch you, we can go to the other park and play all night. We couldlive thereif that’s what it takes. I’ll buy a tent. We just really,reallymust leave this one.” I was motioning to the ground as if she would know I meant business. She slowed down, wagging her tail, and I ran over to catch her. It was then that I stepped into something special.
I heard snickering from the Pawrents benches, and I wasn’t sure I could sink any lower, but I knew it was always that moment when you feel lowest that you need to stop, pause, and reflect. To which I did. I could wash the shoes. I would never see any of these people again. Dolly was having fun. Everything was alright. Breathe. Breathe.
BOOM.
Something hit my head at high speed, but it was tiny and light and didn’t hurt. A miniature, bright green frisbee fell to the ground. In my humiliation, I pretended it didn’t happen—any of it. The dog poo, the flying saucer to my noggin, the people laughing at me. This was what introverts had nightmares about, and I was sure I would for the rest of my days.
“Excuse me, miss?” a male voice called.
I stood still, thinking that if I didn’t move, I’d become invisible, and he would walk away.
“I’m sorry about the frisbee. Yikes, I have a terrible aim.” He let out a low laugh, and soon enough, the rest of the dog park patrons were busting up.
I started to dry heave in what felt like crying, but it turned into a voracious laugh, and Dolly, very concerned, ran over to me and I picked her up. She started licking my face, and I felt better. Still laughing, I turned around to see the man who was speaking.
I couldn’t have prepared for this moment if I’d been given a year’s notice.
