What Can You Not Buy With Money?

It was a puppy. I shit you not. A little curly haired white pooch was leaping up from my feet and to my knees, the little creature’s tongue sticking out of its mouth as it yipped for me to touch it.

“Uh, hi,” I smiled as I knelt down to pet it. I hoped it didn’t have rabies, or start ripping off my fingers when I cautiously stroked its head. “You just took away ten years of my life, thank you very much."

The dog started sniffing my fingers, his nose surprisingly dry. Gross of me to say, I found out it was a boy. As I studied the animal, I noticed that his fur was matted, and when I touched its ribs, I felt them distinctively protruding from the skin. There was no collar. The poor dog looked half starved.

I dug through my pockets for any food, and I found a small piece of jerky. Don’t ask why I carried around some dried meat in my pocket, I don’t even know how it got there.

The dog was very hungry, as it greedily ate up the food like a treat. My heart was already feeling such compassion toward the creature, as I knew that the animal was a sweet heart.

But I could hear Walker and everyone call for me. “I’m coming!” I yelled out, as I took a step back toward the car. It was time for me to leave, and cruel as it sounds, this dog was possibly feral. It wasn’t my business to try to catch it.

But if the dog followed me, that would be a different story. And surprise, surprise, it did.

As I walked toward the road, the dog was quick on my heels, eagerly shadowing me. He was so small, it looked like a dirty white squirrel was chasing me.

“What is that?” Lucy swung her head to face the creature. Already her eyebrow was raised, a clear look of disgruntlement painted on her face.

“It’s so cute!” Vern gushed, kneeling down and trying to pet it. The dog shyed away from him, quickly retreating to my ankles. He was licking my jeans, desperate for affection.

Carefully, I knelt and picked him up. “He just started following me.”

Walker had been digging through the coolers in the trunk, but he came back with some chopped up raw meat, all collected in a ziploc bag. He knelt down and slowly held out a piece to the dog, his green eyes carefully studying it. He looked serious, as though challenging the dog to bite him.

After a few sniffs, the dog greedily ate a piece then proceeded to lick Walker’s fingers hungrily.

“I like it,” Walker announced, smiling as he patted the dog on the head. “He’s cute. Can we keep him?”

“What about your asthma?” Lucy raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. “You’re allergic to just about anything and everything. You can’t keep a dog in your apartment.” Walker looked up at Lucy patiently, until she understood. She shook her head, protesting. “There’s no way in hell I’m sharing my condo with a dog!”

“I was thinking we all share the dog,” Walker explained, looking at all of us. “He’s so fluffy and friendly. How could you resist it?”

At that instant, the dog looked up at Lucy with the largest puppy eyes you could imagine.

“But…” Lucy’s rough exterior deteriorated there, her eyes softening. “I don’t want any piss or shit in my house… or having to walk or clean or feed it.”

“We’ll take care of it!” Walker picked the dog up and began to hug it affectionately. “Please?” Walker gave her another large eyed look, this one to match the dog’s. It was an adorable and cheesy scene… too bad Vern promised not to take any more pictures.

“I don’t know…” Lucy ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “Maybe—if I get to name him.”

“Sure!” Walker was eager, and he looked at me for support. I shrugged, smiling at how easily Walker and the dog made Lucy melt.

“Dog Meat.”

“What?” We all cried out in surprise and protest.

“Why Dog Meat?” I asked, almost shuddering at the thought. “It’s so…”

“Sure,” Walker quickly agreed, his eyes darting to me. I understood that we had to appease Lucy, but I still felt that Dog Meat was a weird name.

The dog squirmed out of Walker’s grasp, so he handed the puppy to Lucy. She took it and held it. Her eyes were uncertain, but when the animal licked her arm, she smiled at it. “Hey there, Dog Meat.”

>

We made it to Orlando Florida, the taste of the tropics and the east coast was a mix of salt and sugar. We had the windows down and the air conditioning off as we basked in the beautiful weather. It was very hot and humid, but I was relieved to have finally reached the climax of our trip. This was our final stop until we turned around and headed back to California, and despite the fun and excitement I was beginning to miss San Diego. Shocking, right? I felt like I was bipolar—one moment I wanted nothing more than to escape but the next I wanted to return.

