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That afternoon, I took Buddy out for a walk to our favorite spot. The summer sun shone gently as we trekked our way up the hill to an old tree that had been there for as long as I could remember. I smiled wistfully at the initials and hearts carved into the ancient trunk. Oliver had put our names on it, and my fingers still found his handiwork unerringly every single time. Sometimes, I wondered what that tree thought of us, taking a knife to it to etch our initials on it and never ending up together.
It was morbid and hilarious at the same time.
We walked a little slower this time. Buddy was already pretty old at thirteen, and he didn’t have the energy that he did when I got him as a puppy. He was still up for a game of fetch, though.
I laughed when he brought me a stick, his tail wagging expectantly. I threw it a few paces away and watched as he bounded away excitedly to fetch it.
His vet had warned me that Buddy should not run too much and get too exhausted, because of his old heart, so I had to keep an eye out for him. Whenever we played fetch, I would start by throwing it a short distance away and observe him for any problems.
I eventually managed to throw the stick further and it landed behind a bush. Buddy went for it as he always did, except this time, he didn’t emerge from the bushes, stick in his mouth.
I dropped the book I’d brought along for some afternoon reading and ran to where Buddy had disappeared into. If anything happened to him, I would never know what to do. He had been there for almost half of my life, and I could not imagine my life without him.
Imagine my surprise when I found Oliver lying on the grass with Buddy on top of him, tail wagging enthusiastically as he licked his face. My initial fear instantly melted into something warm as I looked at my best friend happily greeting Oliver.
“Great to see you, too, Bud!” he laughed, ruffling my dog’s head. He looked up to me and grinned. “He still likes to play fetch, huh?”
I smiled weakly. “Yeah, but for a moment there, you both gave me a heart attack. I thought something happened to him when he didn’t come back,” my eyes snagged on a faint mark on his forehead. “Did he hit you on the head? I’m sorry, he must’ve been so excited.”
“Oh, he can jump on me anytime he wants, right, Bud?” Oliver replied fondly. “And it wasn’t Buddy who hit my forehead. I got nailed by a flying stick coming at me from out of nowhere.”
I blushed in mortification. I had been so distracted I hadn’t thought to look before I launched that stick!
“You’ve still got great aim,” he added, sensing my discomfort.
“I didn’t mean to!” I blurted in self-defense.
“Sure you didn’t,” his voice had taken on a playful tone. “Luckily, Buddy apologized on your behalf, so I guess I can forgive you just this time.” He got up from the ground and waggled his eyebrows at me, “What are you doing here, anyway?”
I was trying to get my mind off you when you conveniently arrived…
“I was taking Buddy out for a walk,” I replied easily. It was the truth. Partially.
Oliver nodded, then his eyes lit up when he saw The Tree. “Hey! This used to be our spot!” He jogged up the hill and scanned the etched initials before he found what he was looking for. “It’s still here!”
Of course, I knew it was still there—he had cut so deeply into the tree because he wanted our initials to “stay there forever”. I guess our names lasted longer than we did.
Oliver picked up the book I had dropped when I went searching for Buddy, my plans of a peaceful afternoon going down the drain now that Oliver was here. “Linda Heart? Seems like somebody likes real steamy romance stories!” he chuckled and thought that it belonged to anyone else than me.
“That is mine,” I replied, ashamed as I took the book and slid it into my bag fast. “It’s starting to get dark,” I told him. “Buddy and I should get going now.”
He dragged his eyes from the tree. “Sure. I’ll walk you home. Your boyfriend won’t mind, will he?”
He’s not even around to care.
I fought down the disappointment in my heart and accepted his offer, hoping that I could get over my fascination with him as we talked.
It’s just been a long time,I told myself.You’re just reacting to old feelings. Once you realize that the past is different from the present, you’ll get over it.
We started down the path when it began to rain. I had been wearing a light jacket but Oliver quickly took off his sweater and held it over our heads.
“Let’s go over there!” he urged me, pointing towards a cozy-looking café with a striped awning on the front. The words “Sweet Bean” were written in stylized gold letters that were faded in some places, adding to its vibe.
“It might be some time before it stops,” he said, shaking a few droplets of rain off his dark hair. “How about we wait it out here?”
I looked at the warm interior and looked at Buddy. “Do you think they’ll let Buddy in?”
“Wait here,” he told me and went inside the café. I saw him talk to the pretty waitress for a while before he emerged and held his thumbs up with a smug grin.
