Mischief
Karma’s run in with the criminals were uneventful. There had been no new robberies, no potential sightings, and no literal or figurative alarms blaring. The Suburban Watchdogs were feeling pretty good about themselves, wondering if perhaps Karma had run them out of town. That wasn’t the best-case scenario, because that left them to go terrorize somewhere else—the Watchdogs would have preferred to have them arrested—but at least they could rest easy feeling their families were safe.
Come Saturday afternoon, Justin had the weekend off, which meant he and Scarlett had been bickering all day. More so, she’d been yelling, and he’d been doing everything he could to avoid listening to her.
“Justin! Are you even listening to me? You can’t let that dog up on the couch anymore. She’s ruining it, and unless you want to spend another $3000 to replace it, you better keep her off.”
In response to Scarlett’s latest problem, which was number thirty-six for the day, Justin turned his back. That infuriated Scarlett even more until he started twerking.
“Stop that. I’m serious.”
Justin didn’t reply. He kept shaking his goods with such efficiency he could have made a mint from online tutorials. He definitely went to the wrong class at Clippendale’s.
“What are you doing? I’m trying to have a serious conversation.”
“And I’m trying to avoid one. Don’t you ever want to have fun, Sweet Cheeks? You’re too serious all the time.”
Scarlett remained silent for a moment, then surprised Justin with a suggestion. “We should go out and have fun tonight. It might be good for us.”
That statement stopped Justin’s twerking abruptly, leaving him hunched over, hands on his knees, and his expression landing somewhere between confusion and constipation. “Go have fun? What about Ollie?”
“I’m sure one of the neighbours would watch him. I can ask Nicole or Anna if he can go over to one of their houses.”
“Oh. Okay, then. As long as Ollie is okay with that, I could use some fun.”
For the first time in a long time—months, at least—Justin saw his wife smile. She rushed off to make arrangements and get ready while Justin figured out a plan for the evening.
Hours later, Justin was dressed in his “fancy” jeans and a clean Henley shirt. He was at the bottom of the stairs when his wife descended, wearing a tight black dress with silver heels, and for a brief moment, he was reminded of the woman he fell in love with all those years ago.
“You look beautiful.”
Scarlett’s cheeks turned scarlet. “Thanks. You look nice.”
Justin studied his wife’s face for a moment, appreciating her beauty. Her hundred-dollar face cream had been doing its intended job. “Looks like you drew your eyebrows on a bit high.”
Scarlett stared back at her husband.
“You shouldn’t look so surprised.” He handed her a light jacket from the front hall closet. “Anyway, if you get home before me, don’t forget to leave the light on.”
Scarlett’s eyebrows drew up even higher. “What?”
“Don’t forget to leave the light on. Karma and I are headed to Newmarket, and I don’t know what time we’ll be home.”
“Justin, I thought we were going on a date!”
“Why would you think that? You said we should go have some fun.”
After whipping on her coat, Scarlett grabbed her purse and stomped out the door in a huff. Justin was left standing in the foyer, confused for a beat before he shrugged his shoulders and brushed off his wife’s reaction. In his mind, it was one of a hundred times that week she had been irrational.
“Come on, Karma. Let’s get to the brewery and see if you can make any new dog friends.”
Karma came trotting from the family room at the back of the house, pausing in the hallway to do a downward dog stretch.
“You’re a natural yogi, Karm. Maybe I should ask Donna if you can teach a dog yoga class.”
Justin clipped Karma’s leash on her collar and grabbed the backpack with her necessary items for travelling: water bowl, treats, drool wipes, and so on. Then they were off to the nearby brewery for the monthly canine night.
An hour later, Justin was seated at a pub table with Karma cruising the room, sniffing her new friends. Justin watched each introduction with rapt interest, curious what dogs learned about each other that was so fascinating. He added a reminder in his phone to learn Morse code so he could find out from Karma.
A stocky man about Justin’s height plopped himself in the open chair across the table. “Is that your Dogue de Bordeaux? She’s a beauty.”
“She is, but she’s a French Mastiff. Not a Bordeaux, whatever.”
