Here's a short creative piece of writing from me. I hope you enjoy the notion that things are not always as they seem. It depends upon ones point of view!
Man,
Woman, Dog
Man
The
man led his dog out of the house, fumbling with the waste bag container as he closed
the door behind him. He immediately noticed how gorgeous the morning was. The
air was fresh from a light rain the evening before and delightfully cool with
no hint of the oppressive heat that would soon be the norm. Summer was
arriving.
The
dog trotted down the front steps and headed between the parked cars to cross
the street and head to his favorite spot for the morning pee.
The
man thought, “You always pick the smallest opening between the cars, dude. And
you’re in a hurry this morning, too. Hang on, I’m coming!” He smiled as the dog
walked quickly into the middle of a flower bed and raised his leg, his face
showing the simple pleasure of a fast emptying bladder.
The
man looked around at the view being delivered by the early morning sunshine.
7:00 am on a Saturday morning meant few people were out and about. The only
sound some birds whistling in the trees.
He
felt the tug of the dog moving back to the sidewalk and beginning his morning
trot signaling it was time to head to his favorite pooping spot. Not a direct
route, of course, but one filled with multiple stops for sniffing and short
squirts to mark his progress.
A
block and a half further along, the traffic light let everyone know when it was
their turn. As the man and dog waited for the “Walk” light, a woman came out of
the Starbucks that was diagonally across the intersection. He never saw her
face as she turned immediately right and began walking away.
He
thought, “Wow! Look at her go!” The woman was slim and athletic looking. She
was dressed in tight black yoga attire, spaghetti strap top, and was carrying a
yoga mat over her shoulder. She had a small Starbucks cup in one hand and her
other hand held her phone. Her gait was fast and energetic. So much so that her
black ponytail was swinging jauntily back and forth behind her head.
He
thought, “She’s got that self-assured look, like she’s ready to take on the
world! She looks so happy, like she’s off to a great yoga class and then ready
to face the day. I’ll bet she’s one of those women who always has a smile on
her face and an easy laugh. Probably meeting her boyfriend or girlfriend for
coffee and then brunch after class. I wish my walk still had that look to it.
Sucks getting old.”
The
man tried to keep his eye on the woman for as long as possible, but she was
going to out of sight in a moment. He looked down to see his dog saddling up
for his morning constitutional. He sighed as he pulled a bag out of the holder
and prepared it for picking up the waste.
He
said, “Attaboy, Dog. I can always count on you, right bud?”
Using
the bag, he picked up the fresh deposit after the dog finished and spun the top
of the bag to seal it for the trash. He looked after the woman, but she was
around the corner and already gone. Except in his mind’s eye.
The
woman found the small latte she’d ordered via the app, on her walk to the
Starbucks from her apartment. It was her one guilty pleasure, that latte. As she
put the cup to her lips for that first taste of bliss, her eyes spotted her
boyfriend over the rim of the cup. He was sitting at a small table and his hair
had that “just gotten out of bed” look that she adored, and she smiled.
He was
looking away from her and she began to take a step towards the table when she
noticed that he was looking at another woman walking his way, from the rest room. Her
hair had the same look as his and she was smiling at him. He was smiling back
as she sat down and put her hand on his. And in that moment, she knew.
Her
smile disappeared, and her eyes flashed at the same moment he turned to see her
standing there. His eyes widened with recognition, of her, of being caught, of
loss about to happen, of fear of response.
The
woman turned on her heel, took three quick steps and was out the door in a flash,
reaching full walking speed, moving so fast that her ponytail was swinging in
time to her strides, great chopping strides. She wasn’t running but anyone
would have to, in order to catch her.
She
thought, “Sonofabitch, you told me you were beat from working late all fucking
week! You crawl out of bed with someone who lives in my neighborhood, in my
fucking neighborhood, and get coffee with her in the fucking Starbucks that I
stop at, every fucking morning! Godammit!”
Her
mind focused on getting away from this place as quickly as possible. She didn’t
want to see or talk to anyone, she just wanted to breathe and be angry and feel
badly for herself and be disappointed for having been shit on, again.
As she
turned the corner, she thought, “Men are such assholes.” Another few yards down
the sidewalk, she sat down at a park bench and took out her phone.
She
blocked his number and then deleted the contact. She thought, “Fuck you. You
prick.”
Dog
The
dog wagged his tail as the man connected his leash because he needed to pee and
poop, and it would feel good to do so. And then the man would bring him back
home and he could eat and then curl up at the man’s feet.
The
dog thought, “I love my human.”
