Author's Note: I am sorry that it took so long for an update. I reworked this chapter so many times I can't even begin to describe it to you all, but here it is. I hope that you enjoy this version of chapter three. I am not going to say how far into the next one I am as I don't want to jinx it, but I am on vacation for the next few weeks and hope to write quite a bit in that time. As always, I would love to hear your feedback and thank you to all who have motivated me to keep going! Much love.
*
About a week had passed since Lindsay took in the dog and during that time they had settled into a comfortable routine. Just as she knew would happen, she had fallen in love with the big oaf. They were out for a nice Saturday morning stroll and Lindsay's mind was humming contentedly. They turned the corner onto her street and she noticed that something was off.
Where is the bed?
She unclipped the mutt's leash and they jogged up onto her lawn. There were four corner post marks that had yellowed her lawn from their prolonged stay, but sure enough the bed was nowhere in sight.
Lindsay knelt down and ran her fingers around the circular patch for a moment and was startled from her revelry when a single tear fell from her cheek to land on the back of her hand.
Why am I crying?
She knew, though, why she was crying. In some small way, the bed was the last piece of Derek she had claim to. Lindsay had been in such a rush to wash him from her life, she had lost the foresight to perhaps keep at least one token of their seven years together. If she was being honest with herself, she would have never disposed of the bed on her own.
But I didn't have a choice.
She didn't have a say in whether or not the bed got to stay; she didn't have a choice for Derek to stay either. He had never offered her the opportunity to defend what they had before he just ripped it away and now that horrible, cursed bed had been ripped away from her as well.
She felt something cold and wet touch the back of her hand and saw the dog sniff at her tear. He looked up at her with black glassy eyes and, very gently, licked her cheek.
"Well this just blows, doesn't it?" She sniffed and chuckled a little while she said it. She reached up and scratched behind the dog's ear. He closed his eyes and leaned into her, making her heart smile in spite of it all. "C'mon bud, let's go make lunch."
***
"I swear to God, Linds; that is the ugliest effing dog I have ever seen." Marie was deep into her fifth glass of wine and was starting to feel very honest.
"I hate to agree, girlie, but couldn't you have gotten one of those cute little fluffy ones with the bows in their hair?"
"Yeah, what Chess said; trade him in for a purse puppy!"
The two women burst out laughing and Lindsay whispered to the dog that he wasn't that ugly and not too take it too harshly. Her timing was unfortunate however as he had chosen this moment to reach around and enthusiastically lick his balls. This only caused Marie and Chessie to laugh harder. Lindsay was starting to regret introducing them, but it was nice to have people over again. She'd been using the dog to excuse herself from human company as of late so this was probably good for her. Probably.
"In all honesty though, Linds; I think it's great that you've found someone to love and care for you... and to lick his balls while you watch TV!"
"Yeah, girlie; what more could a girl ask for from a man?" This had them all laughing. Chessie and Marie continued to poke fun at the dog, but Lindsay's mind began to wander.
She had grown increasingly frustrated with her static position at work and in life in the recent weeks. An idea as to how to get out of her current rut had come during her run last night and she wanted to bounce it off of the girls. This was, after all, why she had invited them both over --
not to make fun of my dog
. When the laughter died down, Lindsay filled them in.
"So, I kind of wanted you both over because I want to run something by you. I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do with the money Derek and I had been saving up, and I think I've finally settled on something."
"Oh my God, is it a Lamborghini?" Marie exclaimed excitedly.
"No, girlie, it's obviously going to be a doggie plastic surgeon!" This started the laughter back up again, and Lindsay waited for it to subside before going on.
"I've been thinking about taking a trip. I've always wanted to go to Europe. So, I figured I'd take a few months to myself, fly over there and just kind of wing it. What do you think?"
They both hesitated and looked at each other. Marie was the first to speak, "What exactly do you mean when you say 'wing it'?"
"Well, I figured I'd have a rough idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see and I'd just sort of make it up as I go along."
Then it was Chessie's turn to ask a question, "Wait, so you're not going to make reservations or plan anything out?"
"No," Lindsay replied, "that's kind of the point. I think I'll just go and disconnect for a little bit. I'm hoping that maybe if I can get far enough away from... all of this," she gestured to the house in general, "maybe I will find a way to... enjoy life again."
Marie sighed, "I kind of figured something like this was coming. If I'm being perfectly honest, I think you're right. This would be good for you and you can certainly afford to do it. Daddy's not going to like having to look after your mutant dog, though."
All three women laughed once more and began chatting about all of the places Lindsay could see -- and all the different kinds of men she could meet. This of course turned into a heated debate about the sexiest European accents which could have gone on for hours. The wine finally began to take its hold on the women and they started to gather their things to leave.
"By the way, I saw Jake the other day in the elevator." Marie said as she was walking to the door. It took a few moments for Lindsay to recall who her sister was referring to.
Stinky guy, right.
"I asked if he was visiting someone and you know what he said?"
