The Art of Wag (20 page)

When Dr. Cassidy came in, Tracy had gotten most things set up, but was still working on cleaning out kennels. The veterinarian came into the room and Tracy turned to face her. “I know. I’m late getting stuff set up. Sorry!”

The vet put her hand on Tracy’s shoulder. “We got a cancellation, so you have a little more time. Are you okay? I know yesterday was rough.”

Tracy leaned back against the rows of metal cages. “Yeah. Then I had to work on the web site stuff with Rob. Sorry if I’m kind of spaced out.”

The vet busied herself laying out her surgical implements. “How’s that going?”

“I don’t know. Rob is being nice, but I think he’s figured out I’m a flake.”

Dr. Cassidy looked up. “You’re not flaky when you’re here.”

“Here, animals could get hurt or die. Or I could get bitten if I screw up. I couldn’t stand hurting an animal, and dodging personal pain is a great motivator. But this thing is just a web site, not life, death, or physical harm. He thinks I’m avoiding working on it. Like I’m afraid to take a risk or something because I’m afraid people will hate it. So I goof off and procrastinate.”

The vet nodded her head. “I could see that.”

“I thought you said I wasn’t a flake.”

“You have said you want to do a number of things, but then you back off. Like the art class. You almost didn’t go. But I saw some of your paintings at your place when I had to pick you up that time. You’re really talented. But the paintings I saw aren’t done. It seems like you find reasons not to finish them.”

The bells on the front door jingled and Tracy looked toward the lobby. “Oops. Somebody is here. Guess it’s time to get started.” As she hustled to greet the client, she was still thinking about what Dr. C had said. Did she really do that?

The last appointment of the day was late and Tracy rushed out of the clinic when it was over. She decided to walk straight over to the H12, so Rob wouldn’t think she was ditching him. Plus, she was going to have to leave early to meet Todd, which Rob probably wasn’t going to appreciate either. The good news was that after her little crisis of confidence last night, she’d made progress and was actually looking forward to working on her designs today.

She knocked on the door of Room 2 and Rob opened the door and waved her into the room. “I was starting to wonder what became of you.”

Tracy walked through the door. “I’m sorry. This guy was late for his appointment and the dog was not exactly excited about going to the vet. It took a while to get them out of there. I came here first to let you know, but I really have to go walk my dog now.”

“Do you want company? I could use a break.”

“Okay. After staring at this stuff all day, your brain has probably melted.”

“I think I’ll live.” He went inside, grabbed the room key, and locked the door. “Let’s go. You seem to walk everywhere. How far away do you live?”

“My place is above the gift store. Most of the buildings along the main drag have offices or apartments above them.”

They walked across the H12 parking lot and down to the street. At the slam of a door, Tracy looked behind her. Todd was exiting room number six. It would probably be awkward if Rob and Todd met each other. Best not to go there. Tracy picked up her pace. She looked over her shoulder again. Todd wasn’t alone. Hmm. Interesting. Who was that woman?

Rob matched her increase in speed. “Wow, you can really move when you want to.”

“Like you said, I walk a lot. And Roxy hates it when I’m late.” She wrapped her arms around her torso. “I need to grab a warmer jacket too. I’ve been resisting breaking out the winter wear. I’m not ready to deal with the cold yet.”

Rob shuffled through some leaves. “Oh come on, fall here is incredible. I love this weather. It’s all crisp and bright. Even though the trees have just about dropped all their leaves, there are so many pine trees, it’s still green.”

“You wouldn’t be so enthusiastic if you had to trudge through the snow for the next five or six months.” She rubbed her hands together and turned toward the door to the stairs up to her apartment. “Here it is. That sound you hear is angry dachshund.”

Rob laughed. “I figured.” He followed her up the stairs and into her apartment. Roxy’s barking evolved into a paroxysm of deafening canine hysteria.

Tracy kicked aside some magazines and grabbed the dog off the floor. “Quiet, Roxy. That’s enough.” The little dog growled in her arms.

