Old Bones

1. Old Bones and New Neighbors-2

I was really starting to feel the cold seeping through my jacket. I glanced down at Buddy since I knew we had to get moving, and started walking down the street toward the empty lot.

“Goodbye Joy. Nice to meet up, and you too, Kirby!” I called as we started walking quickly down the street.

I looked up when I heard the sound of a car motor and saw our garage door start to open. Our garage was in back of the house and we had our own little driveway on the side from the road next to the house. It made for a long, narrow house, but it was built a long time ago and we hadn’t made any large changes.

I saw the escaped Kirby stop at the rose bush next to the driveway at the corner of the house and sniff at the scents he found there. At the same time I saw our blue Volvo station wagon slowly going backward down the driveway toward our garage.

I knew there was no way Tom would be able to see the dog. The animal was completely in his blind spot, so I started yelling and waving my arms as I stepped onto the driveway with Buddy in tow.

Tom didn’t see me either and kept on backing up.

Joy ran after me, heading for Kirby.

Our car was now headed toward both Joy and Kirby. Tom wasn’t going fast, but if they got under the wheel, it would still do a lot of damage to a person and probably kill a dog.

I hoped Kirby would stay at the bush until Joy got there. Just as Joy came up to his shoulder, I could hear her speaking to him and he sat as she commanded. Joy calmly walked toward him.

Tom was looking toward the road but now Joy was hunched over talking softly to Kirby, reaching out her hand to take his collar; there was no way Tom would see them.

I watched Kirby. He sat on the ground but kept his eyes on Joy. As she opened the clip on the leash, he shot forward away from her, trying to get across our driveway before Tom and the car got there.

I could see that it was going to be close. I screamed, hoping that Tom would hear me, but with the motor running, the car windows closed, and the radio on, I doubted he could.

I watched Joy as she realized that the car was bearing down on both of them. They had only a few seconds to either move out of the way or get hit.

I was startled when I heard someone screaming down the block. That got Kirby’s attention and, rather than sitting and waiting for Joy, he took off at a full run down the block toward the empty house at the end of the street.

Tom’s car came to a halt next to me and he rolled down the driver’s side window. “What’s going on?” he asked as he saw our little group and Joy chasing her dog at a full run down the street.

“Hi, honey,” I said. “They’ve found a dead body at the empty lot and we’re all going to check it out. We just met our new neighbor Joy and her golden retriever Kirby. He’s running around playing tag with her, so be careful.” I explained this all as simply as I could.

“A dead body, you say. I was just going inside for a coffee. I think I’ll join you instead,” Tom said as he pulled the car further up our driveway and parked it in front of the garage.

“Did you lock up?” I didn’t know that he was out when I left the house and was surprised to see him coming home in the car. I could see this was going to take a little getting used to, having him home during the day. Which I knew, but it’s all the little things that you take for granted that throw you off. We were going to have to discuss this.

“No, you were home,” he said as he started walking down the street with us.

“I thought you had a coffee date with Pastor Brian this afternoon?” I asked.

“You are correct, my dear,” he said as he turned around and headed back into the house.

“I don’t understand.” I paused; if he didn’t want to tell me, I wasn’t going to interrogate him. “How’s Brian?” But I could still ask a few questions.

I waited for a reply, which didn’t come, then started to hum to myself as I hurried after Manda and Betty.

I really needed this story for my book and I heard about it first. What if Tom used this idea for his own book? I felt a little… not jealousy exactly, but perhaps there was a little competition between my husband and myself. I surprised myself; this had never happened before. Tom and I wrote differently, and usually different genres. The stories that interested him I enjoyed reading, but weren’t my style of writing.

I can’t say I liked the feeling I was having. I didn’t want to compete with anyone, especially not my husband. And especially not since he was retiring soon and we’d both be working and living in the same house. That sounded like trouble to me.

I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind to ruminate on them later. Right now I needed help in finding a good story and getting as much detail as I could from the scene in the empty lot. I hoped I’d be able to ask questions of the police and get some interesting answers.

“It might help if you get a leash,” Tom called out as he passed me at a slow jog. Kirby, with Joy following, came trotting past me; only this time they were headed up Fifty-Third toward Fraser. I closed my eyes and then opened them.

This was now getting serious. Someone had to catch and control that dog.

Fraser was a very busy main street and I knew that Kirby would have to be caught or he might end up under the wheels of a car or bus.

I knew I couldn’t go after him; I hadn’t done any jogging ever. Even in school, when I tried I always ended up with a stitch in my side and finished the laps by power walking.

