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“I haven’t said anything to you yet for our interaction to be considered a script,” I argued.
He didn’t respond. I hated it when he did that! Why couldn’t he just say whatever was on his mind rather than keeping quiet?
“So, were you in the military?” I asked stupidly, and of course that got his attention. He loves to make me seem dumb.
“Yes,” was his simple answer, and I could only guess what was going through his mind. He was in a veteran’s store, looking for a companion, and his answer was “yes.”
“How long ago?” I asked as I struggled to keep up with him, and it felt like he was the one giving me the tour of the center that I had worked in for three years!
“About five years ago.”
“Oh,” I whispered. “So which divisi—” He interrupted me, and I rolled my eyes. Rude.
“Which would you recommend here?” He pointed to the dogs, and I immediately locked eyes with Brady.
“That dog,” I pointed to Brady who had a nasty scar across his face due to an incident when he was in the army and who had retired a lot earlier than most.
“What’s his name?” I was shocked to see that Asher was even interested. Brady was normally ignored and isolated because he liked to start fights sometimes, but he was secretly my favorite.
“Brady, and he’s seven. Do you want to see him?” I asked as I grabbed the keys from my back pocket and walked toward Brady’s crate. Asher grabbed my hand, shaking his head.
“Why is he alone?”
“He doesn’t get along with the others.” Now that I thought about it, Brady and Asher were one and the same. “But he’s a sweetheart.”
“If he was such a sweetheart, he would get along with the other dogs, wouldn’t he?” He had a point there, but his smug tone annoyed me!
“I doubt you would know anything about getting along seeing as how you only have one behavior mastered.” I smiled as I clasped my hands under my chin, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly; it wasn’t exactly a smile, but it was close. He took a step toward me.
“Should I call your boss to come help me instead?” My normal reaction would be to beg him not to call Chris because I loved my job, but this was Asher, and if I had learned anything from the few interactions I had had with him, he loved a good argument.
I could see it in his eyes.
“Why? Are you afraid to engage with me because I’m willing to be honest with you?” I mocked him, and he crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing me silently. Whenever he did that, I was convinced that he was picking a fight with me.
“Do delight me.” He nodded, and I took that as permission to finally psychoanalyze him for once.
“You are just like Brady. You isolate yourself and act all mean and tough in front of people because you want to avoid building any type of relationship with people, and that way, you won’t get hurt. So you growl, bark, and glare people away from you until there’s no one left in your life, and that rubs me the wrong way.”
“Why does it?” He seemed amused by what I was saying.
“Because nobody should be alone. Life sucks, but imagine not having anyone at all! That would be terrible,” I spoke softly as I stared at Brady. “And that’s why I make sure to hug Brady every time I get an opportunity to!”
“You’re bothering him,” Asher responded, and I looked at him confused. “You’re making yourself a burden to him.”
“How?”
“Because you’re getting attached to him, and he doesn’t want you to in case he leaves one day,” Asher smiled, and my eyes widened.
What did that mean?
“I want Brady,” he suddenly said, and I was taken aback as I looked at the black German Shepherd that lay down on his bed, staring at us with no interest in his eyes.
They would get along perfectly.
“Brady isn’t affectionate and mostly sits down like that if he isn’t playing,” I explained, and Asher nodded.
“He’s perfect.”
