Can You Take Me Back to the Person I Used to Be?

"Two weeks? I thought you didn't leave for another month!" I shrieked.

"We didn't, but we just added some dates." He sighed.

"Oh." Was all I said as I re-adjusted my towel.

"You know how is it, Caty. This shouldn't come as a surprise." He grumbled.

"I just thought we had more time before you left." I sighed.

"I thought so too." He replied.

"Maybe," I started. "Maybe this is for the best."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He exclaimed.

"I just think that some time apart might be good. It'll give us some time to think things over." I shrugged.

"How about I give you time to do that right now?" He spat as he got up and grabbed his keys.

"John, please. I didn't mean it like that." I begged as I followed him to the door.

"Whatever." He mumbled as he walked out.

I let out an aggravated groan and stomped back to our bedroom.

I combed my hair and put on a pair of Johns boxers and a t-shirt.

I grabbed my hidden Ben and Jerry's out of the freezer and picked up a spoon. I walked outside and sat on the patio. I opened the ice cream and started eating.

As I looked up at the stars in the beautiful desert sky a few tears trickled down my cheek. It was the first time I'd cried in months. I sniffled and shortly after I heard a whine coming from behind the bushes.

"Hello?" I asked as I stood up and put my ice cream down.

It whined again.

I walked over and looked behind the bushes and found a pair of big brown eyes staring me in the face. The eyes belonged to the mutt that was looking at me.

"Hi buddy," I cooed as I reached out to look for a collar. The dog started wagging its tail. I felt all around his neck but I couldn't find a collar. "Are you a stray?" I asked as if he could answer.

I was startled when I heard him bark in response.

"Aww, I bet you're hungry. Come here." I called as I walked back to the patio. He followed me like, well a lost puppy, even though he was much bigger than a puppy.

I scraped a large amount of ice cream from the tub onto the spoon and held it down for the dog. He gladly slurped and licked it all up.

"You're a scruffy little guy, aren't you?" I chuckled as I saw the dogs fur sticking everywhere.

He looked like a mix between a golden retriever and a chow chow but had a ton of fur.

"I'm gonna call you Shaggy." I decided.

He finished the ice cream and looked at me expectantly.

"No more ice cream. You'll get sick." I sighed. "Come on." I snapped my fingers at him and he scurried inside.

"I'll make you some peanut butter sandwiches until I pick up some dog food. How does that sound?" I asked. He stood at my feet and cocked his head at me. I laughed and made the sandwiches quickly, feeling sorry for the hungry animal.

I made one and tore it into bite sized pieces that he quickly gobbled down. I made two more and did the same.

"Okay, that's enough for tonight. Now it's bath time."

I took a few crackers and made a trail to get Shaggy into the bathroom. I put the last one in the tub and he jumped right in and sucked it up.

I thought of what to wash him with and decided on using my sensitive skin dish soap to lather him up. He whined and howled all throughout the washing.

Finally I rinsed the last of the suds off and turned down the water. I grabbed a towel out of the closet and tried to dry him off, but he had other plans.

He sprinted into the living room and flipped over on his back before rubbing himself against the plush carpet. I laughed and tried to keep drying him with the towel. Finally I gave up and sat on the couch watching the wet animal.

Once he was done he hopped up on the couch next to me.

"Doesn't it feel nice to be clean?" I grinned as I ruffled his fur.

He laid down next to me and placed his head in my lap. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes in adoration.

"Don't worry, Shag. This is it. I'm gonna give you the best home you could ask for. You can keep me company when John storms out." I told him.

He snorted in response. I laughed and turned the tv on.

"Or maybe you can keep me company if he leaves altogether." I sighed.

I sat there watching tv and stroking his head for hours until I heard the door start to open.

Shaggy went crazy and started howling and barking.

He ran up to John as soon as he walked in the door and started sniffing him everywhere.

"Uh?" John asked as he crouched down to pet Shaggy.

"He was a stray." I told John.

"What if he's diseased?" John cried as he jumped away from the dog.

Shaggy laid down on his back with his belly sticking up and tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Oh yeah. He looks really diseased." I said sarcastically as I rolled my eyes.

"We're, uh, keeping him right?" John asked trying to hide his excitement as he brought his hand to the dogs belly.

"Absolutely." I nodded.

John smiled and stood up.

"I'm sorry. I've been completely ridiculous lately," John frowned as he walked over to the couch with Shaggy in tow. "I just feel like I'm losing you, and it scares me. I mean yeah, I love you like crazy but that's not enough in reality. We never have time for each other anymore because you're too busy working or I'm being a prick. I just- I'm sorry. I want to make things right again."

"I'm sorry too. You're right, I do work a lot and I could try-" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Don't blame this on yourself! You always do that, baby and it's not your fault." He told me as he stepped closer and stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked before biting my bottom lip.

"I'm going to try harder. It's not fair that you work all day and then have to come home to me being a dick." He answered.

"You don't have to do anything huge, I just want you to be you again. The sweet John that I fell in love with." I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair.

"I'm gonna be him all the time from now on." He said before kissing my forehead.

We stared at each other before my eyes flickered to his lips. I leaned up and hungrily pressed my lips against his.

We kissed awhile longer before I pulled away. John looked disappointed before I tugged on his hand and led him to the bedroom. I shut the door and leaned back on the bed.

"I love you so much, Caty." John moaned.

"I love you too."