I looked around to see who of my friends would be able to help Joy and my eyes fell on Tom.

“Tom. Stop for a minute. Please help Joy catch her dog. He’s headed up to Fraser,” I called to him.

Luckily he heard me and turned around. He saw the problem immediately and started running back toward Joy and Kirby, seemingly as fast as his fifty-five-year-old legs could carry him.

“His name is Kirby and her name is Joy,” I added as he passed me.

I watched my husband with admiration. Even though he was fifty-five years old and for the last ten years had been fighting his weight, he had gotten serious about getting in shape in the last year and dropped fifty pounds through diet and exercise. As he told me, he was getting ready to be a very active retiree.

I had been really glad when he finally took his health seriously. I had always been a little on the plump side myself but had dropped weight in the last two years, too, under the doctor’s instruction. Cutting way back on the sweets was number one. Then I started more walking. I enjoyed swimming, too, but not jogging. I always felt it was too hard on the body although I admired people who could do it.

I watched as Tom ran onto the boulevard from our side street. I could tell that he had decided to try and head the dog off.

I watched, not knowing what to do. We lived half a block from Fraser, and Kirby and Joy had already covered half the remaining distance so Tom didn’t have much time. He had to get ahead of the dog, then run toward him without spooking him too much.

“Joy! Stop chasing him,” I called out to her. “Run toward me and maybe he’ll follow you.”

I didn’t know if she heard me since at first she didn’t stop. Then I saw her nod and begin to slow her pace. She stopped and called to Kirby. “Kirby, come on, find me!” She stared to walk backward toward me.

Kirby noticed Joy was no longer running after him and stopped by a tall cherry tree on the boulevard for a sniff. Then he looked at Joy, who was laughing and slapping her thigh.

I watched as Tom got closer and closer to the dog and hoped that Kirby wouldn’t notice him.

I saw Kirby’s head go up as Joy started to turn away from him.

“That’s it Joy, keep going!” I shouted.

That did the trick. Kirby started running after her.

I quickly turned and started down the street too, with Buddy in tow, hoping that Kirby might stop to say hi to Buddy and I could grab Kirby’s collar.

Joy came up to me and passed me as she walked quickly, not looking back at the dog.

“Come on, Kirby, you mangy little mutt,” she said in a light, friendly tone as she passed.

She arched her eyebrows and her hand in a mock salute to me as she smiled and shook her head.

It was cold and her breath was coming out in small puffs of fog. The ground was white with frost, something we normally didn’t have this time of year.

I shivered again and tried to get deeper in my parka, looking for more warmth.

“He’s coming toward you. He’s following you. Keep going,” I said, letting Joy know what was going on and to encourage her.

There were at least five to six blocks before we hit another main street so I thought that we had ample time to catch Kirby.

I started to power walk and Tom soon caught up with Buddy and me.

Manda and Betty were already by the empty house and were gathered with the rest of the people talking and milling around a small backhoe that the workers had been using to push the dirt out of the way for the foundation of a double garage.

I noticed two black, unmarked police cars parked on the side of the street and two more white-and-blue police cars blocking the street from any traffic that might come down, with their emergency lights flashing.

By this time Joy and Kirby were across the street, Joy leading the way and Kirby stopping to explore every once in a while.

Joy’s face was flushed and she was walking slower. I could tell that she was getting tired and worried.

I had an idea.

I walked up to the black, unmarked police car and noticed that it was empty. I didn’t know any dogs that didn’t like car rides and had used it a few times to catch Buddy. I turned to look at Kirby and smiled.

“Kirby, come. Car ride,” I called out as I stepped up to the police car and opened a passenger door. Thankfully it was unlocked.

Buddy immediately ran over and jumped into the back seat.

Kirby stopped and looked toward the car, his tail slowly wagging and his head c****d to one side as if he was thinking the situation over.

The wind started to increase. The air was getting colder although it was just late morning.

I looked at Buddy and he seemed to be very happy he was out of the cold and off the frozen sidewalk.

“Come on, you silly big puppy. Kirby, let’s go for a car ride,” I yelled out in my most cheerful voice. I clapped my hands together and then bent down and opened my arms wide.

Kirby took one look at me, his eyes as bright as a shiny new penny, then he started to run toward me. I laughed and watched him come running at full speed toward me and the police car. What a beautiful dog he was, a very happy puppy.

Kirby ran up to me and barely stopped as he jumped into the open back door of the car.

“Good dog,” I said before I slammed the door closed on Buddy and Kirby.