Dog Goes

The eleventh hour, or in this case the fourteenth day, came. Bill had until Thursday to pick up the dog. It was a much-anticipated event. It had become emblematic of Bill's inability to both keep his promises and take responsibility for his possessions. As long as his dog was here I was having to pay for the dog's food and medications, bring him into the house to sleep with me at night, pick up his poop in the yard and clean up after any mischief he got into. Despite that, the dog is not unlikeable. In fact, he's smart, and affectionate on some level. He is a littermate to my dog and the two have been together for most of their lives. My dog, Quincy, is a little lonely now spending the days out in the yard by himself, but on the upside, he gets to sleep with me after having had to be outside every night for almost a year. For me, getting to bring Q-ball in at night is the very best part of Bill taking Matt. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Bill contacted Laura and asked her if he could pick up the dog on Thursday evening--- at the last minute, as is his style. That told me he had received the letter from my attorney reminding him about the deadline date for picking up Matt. He also asked her if 'she' would keep Matt for two more months and he'd pay her $50 a week. I said no, not two months and no, not $50 a week. First of all, we both know it would be three or four months at the least. Secondly, Laura wouldn't be the one taking care of the dog; it would be me. And thirdly, he would have to pay $100 a week. Dogsitters charge between $25 and $50 a day. The thought of recovering some of my spousal support from him was enticing. Laura had some kind of plan. If he was willing to pick up the dog, she would go out for coffee with him. After some haggling with Kyle, she decided that if he merited a trip for coffee, she would take the baby with her. If Bill was kind or well-behaved or something else I don't remember, at the end of the meeting she would present him with the $100 a week offer. For some unknown reason, her coffee experience with him led her to have him take the dog. She told me she would call him in a week or so and present him with the $100 a week idea. She said he is undergoing chemotherapy again and had to have someone drive him to town and back. Maybe she didn't make the offer to him because he had made such an effort to get here. Maybe the guy who came with him gave her a certain feeling. It's hard for me not to question her about it, but I feel it's important that I not ask anything. She volunteered some information and I have tried really hard to stay quiet about it. The one thing she did say was that she had given him a little hardcover book she had made of photos of KJ on Shutterfly and he really didn't have much of a reaction. She said, "You know how he is about gifts." "Oh," I said. "I had tried to forget how he was about that." "Well, I'll keep reminding you." It's when she makes comments like these when I remember that, in some ways, she has a pretty intense dislike for her dad. He couldn't even be a gracious gift recipient.