Listening carefully to each sound........ the distant rap of a woodpecker, the faint cheep of a young bird - maybe still in its nest, the soft whistle of the breeze as it passed through a towering maple behind her .... she immediately opened her eyes when the far off bark of a dog disrupted the natural harmony of her park’s familiar song. Squinting into the sun, she raised her hand to her brow and found the source of the disruption. Bounding along a gravel path through the gardens, was a large chocolate Labrador Retriever - she recognized the breed immediately by its laughing face, a trait only labs seemed to have - followed closely by a man in jeans and a tee shirt. She dropped her hand, and again turned her face to the sky, this time in a position where she could still watch out the corner of eye the two visitors to her paradise.
The path led out to a grassy area only 20 yards from where her bench sat, so soon she knew that the dog and man would see her, and if most other past male visitors were a gauge, there would shortly begin the casual “hit”. They broke out of the garden path, and continued across the lawn toward her bench, but so far, neither the man or his dog paid any attention to her. The lab made a couple furtive glances her way, but seemed intent on staying close to its master. The man, who she could now see was lean, but had the well muscled, sleek look of an athlete, was wearing sun glasses and had kept his head facing straight ahead, almost like he was focused on something behind her, not exactly on her. When they were within only 15 feet, the dog bounded over to lick her outstretched hand.
“Hi buddy”. She reached out and rubbed his ears, looking up at the man who had suddenly stopped and stood ten feet from them.
“Oh shit, Max. You’ve again found a lady to slobber on and ruin her day”. Despite the casual profanity, she liked the easy sound of the man’s voice.
“It’s okay. I’m a dog person. I just lost my own lab in an accident not long ago, and I honestly miss the tongue, the smile, the smell, and even the slobber”.
“Wow, Max, let’s marry her,” he laughed, still standing strangely at a distance.
The dog then went back to him, nudging his hand and they both walked back toward her bench. She had purposely kept her bare feet up, as a subtle signal that this space was hers...not interested in sharing. But, Max, seeming to sense this, walked down to the end of the bench and began licking her tan feet with his breed’s famously long tongue.
“Yikes,” she giggled, pulling her ticklish feet up against her hips. “That’s a nice, polite move, Max”.
“Uh oh, I can tell my dog has already made his fetish known. It’s probably a small consolation, but you should be flattered. You must have extraordinarily beautiful feet, because Max will only lick those upper 1%, unless, of coarse, you are that rare woman who lathers her feet in gravy before laying in the sun.”
“No gravy today”, she laughed, “so I’ll revel in Max’s flattery. My name is Izzy, and now that you have allowed your well trained cohort to clear a seat for you, please take it.”
“Very nice to meet you, Izzy. I am Ren, Renaldo actually, but just Ren to Max’s friends.” He reached out, touching first the arm, then back of the bench, then pivoted and sat at the end.
Izzy took this in, along with the odd way he spoke of “...telling that his dog had made his fetish known”, and the strange approach to her. I think he’s blind, Izzy realized.
“I think this is about the time that you are wondering if I’m blind, huh?” Ren spoke softly, still facing out toward the gardens. “Well, I am, Izzy. Blind as a bat. But, I was not sightless until five years ago .... an accident on the ice while trying too hard to win a game that would get us in the playoffs. Freak thing, but it happens. Anyway, if the rest of your body is as bare as your feet, please don’t feel embarrassed. Only Max will be drooling.”...
(to be continued)