We stopped at a hotel, careful to hide Dog Meat from sight so we could smuggle him in a room. But Walker came to the rescue, calling a kennel service to groom and care for Dog Meat.

“I’ve got a friend down here who’s studying to be a vet. She’ll take care of Dog Meat and get him in great shape. She’s got all this medicine and knows how to fix him up just fine,” Walker comforted us as we watched the little puppy being carried away by a complete stranger from the hotel parking lot.

“It doesn’t seem right,” Vern stuck out his lower lip in a pout, but he was submissive. “He’ll be fine?”

“Yeah—he’ll get a nice haircut and probably get the usual shots.” Lucy patted her boyfriend’s shoulders. “Now come on and help us unpack.”

Walker and I were on our own again as Lucy and Vern went to check into their own hotel room.

“What do you want to do?” Walker asked as we also checked in, throwing our suitcases onto opposite sides of the room. I was both relieved and disappointed that we were in separate beds, but I kept it to myself. There was no need for me to just run around like a floozy.

“Is it too late for Disney?” I was shy as I asked, checking the clock on one of the nightstands. I stretched, feeling exhaustion and fatigue pull at my eyelids. But I refused to be taken down by lack of sleep. I was up and ready for action.

“Yeah, we’ll have plenty time tomorrow morning. But there is a pool that doesn’t close for another few hours. Want to go swimming?” Walker stretched as well, getting up.

“Sure, I’ll just need to change in my bathing suit…” I quickly got up and began digging through my clothes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get the bathroom. Call me when you’re done.” Walker quickly retrieved his swim trunks and escaped into the bathroom. Through the walls I could hear him letting out violent coughs and I could almost hear him hock up something unpleasant. I winced, but after a few silent rustles I was relieved at how that spell had been over with. It seemed he was beginning to catch a cold. A very violent cold.

As I took off my clothes and proceeded to put on my one piece, I felt something strange crawl up my arm. My head snapped to my skin to see a long spider, black and prickly as it ran its eight legs across my flesh. I screamed, with all my might as I swiped it away.

“What is it?!” Walker swung the bathroom door open and rushed out, already dressed for the pool.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t ready. My chest was out in the open, but I was preoccupied with getting the hazed sensation of the spider off of me. But when Walker’s jaw dropped and he quickly slammed his palms over his eyes I quickly covered my breasts and cried out in surprise.

“I’m sorry!” Walker quickly flung himself back into the bathroom. “I—uh—sorry!”

My face was on fire, and I quickly pulled my suit completely over my body. I was officially exposed, and nothing more could bring shame to me. “It’s fine… I’m ready now.”

The door swung open one final time, and Walker smiled at me—his face still holding a lingering redness but his eyes were dancing as though trying to resist laughter. “Great, then let’s get out of here.” He grabbed a towel and waited for me to leave first. “By the way… why did you scream like that?”

“There was a spider,” I muttered, embarrassed at how easily I scared.

Walker put his arm around me and laughed, this time out of relief. “Thank God. I thought there was a rapist in your room.”

“No, but there was one in my bathroom,” I shrugged his hands off—acting cold was a great way to get attention. And I loved the expression Walker made after my words.

“I am not a rapist,” Walker defended himself passionately, thumbing himself in the chest. “I’ll have you know that I am the victim in all of this! Just trying to respect my friend’s privacy but then I end up getting flashed against my will. I should press charges--I've never felt so violated emotionally!”

“Shut up, you probably liked it!” I smacked him playfully over the back of his head.

He gingerly patted his skull, laughing. “I’ve got to admit, they were very nice.”

I gave him another slap, this time much harder, on his backside. He hissed, his back arched as he kept walking. “You’ve got nice baggage yourself, Walker.”

“I love it when you beat me around,” Walker clicked his teeth as he winked at me.

“You creeper,” I stuck my tongue out but giggled.

Walker spun around and took my hand, playfully pulling at it. “That hurts my feelings,” he whined and he smiled at me lightly.

“I’m sorry,” I answered, glad to feel his grip on mine tighten. Flirting with him was as easy as walking. Maybe a little too easy. But I didn’t mind, he was just being Walker.

“Apology accepted.”