Man, Woman, Dog

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.

 Woman

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.”