Page 12 of Heavy Petting

I’d never been a player, but I’d always done pretty well with women. Usually I could tell if they liked me, and if I liked them too, I’d ask them out and maybe we’d have a night or two of fun together. But I couldn’t tell at all if Mabel was attracted to me, or even if she liked me at all. For all her sunny personality, she was clearly very guarded.

To make things worse, after a solid week of running into each other in town, I went an entire week without seeing her again. I told myself it was for the best, yet I continued to obsess about her, looking for her everywhere I went in town.

After not seeing Mabel for the entire week, on Friday I decided to go for a run to clear my head. It was a nice, cool morning and I wanted to run hard and clear my head. To my surprise, I ended up running right by Mabel’s house without any conscious thought. I cursed myself for being an idiot even as I slowed to a stop near her front yard, where Mabel was playing fetch with Esmerelda.

The dog saw me first, running over and barking her head off.

“Hey Esmerelda,” I said, leaning over the waist high fence to give her a pet. “How are you doing, girl?”

The mixed breed wagged her tail so hard the bottom part of her body got in on the motion.

“What are you doing here, Joshua?”

I looked up to meet Mabel’s green eyes.

“Hey Mabel. I was just out for a run in the neighborhood,” I said, only half lying. On some unconscious level I’d clearly been hoping to run into her. “How are you?”

“Good.” She looked past me. “Where’s your dog?”

“Dog?” I asked in confusion. “What dog?”

“Don’t you bring your dog with you when you go for a jog?” she asked.

“I don’t have a dog.”

For some reason I often felt like I’d come into conversations with Mabel halfway.

“Oh, so you have cats then?” she asked.

“No, I don’t have any pets.”

Mabel looked shocked.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know this. I’ve never met a veterinarian who wasn’t a pet parent. I mean, what kind of vet doesn’t have pets?” she asked. “Isn’t that like against the vet oath or something?”

My lips twitched. The way this woman’s mind worked…

“The oath is really focused on doing no harm. It’s similar to the Hippocratic Oath that people doctors take,” I explained. “There’s nothing in there about mandatory pet ownership. And to answer your question, I don’t have a cat or a dog because it doesn’t feel fair to have a pet when I spend so much time at the clinic.”

“But you can take your pet to work with you,” she reminded me. “Wow, this really makes me question your commitment to animals.”

She looked down at Esmerelda, shook her head, and murmured, “A veterinarian without pets? That’s like a musician without an instrument.”

I stared at her for a long moment before blurting out, “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

“Dinner? Can Esmerelda come?” she asked.

“Of course,” I answered instantly.

“Well it is Friday which, as you know, is my pizza night. I guess I wouldn’t mind some company for pizza if that works for you.”

It wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic acceptance of my invitation, but with this woman, I’d take what I could get.

“Pizza sounds great. Shall I meet you at Starlight Pi at six o’clock?” I asked, unable to help the big smile that broke out on my face.

“That sounds good. We’ll see you then, Joshua.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said as I turned to jog back home.