A Walk in the Park

Short Story

Do you ever have that moment, a moment where you feel that nothing good will come to you and then all of a sudden things slowly start to look up? Well, I had that very moment. Chester was my dog since I was eight. We did everything together and when I turned eighteen and moved into an apartment with my best friend, leaving my family behind, I knew that Chester would come with me.

Besides the fact that Sophie isn’t exactly fond of dogs, she quickly became just as attached to him as I was. Until two years later when everything went wrong. Chester came down with something and I thought it was just a bug, take him to the vet and he would be fine. However, it wasn’t so simple. He had a form of Cancer that was destructing his bones and he didn’t have much time.

Chester didn’t come home with me that day.

I never felt so much pain before and Sophie was there to help me out. She truly was my best friend in the whole world, so she understood what I was going through. We mourned Chester’s loss for many months after that and the months slowly turned into another year and things started to get easier.

A few times I found myself in a pet store to look at the dogs, but I never felt a connection and it was almost like I was going to lose Chester’s memory if I even considered the idea. So, I never moved with it.

When Sophie and I were twenty-two, she came to me to give me the news. “I’m pregnant!” she said. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it, because she wasn’t married and I didn’t figure she would want to start a family out of wedlock, but she seemed happy and that’s when the bombshell was realized. “I’m getting married.”

So many emotions ran through my mind. In my eyes I was losing my roomie in one fell swoop. “When?” I asked.

She shrugged and told me that she didn’t want to be as big as the Good Year Blimp when she walked down the aisle, so she stated that most likely it wouldn’t be more than a couple months. Which she was right. Exactly two months later, my friend was walking down the aisle and I was loosing the one person that was closest to me.

It was a humbling feeling, but I had to move on. Sophie and Trevor ended up moving two towns away, so that he could move with his business. That left me seeking out another roommate. I put out ads in the paper and online and eventually after hours of interviews, I met Chelsea. There was something different about her and I knew we would be friends, but then she asked me the question during the interview. “How do you feel about dogs?” she asked.

I instantly went back in my memory to Chester. I smiled and nodded. “I like dogs!”

That’s when I knew that I needed to extend the offer to be my roommate. Which of course meant that she wanted me to meet her dog. So, that’s when I agreed to meet them at the dog park. I arrived fifteen minutes early and just walked around the park, waiting for Chelsea and her dog, Rover, to show up.

As I was walking, that’s when I saw him. He was running through the park and I stared at him, with my jaw hanging down a bit. He looked just like Chester, running towards me, his hind legs kicking up in the back. I expected him to pass me, but instead he stopped just a couple feet short and looked at me.

I moved closer to him, at least almost certain it was a him, and started petting his fur“Where’d you come from?” I asked. I knelt down and he looked up at me. It was like we had this connection that I’d been longing for, like maybe he really was Chester’s clone.

I opened my mouth to say something more, when I heard the shuffling of feet. I looked up to find that a man was running up to me. “I’m sorry!” he said, pausing and trying to catch his breath.

I smiled and stood to my feet. “It’s no problem.” I looked at him and my heart caught in my throat. I was drawn to the man almost as much, if not more, than the dog. I looked at him. “You have a beautiful dog.”

He laughed. “Yeah, Milo seems to get all the women.”

I looked at him and snickered, then looked back down at Milo. “He looks a lot like my dog.He died a few years ago.”

He tried to console me, but the thoughts went back. “I’m sorry about that. Losing a pet is rough,” he said. He seemed genuine and I couldn’t get past his deep blue eyes and strong jaw bone. He then looked around. “Do you have another dog?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Never really found one I was connected to, just meeting up with a friend and hers.”

“Oh, I see,” he said.

We talked for a few minutes, until I saw that Milo was getting antsy to leave, so he said that he needed to go. “It was nice to meet you,” I said, then looked at Milo and chuckled, “and your dog.”

He nodded. “Same to you!” He then paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”

“Rachel,” I said. “And yours?”

“Mason,” he responded.

I thought about that and chuckled to myself. Mason and Milo? It sounded like the name of a cartoon. We said our goodbyes, with the hopes that one day we might cross paths again. I didn’t however think that would happen.

Chelsea and her dog arrived and he was a boxer and a smaller breed, definitely not like Chester or Milo. He seemed to like me though. So, we agreed that we should make it official and she moved in a few days later.

I never really got Mason or Milo out of my head. I had dated before, but it’d always been casual. I had never met someone that I was so physically attracted to. When a week went by, Chelsea had to go away for a weekend trip for work. I was out walking Rover in the same dog park and was about to leave, when I spotted Mason tossing the Frisbee to his dog. I watched for a minute, going unseen by the two of them, until Mason tossed the Frisbee. It shot past Milo and headed right towards me. It was like a scene in the movies as I caught it.

I looked towards where he stood and our eyes met. He smiled and they both walked over to me. “Nice catch,” he said.

I laughed and handed him the Frisbee back. “Lousy throw.” We both laughed and that’s when I knew that I didn’t want to risk losing out on seeing him again.

We talked for what seemed like hours and I had never laughed so much before. Rover and Milo were both intrigued by one another, giving Mason and myself plenty of time to chat with one another. When it was time to go, I was sad to see it end.

“May I walk you home?” He asked.

I nodded. “I’d like that.”

So, the four of us headed off towards my apartment. We continued the conversation, discussing things that we had in common, mostly our love for dogs. When we got to my apartment, I turned to him.

“Thanks for walking me home, Mason.”

He nodded. “My pleasure.” Thinking that maybe it was the end of our time together, he looked at me. “Will I see you again?”

I shrugged. “That depends?”

He laughed. “On?” he asked.

“Do you want to see me again?”

He chuckled and looked down at Milo. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

He turned back to me and there was a familiar light in his eyes. I felt like I had known him for years, not just days. He moved closer to me and I bit my lower lip, keeping my eyes locked with his. “I think it’s definitely a possibility,” he said.

He leaned in and we kissed. I had no doubt in my mind that Chester brought them to me and I was ready to start things afresh with the two new men in my life. The possibilities were endless.