Neighbor Dearest

Chelsea: I’m with Murray. Can I take Dudley to your apartment? What can I do?Damien: That would be great.Chelsea: Okay. I still have my key from last time.Damien: Thank you.Chelsea: Of course.Once inside Damien’s apartment, it broke my heart to see how flustered Dudley was as he frantically searched all of the rooms for his best friend. The Double Ds were like right arms to each other. If he’d seen the accident happen, that had to have been traumatic.

He also refused to eat, which was very unlike him. I didn’t know what else to do. When I sat down on the couch, he hopped up to join me and rested his chin on my stomach. I began to slowly massage his smooth scalp to calm him. I couldn’t think of any better purpose for myself today than to be comforting this animal. My fingers continued to stroke his forehead until his lazy eyelids fluttered closed. He’d fallen asleep.

Since I hadn’t peed since coming home from work, I carefully slid my body from under Dudley to use Damien’s bathroom.

Upon returning, I noticed a notepad on the kitchen counter that seemed to have a number of different things scribbled on it from telephone numbers to grocery items to doodles. But it was the word written randomly in the corner of the notepad in an elaborate graffiti-like font that really stood out: Chelsea.

In the midst of such a sad day, that made me smile and filled me with hope. I vowed not to read into it and just to appreciate it for what it was: verification that he’d been thinking of me, whether as a friend or otherwise.

Even though I was dying for an update on Drewfus, I opted not to bother Damien. He’d contact me when he was ready. So, I returned to my spot on the couch next to Dudley. He’d now woken up but was sullen and lethargic.

The door opened shortly after 11PM. Dudley started to pant as he ran to it in search of his best friend. Damien was alone and knelt down, rubbing his fingers along Dudley’s head.

Speaking softly, he said, “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay. He’s not here, but he’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna be okay.”

With my hand on my pounding heart, I let out the breath I’d been holding. Still kneeling down, Damien smiled up at me, and suddenly everything seemed right in the world. I’d longed to see that smile directed toward me again.

He stayed crouched down for a while, trying as best as he could to reassure Dudley.

Damien finally stood up and walked toward me while Dudley stayed by the door waiting in the hopes that Drewfus would be coming through any minute.

Not knowing what to say or do, my body stiffened. Damien shocked me when he pulled me into him and held me tightly as he let out a long breath into my neck. My body relaxed into him as we just continued to hold each other.

“He’s really gonna be okay?”

He took a step back to look at me. “Yeah. The vet thinks so. They have to keep him there for a couple of days. He’s gonna have a bit of a recovery, but he’s gonna make it.”

“God, you have no idea how scared I was for you.”

“Me, too.”

“I’ve been praying so hard.”

“Thank you. It worked.”

“Is Jenna okay?”

“She’s still at the hospital, actually. We got into it a little, though. She was being a pain in the ass. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“Got into it about the accident?”

“Yeah. She accused me of not watching him closely enough.”

“That’s bullshit. You’d give your life for those dogs.”

“I almost did when I ran after him, Chelsea.”

The thought of something happening to Damien made me ill.

“How did the accident happen?”

“He saw a little dog on the opposite side of the road. Drewfus goes crazy over little dogs. Anyway, I tried to stop him, but he’d bolted faster than I could catch him. The Corolla didn’t have the chance to stop. He’s lucky the woman wasn’t going any faster.”

“You do look exhausted.”

“You sayin’ I look like shit, woman?”

He plopped down on the couch and rubbed his eyes.

“I should go and let you get some rest.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Can you stay?” When I didn’t respond, he said, “Please.”

I nodded. “I can stay.”

He patted the spot next to him. “Come sit next to me.”

“Alright.”

He laid his head back in silence until he finally turned to me. “Nice try.”

“What do you mean?”

“You were trying to get out of talking to me about what happened between us.”

“Tonight isn’t the right time to bring that stuff up.”

“You were never going to bring it up. If it weren’t for what happened with Drewfus, you’d still be avoiding me.”

“I’m sorry. But you’re right. I would rather forget that night. Everything about it is mortifying.”

“Why is it mortifying? You were drunk. We had a moment. Shit happens.”