“Dogue de Bordeaux is another name for a French Mastiff. Like how a Cane Corso is an Italian Mastiff, or a Boerboel is a South African Mastiff.”
Justin stared at the man, deciding to dedicate his attention to this dog education he was receiving. “Wow. How’d you know all that?”
“I’m a vet.”
“No kidding. In Newmarket?”
“In Alliston actually. I just like to bring my dog here when I can. She’s over there with yours.” The man pointed to where Karma was bouncing around with a pure white Dogo Argentino, who was near Karma in size, but taller and less bulky. “That’s my Fluffy.”
“Fluffy?”
The man released a booming laugh, drawing the attention of other patrons in the bar. “I know. It’s a ridiculous name, but my daughter named her, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.”
“I can understand that. I have a boy at home who I’d do anything for. Ollie. We’re from Alliston too.”
“You’re kidding? What are the chances? What’s your name?”
“I don’t know what the chances are, but I’m Justin Peterson. Pleasure to meet you, Doctor.”
The man laughed again. “You don’t need to call me Doctor. The name’s Alvin Harper. Pleasure to meet you, as well.” Alvin settled in with a beer in front of him, taking small sips in between speaking. “So where ’bouts in Alliston do you live?”
“The west end. The old subdivision.”
“I know the area. We live on the outskirts of town, but my practice is on the main street.”
Justin’s face lit up hearing those words. “Did you see all the hoopla over the jewellery heist last week?”
Alvin shook his head, wearing a grimace as he placed his beer back down. “Sure did. Cops came and got my security tapes, which were useless static. Those criminals have all the businesses on the main street on high alert. Scary times.”
Justin contemplated if he should tell Alvin about the Suburban Watchdogs and put the man’s mind at ease, knowing they were on the case, but he decided against it. Better to keep things quiet, so no one ratted him out to Picault. He played it safe and didn’t trust too easily. “I’m sure those guys will be caught in no time. Don’t sweat it, Alvin.”
“I sure hope so. My wife and I moved here from the city three years ago to get away from high crime rates. We wanted to raise our daughter somewhere safer, and lately, it’s not feeling too safe.”
Those words made Justin certain he and his friends were doing the right thing. They were not the only ones bothered by the crime spree ripping through their town. It was not only leaving people scared, but it was damaging businesses that hardworking people had dedicated their lives to.
“It looks like our dogs have become best friends,” Alvin interrupted Justin’s thoughts.
When he spun around, Justin found Fluffy and Karma cuddled together on the floor at the edge of the room. “Seems that way. Maybe we can meet up sometimes and let them play together.”
“Ah, Fluffy would love that. She spends the day with me at the clinic, so she meets a lot of dogs, but I’ve never seen her take to another one like that.”
“Karma only met other dogs at her yoga class, but they were all small enough to fit in her mouth. Plus, none of them came out of their purses.”
That statement would probably confuse most people, but Alvin seemed to understand exactly what Justin was saying. He chuckled, spluttering some of his beer. “Dog yoga. That’s a new one.”
“Dogs and yoga, technically, but Karma is a natural.” Justin paused for a second. “Hey, that reminds me, do you have any tips for bad gas?”
“For you or the dog?” Alvin’s shoulders were shaking with breathy laughter.
“Karma. I love her to bits, but sometimes she’s rancid. She smells worse than a Rafflesia Arnoldii.”
Alvin’s eyebrow raised in question. “A what?”
“Rafflesia Arnoldii? A stinking corpse lily?” Justin bobbled his head along with his explanation, as if it should have been obvious.
“Come by my clinic one day this week and I’ll get her some probiotics. That might help.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“My pleasure. Thanks for chatting with me, Justin, but Fluffy and I better get going. We’ll see you one day this week. Whatever suits your schedule.”
Justin and Alvin said their goodbyes, as did Fluffy and Karma. Once Justin finished his beer, he and Karma followed suit in heading home.
They arrived home to all the exterior and interior lights off and Scarlett’s van parked in the middle of the driveway. Justin was forced to park his truck on the side of the road, but at least it was past the time of year when you’d get a ticket for it.
The pair unlocked the door, stumbled inside, and went directly to bed. The next day was bound to be another morning of dealing with Scarlett’s fury.