“I’m sure I will be. On rainy days, I’ve got jobs inside to keep me busy, but on sunny days, I’ll be working on the deck and patio.”
“Okay, munchkins,” Violet said, shooing them away. “Go finish your homework.”
As the kids ran back to the living room, he walked to the door and turned to find Violet nearby. “Thanks again for dinner.” He hesitated, the desire to stay longer battling with the need to leave.
“Goodnight, Ben. Tell Anna hello from us.”
He nodded, glad that she had initiated the goodbye, and jogged down her steps and across the yard. With his hand on a fence post again, he vaulted over the fence. With the sixth sense developed as a SEAL, he looked back, not surprised to see her standing at the door watching. What did surprise him was her smile. It hit him in the chest like a shot. Blowing out his breath, he went through the gate at the side of their yard and headed to his SUV. Time to pick up his babcia… and push the beautiful Violet from his thoughts.
8
The next morning, Ben was out early working on the deck, but his mind was more on the dinner the previous evening than what he was sawing and hammering. He’d decided not to mention having dinner with Violet and her kids, but as soon as Babciu noticed his meal was still in the refrigerator, she immediately asked him why he didn’t eat. When he admitted that he’d had dinner with the Mayfields, she brightened considerably.
“We should have them over some time as well,” she’d said, her smile wide. “Violet was so considerate after I had my stroke. She often brought food, and while I’ve taken her a few things, I’ve never had them over. That’s very neglectful of me.”
Chuckling, he’d shaken his head. “The last thing you are is neglectful of anyone.”
She’d continued to question him about his visit with them until he finally escaped after she went to watch the news before bed. What he’d never admit to her was that after coming back home, he’d watched Violet moving about her kitchen through the window over the sink. She occasionally turned her head to the side and spoke or laughed, and he knew it was in response to Charlie and Lily. Their domesticity was something he’d never desired or thought would be his. Sex was a release only, and only after making sure his partner for the evening understood that was all it was.
That must be why the scene in Violet’s house stayed on my mind. It simply reminds me of a time when I was a child and had a calm life here with my grandparents. But nothing could happen between them. Violet wasn’t the kind of woman you had a fling with and being a neighbor made her even more off-limits. The last thing he needed to bring to Babciu’s house was drama with a scorned neighbor.
A sound near the garbage cans at the edge of their yard caught his attention, and he turned to see what was behind them. A dog was nuzzling the cans, and he shouted, “Get out of there!” A stray dog knocking over the cans and scattering garbage up and down the street for him to pick up was not how he wanted to spend his morning.
The dog stopped and looked at him, cocking his head to the side. Medium-sized and solid brown with one ear sticking up and the other pointing down, he appeared to be trying to decide if Ben was friend or foe.
Standing to his full height, Ben stomped closer, prepared to wave his arms and yell to get the dog to move on. Instead, the dog plopped his bottom to the sidewalk and panted, his tongue lolling to the side. Seeing there was no collar or tag, he also noted the dog was thin. Not dangerously so, but enough that he wondered if anyone had been taking care of him. “Are you thirsty, boy?” Once again, words left his mouth before he thought them through. For a man who’d been a disciplined SEAL, the trait of blurting was strange. First, Violet and the kids, and now, a stray dog.
The dog stood again, walked over to the gate as though he knew exactly how to get in, and appeared to smile. Ben went inside and filled a large bowl with water, uncertain that the dog would still be waiting by the gate when he went back outside. But sure enough, the dog was still standing, its tail now wagging with vigor. He opened the gate, but before he was able to set the dish on the sidewalk outside the fence, the dog darted through, then turned and looked up at him. Sighing, Ben set the dish in the grass. The dog plunged his face into the water, lapping noisily, almost draining the bowl. Lifting his head again, he kept his eyes on Ben.
“I suppose that you’re also hungry, right?” When he received the same brown-eyed stare, he went back inside with the bowl and opened the refrigerator door. Uncertain what to feed the dog, he grabbed some of the leftover beef stew that his grandmother had placed in a plastic container. Dumping a large portion into the bowl, he went back outside, chuckling as he saw the dog had moved closer and was sitting just at the edge of the deck. Setting the bowl down, he watched the dog attack the stew with as much enthusiasm as he had the water.
“That ought to satisfy you for now.” He patted the dog’s head, scratching his ears. Not wanting to leave the dog trapped in their yard, he walked over to the gate and opened it wide. “I'm making noise as I work. You can leave anytime you want.”
He turned his back on the dog and continued measuring, sawing, hammering, and drilling. Getting into the rhythm of his build, he worked without interruption and was pleased to see the base of the deck almost complete. Until he had the railings and steps in place, he wouldn’t allow his grandmother to come out but could already imagine her sitting on the deck, sipping tea in the mornings. He barely registered the slamming of a door before he heard shouts.
“Hi, Ben!”
“You got a dog!”
“Where did you get a dog?”
The afternoon had passed so quickly, he hadn’t realized that Charlie and Lily had gotten home from school. He stood and waved, watching as they climbed the fence on their side, their arms hanging over the top.
“Ben! Your dog! Where did you get him?”
Charlie’s shouts and Lily’s questions finally hit him, and he turned around to see the brown dog still in the yard, now standing close to the kids, his tail once again wagging vigorously. Ben’s heart jolted as he watched Charlie hang over the top of the fence, waving his small fingers toward the dog.
“Kids, stay back! He’s a stray, and I don’t want you to get hurt!” He strode across the yard, his gaze on the dog, ready to tackle it if it made a move toward the kids. They were on their side of the fence, but he had no doubt the dog could leap over it if he thought the kids might make a good snack. As he approached, the dog continued to wag his tail as though waiting for the game to continue.
“He doesn’t look like a bad dog,” Charlie said while keeping his fingers wisely away from the fence.
Ben patted the dog again, noting his happy disposition. “He just showed up today. I’m not sure if he belongs to anyone, but I did give him some food and water.”
“He doesn’t have a collar or tag,” Lily stated. “Mom said we have to be careful around dogs that don’t have collars and tags. But I agree with Charlie, he doesn’t look like a bad dog.”
“Well, your mom is right to be cautious. We don’t know if he’s had his vaccinations to keep him healthy.”
Charlie piped up, his eyes as wide as his smile. “You can take him to the vet and get his vacin… um... shuns.”