After the football game ended, Blaine and I took Izzy for a walk. A long walk. And perhaps, yes, it was such a long walk because we got lost and it took a while to backtrack until we knew where we were. We could have consulted Google maps but agreed it was a perfect day for getting lost – sunny, warm, bright blue sky and leaves of every shade of fall on the trees. So we kept wandering until something looked familiar.
“See?” I said to Blaine when we first realized we had gotten trapped in the neighborhood’s curvy streets, long blocks, short streets and endless cul-de-sacs. “I’m not the only one whose natural navigation gets confused by these ridiculous street layouts.”
“Acknowledged. My neighborhood is easier than this, though.”
I poked him.
There are three ways into his neighborhood. The only one that doesn’t feed me into an impossible web of switchbacks and cul-de-sacs is the entrance that leads directly to his house. If I enter or leave another way, I’ll always miss a turn and drive in circles until someone in the homeowners association is alerted of a problem and swipes something in an app that allows my escape. Or something.
Izzy’s nose did nothing to help us. She didn’t care if we ever found our way back. I let her have more leash than normal when we were on quiet streets with no kids or dogs around so she could run ahead and feel like she was setting the course. She had so much fun zig-zagging and tromping all over.
Operating a retractable leash is second nature. I’m a quick draw when it comes to pressing the button that stops the leash from extending further and flicking the other button that locks it down. Blaine was impressed by the quickness of my thumb, and he liked the way I reeled her in like a fish when I wanted to shorten the leash. This is the first time I’ve trusted her and my ability to anticipate her movements well enough to use the retractable leash. It worked well.
Every so often Izzy would trot back to me as if checking in. She would nose my hand until I rubbed her neck, then she would prance away, bushy tail swaying. She’s finally seeing me as a friend, I think. Until this stay she seemed to associate me with making her family go away.
After we found our way back, Blaine went home to shower and change, and I did the same. He returned to pick me up for dinner, our date. We went to the Indian restaurant we like, the one so beautifully decorated and lit that romance seems inevitable. Maybe it is.
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