Rob looked around and walked toward the painting that was sitting on her easel. He stumbled slightly over the box of paints. “Oops, sorry.”

“I haven’t found a home for that. I trip on it all the time.” Roxy growled for emphasis. “Roxy, stop that!”

“This is a really good start. You should finish it.”

“You sound like Dr. C. She said the same thing to me earlier today.” She bent her head to peer at Roxy’s face. “Have you got yourself under control, little dog?”

Rob turned back to her. “I guess your dog isn’t particularly friendly, is she?”

“It depends. She tends to hate men.” Usually only men she was dating. Roxy was selective that way. Who knew what her problem was now? Good thing she hadn’t let Todd up here.

“I’ll try not to take it personally.”

Tracy clipped on the leash and put the dog back on the floor. “Can you behave?” Roxy started toward Rob and launched into another barking episode to let him know exactly what she thought of him. Tracy picked the dog up again. “Okay, that’s not going to work. Let’s get going.”

Rob left and waited at the bottom of the stairs while Tracy locked up. She followed with Roxy in her arms. He said, “So does that dog ever walk on her own?”

Tracy put Roxy down and the dog immediately started motoring down the sidewalk. “Yes. She’s quite mobile when she wants to be. She’s only got three legs and dachshunds can develop back problems too, so I never let her run up and down the stairs.”

The humans walked together in silence while Roxy sniffed all her favorite spots for any new information that might have transpired since she’d been out this morning.

Tracy wondered what Rob was thinking about. He usually wasn’t this quiet. Maybe after seeing her painting, he was having doubts. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually finished a painting. Maybe he was coming to some obvious conclusions. He already knew she wasn’t exactly a workaholic. And he was going to be really irritated that she had to leave early tonight. But there was no way she wasn’t going to miss out on another date with Todd. Not to mention she was curious who he was with at the H12. Even the idea of starting something with Todd was stupid, given that he lived so far away, but she still wanted to see those gorgeous blue eyes again.

Tracy turned around, pulling Roxy back in the opposite direction. “Okay little dog, you’ve done what you came here to do. Let’s go home.” Roxy wagged her tail and started pulling on the leash, back toward the apartment.

Rob looked down at Roxy. “She certainly is a determined little thing.”

“Roxy likes being in charge. Usually she is, so it works out well for her.” Tracy turned to look at him. His eyes were downcast, watching Roxy’s short legs propel her forward. Behind the glasses, that man had some seriously long eyelashes. It would take six tubes of mascara to get her eyelashes to look that thick. Life was so unfair.

They stopped at the doorway and Tracy unlocked the door. “Okay, so I have to tell you something you’re not going to like.”

Rob followed her up the stairs. “Thanks for warning me.”

Tracy ensconced Roxy in the apartment and locked up. “So, I have a...uh...an appointment tonight, so I have to bail out early.”

Rob touched her forearm quickly. “Is everything okay? This isn’t about the dog yesterday or anything, is it?”

“Fine. I just have to meet someone.”

“You mean a date?”

“Sort of. I’m meeting a guy who used to live here a long time ago.” Rob didn’t have to look so surprised. She could have a date. It wasn’t the most impossible thing in the world to think she might have a social life, was it?

He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We really should talk about that one page you weren’t happy with, though.”

“I know. I did some stuff last night that I like better. I think I’m starting to get the hang of the program again.”

They crossed the parking lot and went back into Room 2. The computers were still sitting there, waiting. Nothing had changed. But today, Tracy sat down and turned on the machine. She turned in her chair to look at Rob. “Okay, so tell me your ideas on the hideous design.”

Rob pulled a chair over to her table. They went through the page and Tracy wrote notes on the motel notepad. Then they discussed how the ideas could be used in other areas of the site.

Tracy glanced over at the clock radio next to the bed. “Is that really what time it is?”

Rob looked at his watch. “Yes, the clock is right.”

