My Fake Fling

REESE

Itossed my golf clubs into the trunk of my Porsche. There was nothing better than driving a few balls to relieve some stress.

I had so much on my mind, I could hardly think straight. It felt like I was in a club with the music blaring and twenty people were trying to have a conversation with me. I needed space. I had to clear the noise in order to process one thing at a time.

Last night had thrown me off. Being with Thea had me thinking and feeling things that felt foreign. I didn’t know if they were wrong. I couldn’t filter through them because my missing dad was taking up a lot of headspace. Add in the pressure to be a success and it was way too much noise.

I got to the driving range to find Rich already waiting for me. This was one of the ways we got together to blow off steam. “You look tired,” he said.

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I answered.

“Ah, that explains this little excursion,” he said.

“From what I heard last night, you could use this as well,” I told him.

“What do you mean?”

“Thea told me about the drama with your dad and his lady friend,” I said.

We walked into the building and I quickly paid both our fees. I put the first ball on the tee and gave the ball a good whack. Rich did the same.

“When did you talk to Thea?”

“We went out last night,” I said. “There was another party I needed to go to. She’s proven to be a very effective deterrent with the media. No one is talking shit about me these days.”

“Good. Glad it’s a good arrangement. She mentioned the shelter is getting a lot of business after that first date.”

“I’m happy it’s working out,” I said. “So, have you met her neighbor?”

“What neighbor?” he asked.

“Mr. Wedge or something like that,” I answered. “After the restaurant last night, we went back to her place. We were sitting out back and the dude pops his head over the fence like a crazy person. Only one of her dogs was out there. Kona. Kona was laying on the patio. The dog never barked. The guy was going on like a crazy man.”

Rich sighed and shook his head. “That guy has been a thorn in her side for the last couple of years. At one point, Thea had several dogs. She was only fostering them for a few days and her neighbor lost his shit. Ever since then, he’s been on her ass. She can’t sneeze without him bitching. My dad and I helped put up that fence in back to try and mitigate the problem. His property is just high enough to give him the height he needs to peer over the fence.”

“Have you talked to him?” I asked.

“Several times,” he said. “Thea said it made things worse.”

“Shit.”

“What was he saying to her now?” he asked as he swung and connected with the ball.

“He said he got enough signatures to make her get rid of the dogs,” I said.

He paused while reaching for a ball. “What?”

“Yeah, said he was going to do something.”

“Fuck,” he hissed. “She won’t get rid of those dogs. Kona is her baby. There is no way she’ll let anyone take them away.”

“Does she have any legal grounds to fight it?” I asked. “Does this neighbor have any legal standing to get the dogs out?”

“Yes,” he said. “Unfortunately, he does. That townhouse is in a neighborhood with all kinds of rules. If the neighbors make a move to get the dogs out of there, that’s that.”

“Bullshit,” I said.

“She’s already been through this. She has gotten so many warnings.”