For the Dogs

Story Submitted by Joel:

During dinner out with Emily, she asked if we could swing by her house afterward to feed and walk Ajax, her English bulldog. I didn't have a problem with it.

I like dogs, so I volunteered to walk him for a bit. We were in the middle of the walk down the block in her suburban neighborhood when another guy, tall and wearing a heavy jacket, came around the corner.

"Shit!" Emily said, and tore off down the sidewalk in the direction from which we had come, leaving Ajax and I behind. The guy passed me right by, nodded, and continued on. I walked Ajax back to Emily's house and found the door locked. I knocked, rang the bell, and called her phone. No answer. She had left me with her dog and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I tried her once more, then sat on her stoop for a bit.

After an hour, she texted me, "Is he gone?"

I wrote back, "If you mean the guy we passed on the sidewalk, I haven't seen him since then."

She texted, "I'm going to open the door for a second. Pass Ajax off to me."

I waited for her by her door. Nothing. She texted, "Where are you?"

I wrote back, "Front door."

She opened the front door, stuck her hand out, I handed her Ajax, she pulled him inside, and she slammed the door shut.

She never responded to my e-mails or calls after that.