“I’ve got to go.” She looked down at herself. “I was going to go change my clothes first. Oh well, I guess this is it.” She gathered up her coat. “Sorry!”

Rob nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We need to figure out how we can finish this up. We’ve only got two days.”

“I know. I know. But I really have gotta go now.”

Tracy ran down the street to the cafe where she and Todd were meeting for coffee and dessert. She opened the door and the wind caught it with a whoosh, so everyone at the small tables looked up at her. Her tenth-grade English teacher was sitting closest to the door. “Hi Mrs. Plunkett. Sorry about that.”

Todd waved from across the room and she sat down across from him. “I’m so sorry I’m late. Thanks for waiting.”

He flashed her a charming smile, revealing his perfect white teeth, and she was reminded again of how handsome he was. Yowza. He gestured toward the cafe. “No problem. It was nice to just sit and relax for a few minutes.”

“How are Fred and Max doing?”

“They’re good. We’re all taking off tomorrow. After lots of time in front of the TV, I think those two are well rested. And they’ve cleaned the store out of junk food.”

“Did you watch football, too?”

“Yeah, and I did some other stuff. Who is that guy you’re hanging around with? I didn’t realize you were seeing someone.”

Tracy bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m not. That’s Rob. I met him at a class and we’re working on a project together.”

“So he’s not a boyfriend? That’s good. I was hoping we could spend some time getting to know each other better.”

“Do you want to go somewhere? Not much is open at this hour. This cafe is about to close, so we should probably get moving. Betsy is going to want to start shutting down here soon.”

“We could go somewhere for a drink.”

“Yeah, I suppose. Where? The 311 bar is pretty disgusting.”

“I bought some beer. We could go to my room.”

Tracy looked at him sharply. “What?”

Todd rested his elbow on the table and leaned toward her. “We could have some fun. All work and no play isn’t good, right?”

She looked into his blue eyes. “Actually, most people seem to think I don’t work hard enough.”

“Jobs where you’re on your feet are tough. Physically, I mean. I know how that is. It’s good to relax and unwind.”

Tracy looked over at the menu on the wall. The first item was chicken. Was he
really
suggesting that she sleep with him? After the trout kiss? She was stupid, but not
that
stupid. Time to change the subject. “So when I was walking with Rob I saw you with a woman at the H12. Who was that?”

Todd squinted at the window toward the street. “Oh, just an old friend.”

“Someone who lives here? She didn’t look familiar to me.”

“Oh come on, you don’t know everyone.”

Tracy offered up her most sickly sweet, syrupy smile. “No. Just everyone who has a pet, eats out, boats, or buys gifts. So there might be some demographic I’m missing. But I’m not sure what that might be.”

Todd looked out the window again. “Whatever. How about the Mystic Moon place? Maybe we could have a drink there? I could use a drink. It’s the last night of my vacation and I want to have a good time.”

“All right, that would be okay. Although I don’t think it’s a lot better than the 311.”

“Do they still have beer?”

“Yes, the last time I checked. It’s a bar.”

“Good enough for me.” He grabbed his coffee cup and got up out of his chair. “Let’s go.”

Tracy gathered up her things. This was probably a bad idea. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t talk to him. He actually was more of a jerk than she thought. But it was his last night here and it wouldn’t kill her to keep him company for old-time’s sake. She had been desperately in love with him in eight grade, after all. “Okay. I’m coming.”

They walked down the street to a bar that had a sign above it made of old wooden letters that spelled “Mystic Moon Soloan.”

Todd tilted his head to gaze up at the sign. “They still haven’t fixed it?”

“The Soloan is part of local lore now. At this point, if they changed it to say
saloon
there would probably be a local uprising or something.”

She opened the heavy wooden door and walked inside. The paneled walls were dark from years of cigarette smoke. The regulars were hunkered up to the bar, their grumpy expressions reflected in the mirrored beer signs scattered across the walls. The
thwack
of pool balls crashing into each other occasionally punctuated the general low noise of conversation.