Page 107 of Demo
“I know how you feel about dogs—”
“It’s not howIfeel aboutthem, Knox. It’s howtheyfeel aboutme!” With the raise in her voice, the dog barked at her. “See!” She pointed at it, still with her back against the wall. “Do I have to remind you what happened to Beast?”
Still on my knees, I reached toward the dog and patted the floor. “Come here, boy. Come on!” He trotted over and plopped down right in front of me, then rolled over onto his back so I could scratch his belly, which I did so vigorously, and tufts of his hair flew up all around us.
Lizzie’s lip curled. “Oh, hell no.”
I tipped my head, but she continued. “N-O. Knox, this isn’t a surprise. I don’t do dogs. You know that. You knew that all along. I told you that on ourfirstdate. Bring him to a shelter, bring him to the animal control officer just, bring him somewhere—anywhere—else.”
As if he could understand English, the dog rolled over on his side, so he was facing her, exposing his belly. Lizzie looked at him from snout to tail, and her eyes fell to the rib bones showing across his middle, then to the small scars on his hind legs, and then at the various areas where the fur was rubbed raw. I saw empathy in her eyes.
“Life isn’t easy for a stray,” I said.
“Knox,” Lizzie said, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is an apartment. An animal like this needs so much more room.”
“The backyard here is fenced in, we can let him out there in the nice weather. And I’ll be the one to walk him. Every day. And he will love the property at the new house … You know, once it’s finished.”
She looked back at the dog, then at me, then back at the dog.Come on, baby, give in to me one last time.
“How much does an animal this size eat?” she asked, waving her arms in his direction. “And does the food come in a can? Because I can’t take that smell, Knox. I’ll puke.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re thinking of cat food. He just takes Kibble. And, of course, anything else we want to feed him, for the most part.”
Lizzie’s head popped out a bit, like how a turtle’s head pops out of its shell. Her eyes were wide. “What, exactly, do we want to feed it, Knox?”
“Nothing! No, I just meant, you know, like dinner scraps, or whatever.”
She raised her eyebrows then let out a sigh.We’re getting warmer, I know it …
I put my face down next to the dog’s and gave her my saddest puppy dog eyes, then even whimpered a little bit. Lizzie rolled her eyes and threw a hand up in the air. “Oh, for the love of God, I must be losing my mind!”
“Is that a yes?” I asked Lizzie, then looked down at the dog. “I think that was a yes, buddy!”
Clearly exasperated, Lizzie was suddenly stern. “He is not to be on the furniture. You got that? Not the couch, not the kitchen chairs, not the bed. Understood?”
I nodded, and I swear, so did the dog.
“I will fill the water and food dish, but that’s about it. I don’t do walks—you can take him out before and after you go to work. I don’t do baths … Oh, God! Is he going to have to go in our tub? You know what, I don’t want to know. Either way, I’m not doing it.”
“You’ll never have to. Promise!” I said as I got up off the floor, and the dog rolled over onto his stomach, then sat up on his butt, his tail wagging.
“And I certainly don’t do—” she pushed off the wall, circled around the dog while staring at him and giving him a large berth, and waltzed over to the trash can and pointed inside at the bag of shit “—this!”
I laughed and knelt down to give the dog another scratch behind the ears. “You hear that, buddy? You can stay. You just have to keep your shit under control!” He wheezed at my affection, then trotted over to the corner where he circled a few times, plopped down, curled up and immediately fell to sleep.
I turned to go to Lizzie, but she was almost to the bedroom door. “I’m getting in the shower, and when I get out, I’m hoping this mess will be cleaned up and, somehow, the smell will be gone.”
“What should we name him?” I asked as she disappeared into the bedroom.
“Whatever the hell you want,” she shouted.
I named him after my favorite president.
Chapter 29
KNOX
It’sbeenoveranhour since I texted Lizzie about stopping by with dog food, and she hasn’t responded, but here I am anyway. It’s weird; I still have a key, and technically this is still my place, too, but I’m not sure if I should just go in.
