As I’m walking to Danny’s, I put some music on. Walking with my music normally clears my head—even a head full of strangers and clever or disloyal cats.
Today, though, things are different. I see Bradley with someone new and furry.
Bradley is walking a new dog.
This is quite a shock. I don’t quite know why, but I feel like if Bradley has a new pet he should tell me. It’s a pretty big deal. This is a new woman or man in his life—I should be informed! This is of course ridiculous—it might not even be his dog.
Bradley strides toward me with massive, lanky man-steps. He looks very excited to see me. His new pooch seems a bit more nervous.
“Millie!” he exclaims very loudly for him. “I’m so glad to see you!”
I crouch down and stroke the new dog.
“And who’s this then?” I think I probably sound a bit annoyed.
“This is Huevos. Huevos is a Staffordshire-Chihuahua cross. He’s great, if I do say so myself.”
Huevos licks me. He’s very friendly.
“Where did you get him from?”
“From the shelter,” Bradley whispers. “We don’t like to talk about it. He hasn’t had the best start. To be honest, I don’t like his name but it’s too late to change it. I wanted to call him Otis after my favorite elevator company but Huevos didn’t recognize it.”
Huevos sits down and starts to wash himself. It seems a bit of a weird thing for a dog to do in the middle of the street.
“Oh! Yeah. Another thing.” Bradley grimaces. “He also thinks he’s a cat.”
This makes me giggle a lot. Bradley gets a bit annoyed and defensive.
“He thinks he’s a cat,” Bradley explains. “It’s because he spent most of his early life with an old woman who had seven of them. She just fancied getting a small dog and, understandably, THIS small dog thought he was like everyone else in the room. Sometimes he tries to purr. Of course, it’s other dogs we have a problem with. He’s a cat. He hates them! He tries to attack them. We are thinking about going to an animal psychologist.”
I try not to smile but it’s very hard.
Suddenly, Huevos sees a Labrador on the other side of the road and starts rolling on the ground. He barks and lunges and snarls. The owner of the Labrador looks very unimpressed. Bradley shouts, “Sorry! He’s got issues!”
This makes me laugh and I feel a bit better. Huevos is a lovely furry distraction.
Bradley winks at me. He realizes that this is a little bit funny.
“He likes lifts, though. I might start featuring him on my vlog. I’ll pretend he’s an assistance dog. That way we can go everywhere together. I do think he understands me more than most humans do.”
I can believe this. Bradley looks really handsome these days but most people still think he’s a bit weird. It’s their loss. I love being with him, even when he does have a snarky moment.
“He’s going then,” Bradley blurts out on cue. “Your man is leaving us.”
Correction. I did love being with Bradley. This annoys me. The Danny news has gotten around quick!
I look down to the ground and shuffle my feet.
“I haven’t even announced it yet!” I say crossly.
“It’s not really your news to announce, though, is it, Millie? Danny is telling people.” Of course, this is correct, but I don’t like the thought of people knowing the truth. It makes it more real.
Bradley can see I’m upset.
“Shame,” he says with a shrug. “I thought Danny was a good guy.”
This is an out-and-out lie, and I’m not having it. “You hated him!” I shriek. “You never liked him—and less of the past tense, please! He IS a good guy!”
“I didn’t hate him.” Bradley is very defensive. “I don’t hate anyone, Millie, and I know you liked him!” Bradley corrects himself. “LIKE him!” Bradley looks down. “I’ve had long-distance stuff, and I know it can hurt.”
I forget that in the world of lifts and elevators, Bradley has a global-geek thing going on. He’s done long-distance relationships before.
I ask him a question that I just want the answer YES to.
“Can you make things work?”
Bradley sighs. “It’s not easy, but it’s possible.”
I just wanted him to say YES, but Bradley will give you the truth. He’s not capable of giving anyone anything else.
“How do you make it work?”
Bradley crouches down to Huevos and starts to stroke him. “Keep all lines of communication open. Message each other, see each other, be prepared to be awake at funny times of day to be there for each other, don’t forget what brought you together in the first place and—”
Huevos starts wrestling with his leash. He’s spotted a Doberman headed our way and he wants a fight with it.
“Huevosssssssssssss!” Bradley semi-yells. “Sorry, Millie, I need to go.”
“Can I talk about your relationship on my vlog, Bradley?”
Bradley shouts as he’s being pulled down the street. “Yeah, if you want. Don’t mention Huevos yet, though, yeah? I’m a bit embarrassed, as he’s technically a problem dog.”
Bradley disappears with Huevos yapping like a crazy thing. I always feel better after seeing Bradley. He’s sensible like I’m sensible. We fit together, really.
Not in that way, though. It’s Danny and me forever, before you get any ideas.