Katherine melted into Ryan’s soft embrace, snuggled deeply into the blankets, and felt her bones relax as she shed years of pent-up stress. Warmth flowed through her and she turned over to look into his hazel eyes, startled to see him suddenly holding a Pokémon card. She blinked and he was standing by the dresser, tearing strips of paper into a “puzzle” for her to read later. He looked at her, and then was gone.
Kat came to awareness quietly, keeping her eyes closed and not moving a muscle. Will it be today? Will I wake up with Ryan? She held her breath and slowly moved her arm towards his side of the bed. Her heart started beating faster, there was warmth on that side of the bed! She continued her blind search, creeping closer to the heat. Maybe today! A cold nose pushed against her cheek and a whopping 22 lbs of bouncing fur nuzzled her face, making her squeal with cold.
“Harper! You’re on the bed again!”
Rudely pulled to the present, Kat opened her eyes to find a puppy face looking back at her, and reached over to pull the dog into a hug. She buried her face in Harper’s fur and sighed, letting go of the deep yearning in her heart in the same way someone living beside a train-track stops noticing the rumbling danger. Always aware in the back of your mind, but tuned out of your immediate consciousness.
Kat turned onto her back and Harper snuggled against her side. From where she was lying in the king-size bed, Kat could see her light oak dresser with its angled 3 sided mirror. In the mirror’s reflection the second dresser was visible. Once full of Ryan’s clothes, it now held her off season assortment of shorts and summer tops. Her walls were painted a soft cream, adorned with bright photos of birds and of Harper. She didn’t need to look at the bedside table to see the ebony framed picture of herself and Ryan, faces full of laughter as they posed beside a random cow that had followed them for a while when they were hiking in the Alps. She knew the picture was there. Just as she knew the man was not.
Harper sneezed and nudged Kat with her cold nose. It was time for a walk.
Kat had never allowed any of her past pets to sleep in bed with her. Who wanted to fight for blankets and clean dog hair off the covers every night? The little girl was a character, and so in-tune with Kat that she often seemed to read Kat’s mind.
I’m getting soft in my old age. Time to roll out of bed and start the day. Kat stretched, her long arms reaching high above her head, and Harper immediately flipped onto her back and waved her legs in the air. Kat burst into laughter, accommodating the request and giving Harper a good morning belly rub.
“Let’s get outside and meet the cold, Miss. Puppy. Off you go!”
“Walks!”
Kat chuckled as she watched Harper spin by the door. She glanced at her watch and noticed that it was -19C this morning. She reached for a thick sweater for herself and a doggy snowsuit for Harper.
The sky was beautiful. The sun was starting to rise, and the horizon was lit with gold and pink light. The air was cold but dry. Well bundled in her snow pants, thick coat, and wooly hat, Katherine was comfortable. She glanced down at Harper, almost completely camouflaged by her outfit, and chuckled. The puppy was earnestly chasing her own shadow as she pranced along the snow packed sidewalk.
“I’m not sure you’ll ever catch that Harper.”
“Got it! Got it! Got it!” replied Harper, wagging her tail and giving up the chase.
Katherine smiled. She almost believed that she had heard Harper’s voice talking in her mind. Kat shook her head, and bent down to remove Harper’s leash. They had arrived at the off-leash dog park, and Katherine could see many of Harper’s friends already running around while their owners chatted in a circle of frozen puffs of breath.
“Frenz! Frenz! Frenz!” This time Katherine could have sworn that the excited voice in her mind was not her own. Startled, she looked down at Harper, but the puppy was already running towards a Golden Retriever and a Springer Spaniel. Both dogs looked up at Harper’s arrival, and greeted her with a welcoming happy dance.
Katherine joined the owner’s circle.
“Happy New Year!” she exclaimed to the group.
“Right back at you!” called Marcus, who owned Sunny, the Springer Spaniel that was currently tugging a stick with Harper.
“Did you have a good Christmas? I hope you were able to connect with family despite the lockdown?”
“Thank goodness for Zoom” replied Katherine. “I don’t know what we would do without technology right now. Has anyone heard the latest news report? Do they expect the lockdown to end soon?”
“Stick! Share stick? Zoom! Zoom!” Katherine startled. Was she losing her mind? Maybe the pandemic lockdown was starting to play games with her head. She glanced at the other people in her group, but no one appeared to notice anything odd. Marcus was telling everyone that the morning’s news predicted another 3 weeks before a lessening of travel restrictions, but that restaurants were now allowed to serve limited clientele.
“Harper, come!” Kat called, and Harper obligingly dropped the stick and ran over to receive her treat. Both Sunny and Heather, the Golden Retriever, galloped over with Harper.
“Treats! Treats, Wanna treats!” Kat heard the soft voice that she now thought of as Harper’s mixed in with a clipped British accent and a mellow contralto. Three dogs stared longingly at her treat pouch, and Kat handed out cookies while trying to stay calm. Maybe she had eaten something strange for dinner last night? No way was she hearing 3 dogs talking in her mind. Was she?
“It’s too cold to stand still. Anyone up for a walk around the park?” Heather’s owner, Nancy, stomped her feet to warm her toes as her breath hung in white clouds around her face.
“We runs now!” Kat watched as Harper leaped over Heather’s back and started gallumping down the path that circled the park. Heather shot after her friend, easily outdistancing the smaller dog.
“Runs like wind Little One!” Kat once more thought she heard the distinctive contralto voice.
“It would appear that I’m joining you for a walk Nancy. How have you been lately?”
“Uncle Carl’s passing has hit all of us downtown merchants pretty hard Kat. I’m not going to lie, I feel worried about the future of the downtown core.”
“What’s going on? I thought Aunt Penny was going to continue running their store?”
“Yeah, I suppose so. Listen, I shouldn’t have said anything. Just forget about it, ok?”
Kat stopped in her tracks and put her hand on Nancy’s shoulder.
“What is? Can I help somehow?”
Nancy turned towards Kat “I just don’t know Kat. Are you going to the funeral tomorrow?”
Kat nodded while searching her friend’s face, surprised at the abrupt change in topic. Stress lines were etched in Nancy’s forehead and her cold-weather induced red cheeks were at odds with the dark shadows under her eyes.
“We hugs.”
“We snuggles.”
“We luvs!”
Suddenly Kat and Nancy were surrounded by two furry bodies pressed against their legs. Nancy flung her arms up in the air as she slid on some ice, and Kat lunged forward to catch her before she hit the ground. The dogs bounded away and Kat and Nancy started to laugh.
“Count on those two clowns to lighten the mood!”
“We helps!”
“We runs like wind!”
Kat looked at Nancy, but the other woman didn’t give any indication that she too could hear other voices.
“Yeah, why don’t you come to the funeral Kat. See what you think, and we can talk later.”
Kat mulled the conversation over as she walked home with Harper. See what she thought about what?
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