A Place on My Pillow

Pollyanna was bored by the next week. She sat around the house with one of Alex’s many books on her lap, reading uninterestedly. She wanted to get out and do something but she didn’t have a) any money, b) a car, or c) any clue where to go to do something. Despite having been in the small city for quite a while, she had no idea how to get anywhere. She was terrible with directions anyway. The only time where she could get out and do stuff is when she took Otto for a walk because unlike his owner, Otto could find his way home no matter what. And Polly had decided that Otto claimed the Jackson house as home.

“Otto, outside?” Polly said. The puppy perked up and jumped to his feet, his tail wagging so rapidly that it was a black and brown blur behind him. Polly pushed herself to her feet and crossed the living room to the entryway where Otto’s leash was hung up on a hook. Otto skidded to a halt beside her and sat down obediently, patiently for the leash to be clipped to him. Unlike most dogs, Otto didn’t mind his collar and leash. You could see that he liked being close to Polly and this kept him that way. He also taken a liking to the twins easily. He liked them quite a bit, but he knew who his owner was.

“Good boy. Maybe we’ll steal some of Alex’s leftover pot pie for a treat,” she said, slipping her feet into a pair of flip flops that Cady had bought her. She took the pooch outside and let him lead. He pulled on the leash and she smiled. He wanted to run. Taking off her flip flops, Polly held his leash in one hand and the sandals in the other.

“Ready?” she asked. Otto pulled harder and then, as horses being let out of the gate for a race, they bolted off. Otto and his owner ran side by side, turning randomly almost in sync. Happily, they slowed to a walk, panting.

“That was, that was good, Otto.”

He looked up at her, and Polly could’ve sworn he was smiling. About an hour, give or take, passed before the pair turned and headed the way they came. Otto sniffed the ground, guiding them back to the Jackson home.

Alex was home when they returned, sitting on the porch on the phone. He looked broken, a single tear sliding down his cheek. The door to the house stood open behind him. Polly let Otto off the leash and he raced inside, sliding to a stop in the dining room before he turned and headed into the kitchen where his bowl of water and kibble rested.

Polly turned her attention to the man before her. He murmured softly to the person on the other end. She slid onto the step beside him and held out her hand. He took it and managed a weak, grateful smile. He rested his head on her shoulder while he listened.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

He fell silent while the other person rambled loudly. Polly ran her hand through his hair and leaned her head against his. He let out a soft sigh and squeezed her hand gently.

“Mom. Mom, listen,” he said.

“NO!”

Even Polly heard that but for her friend’s sake, she didn’t mention it.

“I can’t, I c-can’t talk to you right now,” he said and he hung up. His face was a mask of both anger and regret.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“My mother, she’s… she doesn’t want to die. She hasn’t accepted that the doctors can’t do anything else. So she’s taking it out on everyone else. She made her nurse cry this morning and she even reduced the stone cold seasoned psychologist who is a marine veteran to tears yesterday. I just, I don’t know what to do. I won’t let Cady talk to her, because Mom knows exactly how to hurt someone. That’s what she’s good at, hitting below the belt. But, I know it’s killing Cady not to be able to talk to her. It’s just, so fucking hard right now.”

“Oh, Lex. I’m so sorry,” Polly said softly, apologizing for his mother because her mother was the same way. Their mothers would never apologize, out of pride and stubbornness. A character flaw, Polly thought, that they would never see.

“I know. Me too. I just, I wish that life would stop picking on us.”

Polly nodded and took the phone from Alex.

“Come on, little boy. I’ll make you a special dinner and we can watch all the crappy action movies you want for the rest of the night. Cady won’t be home tonight, so it’s just you and me.”

“Why isn’t Cady going to be home?” he asked.

“She said something about Matt, or Mark or Mike. I don’t remember.”

His gaze darkened.

“I hate that prick.”

“Who?”

“Mark.”

“Who’s Mark?”

“He’s her on-again, off-again hook-up? He’s just using her between break-ups with his on-again, off-again girlfriend.”

“I know the type,” Polly said. “They’re the guys who think that girls are meant to be at home with the kids and the cooking, cleaning up after them. They like to demean girls by calling them all baby and honey. They’re the guys that you can just tell think that they’re god’s gift to women.”

“Pretty much sums up Mark.”

“Thought as much,” Polly muttered but nodded towards the house. “Come on, she’s a big girl. She has to figure out that Mark is no good on her own.”

He got up and they walked inside.

“What’s for dinner then?” he asked.

They hadn’t let go of each other yet. Their hands were still intertwined together, secretly intimate.

“First, you need to take a long, hot shower and relax. Okay? I’ll start dinner while you’re doing that.”

“Bu-”

“No buts, Alessandro! Go!”

He pulled his hand away reluctantly and walked to the bathroom, glancing back at her. She smiled. He smiled back.