Big Yellow Taxi

Pretty Irish Girl

Once Rowan was outside of the guest house she started running.  Her arms pumped in time with her feet as they pounded against the gravel drive.  She loved to run with her dog.  Most of the time she ran just for fun.  But at the present moment the exercise was helping to burn off some of the nervous energy she was feeling.  She didn’t have a destination in mind and just let her legs take her where they wanted to go.  Rowan ended up down by the goat enclosure, checking on the last of her puppies.  Lily was outside of the fences, barking up a tree after a squirrel.  When the silly dog saw Rowan she darted back inside the enclosure and sat down, her long tail wagging so hard that her butt was twitching from side to side.  She let out a little puppy yip as if to say, I've been in here waiting for you this whole time.  

Rowan hopped the fence, holding her dress up so the hem wouldn't get snagged on the wooden slats.  Lily came galloping over, little chunks of soft dirt and grass flying out behind her.  Rowan was eager to give the puppy some of her attention.  Until Lily got close enough for Rowan to smell her.  Rowan had no idea what the large brown puppy had managed to get into, but she reeked.  The smell emanating from the animal could only be described as a cross between raw sewage and rotting meat.  It was possible the dog had found these items and gone for a roll in both, though it was more likely she had escaped her pen and gotten into the compost bins again.  

Rowan held a knee up, using her body defensively to try and keep herself from being covered in dog stink.  

"Oh Lily," she moaned, "You need a bath bad!"  At the sound of her name, Lily's excitement grew.  Hoping for a treat she sat down on her haunches and did the only trick she had learned with any success.  She barked.  Rowan silently cursed herself for teaching the dog to speak.  Tank knew how.  But he only barked to alert her of possible danger or if he needed to be let outside to use the bathroom.  Lily barked all the time.  And she had a habit of doing it at the worst possible moments.  Like in the middle of the night or when Rowan had the audacity to try and take a shower without allowing every single dog she owned to join her in the bathroom.  

"No bark!," Rowan scolded the dog.  At the sound of the word BARK Lily let out another loud high pitched yip followed by a puppy howl.  Rowan shook her head and laughed at the silly dog.  Lily's leash was hanging over a nearby section of fence.  Rowan grabbed it and tied it to the dog’s collar.  She took Lily into the barn with her and grabbed the basket of dog shampoo and toys she kept on a shelf in the tack room.  Tank was following along behind them.  His tail started wagging when he saw Rowan with the basket.  

Lily dragged Rowan most of the way down to the lake, making the woman realize that a small piece of rope tied to the large puppy's collar was no longer enough to control the dog.  She had a large no pull harness she had used for Tank when he was a puppy hidden away somewhere in her mess of a room.  She reminded herself that she was going to have to dig through her things later to find it.  

Not wanting to get her dress or scarf wet, Rowan pulled them off and hung the items over a branch on a nearby tree.  She wiggled her underwear off and set them on top of the dress.  The morning air was cool against her bare skin and she rubbed at the gooseflesh that was prickling up on the skin of her arms.  Her hair was hanging loose down her back so she pulled off one of the stretchy bracelets on her wrist and used it to tie her long hair up into a sloppy bun on top of her head.  

The water was even colder than the air around her.  Rowan stuck the toes of one foot in and quickly yanked them back out, a shiver running up her spine.  The only way to get into this cold water was one tiny inch at a time.  Rowan heard the thundering of large puppy paws behind her but not in time to save herself from being doused by a huge splash of ice cold water that flung up as Lily throttled herself into the creek only a few inches away.  

Rowan shrieked as the shock of the cold water hit her.  When she opened her eyes, her dogs were already paddling around in the water, Tank growling as Lily tried to get close to him and accidentally dunked his large black head under the water.  She was already soaked and freezing cold so Rowan gave up on easing herself into the creek and jumped in.  Her head dunked part way under, wetting her face and the back of her hair.  The water was shallow enough for her to stand in and have her head and shoulders above the water line.  She stood up and splashed water at the dogs, trying to pay Lily back for the soaking she had just dished out.  

Rowan threw the ball enough times for Lily that the large puppy was finally worn out enough to stand still and let Rowan scrub her clean.  Tank wasn't as dirty, but Rowan scrubbed him up just the same.  Both dogs dove back into the creek water to rinse off the offensive soapy suds.  The sun was high enough in the sky now that it was peeking over the trees.  Both dogs exited the creek, throwing droplets everywhere as they shook the water from their large bodies.  Tank chose a soft grassy spot in the sun for a nap and Lily followed his example and cuddled down next to him.  

There was a nice flat rock that hung out over the creek a few yards away.  Rowan grabbed her scarf before she picked her barefoot way carefully through the small rocks and twigs.  She laid the scarf over the smooth surface of the rock before she sat down to warm herself in the sun.  A bird in a tree nearby whistled out a morning song.  Rowan pursed her lips and imitated the noise in an attempt to get the bird to exchange a song with her.  The small bird bobbed its head, hopping around on the branch.  Rowan repeated the whistle but instead of answering her back the small bird spread its wings and flapped away.  

"Didn't want to talk to you anyway," Rowan called after the little bird with a giggle.  Most of the small woodland animals that hung around the main living area of her community had been treated so kindly by the people that they were nearly tame.  If she sat still enough Rowan could get the squirrels and small chipmunks to take food right out of her hand.  But the animals that lived in the more wooded areas were not as trusting.  Rowan pulled her hair down.  She picked up a small forked stick and began to use it to try and comb some of the tangles out of her long locks.  She tried her best not to be a vain person but her long thick raven hair was the one physical feature that she loved about herself.  No matter how troublesome and tangled it got she could never convince herself to cut it off.  When she went to visit her father on the reservation the little girls there loved to brush it and braid it into long pigtails for her.

With her naked skin warmed by the sun, Rowan let herself relax and unwind from the tight shivering ball she had wrapped herself into.  She stretched out her legs and scooted forward to dip her toes in the cool water.  The water was still enough that she could see her rippled reflection on the surface.  Rowan smiled and started to sing a song to herself.  She didn't have much of a singing voice but the tune of the song was simple.  It was a tune her father sometimes sung to her mother.  Rowan never knew if it was actually an old folk song or something he just made up himself.  Her father was funny that way.  

Have you ever seen the seagulls a-flying up to heaven

Or the crimson sails on Galway Bay the fishermen unfurl

Oh, the earth is filled with beauty and its gathered all together

In the form and face and dainty grace of a pretty Irish girl

Oh, she is my dear, my darling one

Her eyes so sparkling full of fun

No other, no other can match the likes of her

Oh, she is my dear, my darling one

My smiling and beguiling one

I love the ground she walks upon

My darling Irish girl...

At the end of her song, Rowan leaned forward to look at her reflection.  But as she gazed down she saw that she was no longer alone.  Another image was reflected back.  Someone was standing behind her.  Rowan turned, her head tilting up and back.  She was so happy to see the man that she completely forgot her nakedness or that she had been singing, something she usually wouldn't do unless she was completely alone.

"Good morning Daniel," she said, a huge grin spreading across her face as she saw the blush rising up to color his cheeks.