Tumors And Hearts

Xx-nikki-xX

It was a beautiful autumn day in September. The leaves were turning colors and falling off the trees. It wasn’t too hot or too cold; the temperature was just right. It was the perfect day to take a walk in one of the parks in Chicago with Shannon and my dogs – which is exactly what I was doing.

I was holding the leashes to Sam and Ocito while Shannon was holding Sadie’s – my dogs were very well-trained and didn’t need to be on leashes, but the laws in the parks require it. Our free hands were connected, our fingers laced together.

So when Shannon decided to veer off the cement path I had no choice but to go with him. He headed over to a big tree and plopped down under it. He patted the ground next to him and I sat down, leaning my back against the huge tree trunk.

We sat there for I don’t know how long, just relaxing and enjoying the weather. We were now lying down side by side as the sun was slowly setting. I picked up my head as Shannon slid his arm underneath for me to use as a pillow. He brought his other arm to rest lightly over my waist. My head was turned so I could watch my babies sniff around the tree. I looked down at Shannon’s heavily tattooed arm and started tracing one of the Japanese symbols.

“Hmm…” Shannon said. “Doesn’t this look familiar?”

This was just like when we were in the park in Texas. We were lying on the grass under a tree, about to kiss, when Ashley called and ruined everything.

I smiled and looked up at him. His lips parted and he slowly leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes and leaned in too. Our lips were just about to touch when my phone started going off.

This really is like last time… I thought as Shannon leaned away, disappointment written on his face.

I decided to ignore my phone and grabbed Shannon by the collar of his shirt. I could feel him smile as my lips crashed onto his. Shannon wrapped his arms around my middle and rolled over so I was lying on top of him. Things were just starting to get good when Sadie, Ocito, and Sam all came over and interrupted us.

I sat up and laughed as Sam started licking my face. Shannon propped himself up on his elbows, still lying under me. He shifted his weight to his right elbow and used his free hand to scratch Sadie behind the ears. Ocito must have been feeling left out, because he crawled on Shannon’s stomach and sat down. He moved up and down as Shannon breathed.

Sadie started wagging her tail as Shannon continued to scratch her and I was surprised at how fast she took to him. I still remembered how frightened she was of people when she first came to the animal shelter a few years ago. Sadie had been in real bad condition at the time. She was almost beaten to death by her owners and had major trust issues because of it. She’s gotten better, but it still takes her a while to warm up to new people.

“What are you smiling at?” Shannon asked.

“Nothing.” I suddenly realized how dark it was when the light posts along the cement path lit up. “We should probably leave.”

My dogs understood and moved out of the way for us to get up. I tried to move but Shannon grabbed my waist to keep me from moving. I looked down at him and he stuck his tongue out at me. I tried to get up again but he still wouldn’t let me.

“Dearest Shannon.” I said putting my hands on his. “I can’t move if you don’t let go.”

“But what if I don’t want you to move?” he asked in an innocent tone.

I rolled my eyes and finally pried his hands off my waist. I stood up and offered him my hand to help him up. He ignored it and stood up himself. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine as we headed out of the park, my babies following after us.