He likes it when she’s happy. Tonight, she told him to stay and watch the property and then left in her car. His heart broke at the sound of the car driving off, but then he remembered his orders and got to work patrolling, sniffing, woofing, marking, and otherwise recalling how it felt to be a watchdog. She would return to a place made secure by his attention to detail. He waited patiently, a sentry by the driveway. Occasionally, he would sit up and yawn, listen for the sound of her particular car coming along the lane.
The night was overcast, but the moon broke through the clouds. He worried then that she would be the one who didn’t return. And then she came back. And, for the first time, he knew her to be completely happy. She bore the scent of someone else, someone she had touched long enough that skin cells had sloughed off and attached themselves to Rosie’s hands. She grinned and snapped her fingers. “Let’s go for a walk.”