This was not how today was supposed to go,;it was going to be my day. Things done the way I wanted them done. Instead, it became about her, always her. How I regret the day I suggested we go there. He hadn’t wanted to, but I pleaded and begged to go. So he gave in and we went. As I was awed and taking in all there was to see, he walked hands in pockets and made that awful sniffing sound people make instead of saying something, but making just enough of a gesture to let others know that they were minimally paying attention. Finally I was satisfied I’d seen everything I’d wanted to see but had not found the treasure I’d hoped for. Hungry and tired from all the walking around, I was ready to go home. Suddenly, just as if lightning had struck, their eyes locked in on each other and there was no stopping it. My immediate response was NO! Not happening, not today No! No! No! Despite my protest, it was happening and too fast. He pushed past me as if he no longer saw me, headed towards her now, smiling.
“Unbelievable!” I said out loud, too loud, as a few people stopped talking to look at me. Only a minute ago he had been sullen and staring at the ground, kicking at rocks as if being here was pure torture. Now it was as if he was walking on clouds, He almost floated as he made his way to her. The energy between them was magic as they embraced and she kissed him with such intensity. I stood there in shock and in complete disgust at the display.
The whole way home I clenched my jaw as I held back every nasty world I could think of, still in disbelief at what I had just seen. He’d gotten a taxi with her as they had other places to be.
Walking into the house, I slammed the door so hard that my favorite picture of the two of us fell off the wall.
“How could he do this?” I paced as I talked to myself, trying to think what to do now.
I looked around, picking up things that were important to me, placing them in boxes so she wouldn’t ruin them, knowing that was exactly what she would do. She was already ruining things and she hadn’t even entered the house yet.
He’ll have to choose, I thought, me or her. Surely, he’d come to his senses and she could go right back where she came from.
Hearing the door open, I listened, hoping maybe he’d changed his mind about her. Unfortunately, he hadn’t, as I could hear the tap, tap as she walked through the house.
I stood my ground and waited for them in the kitchen. Waiting for the argument to come as this was my home and I wasn’t leaving. There was no place for her as far as I was concerned.
She entered first. “Don’t you come near me!” I yelled at her. making her stop and turn to look at him. He glared at me, putting down all the bags full of things he had just bought her and made his way to wrap his arms around her.
“Don’t yell at her like that!” he snapped back. “She’s only a puppy!” He plopped her in my arms. Her brown eyes were captivating and her puppy breath intoxicating. I knew if I gave him the ultimatum, he’d choose her. At this very moment she kissed me like she had kissed him earlier, and I couldn’t blame him. As I looked over at him with his goofy grin of happiness, I knew I’d have to get used to her. But he knew I didn’t want a dog. Dogs were so much work, chewing on everything, peeing everywhere, barking endlessly. I was losing the fight that only I had started. Wriggling her little body up against me as close as she could, her little tail wagging in delight as he stood there telling her what a good and pretty girl she was, I told him it may be in his best interest to tell me the same things.
* * *
Today, however, was one of those days that I regretted ever wanting to go to the flea market. It was the day he came home with her. I had wanted to look for an armoire for the hall to put away all the shoes that lay across the hall floor, creating an obstacle course every time someone came in. I had not wanted to come home with a commitment to a flea bag that chewed on every wooden piece of furniture we had, as well as most of the shoes that still lay in the hall floor. Today her chew toy of choice was my new sneakers. I had gotten them in hopes of starting to jog with her, to maybe wear off some of her energy.
As I berated on how bad she’d been, he came running down the stairs to protect her, insisting that, had I put my new shoes away, she wouldn’t have been tempted to chew them. I thought to myself that, had I decided to go online shopping for an armoire, we would have gotten what we needed to put away the shoes, instead of an unnecessary puppy that chewed them!
