with Bobby Myers
Art by John Wilkins
Daniel sat on his favourite bench against a brick wall under an awning, gazing down at his reflection in a calm puddle. His dog, a black Scottish Terrier that looked like Dorothy's, was attached to his hand by a leash. With his other hand he smoked a cigarette.
It had been two hours since Agnes had called and told him she would meet him here. During those two hours he had entertained thoughts of leaving. The only thing that kept him was the battery-powered abandoned stereo that sat back in an indented doorway blaring Beethoven.
The clouds were just beginning to part, making way for the Sun, and the air held the clean, humid scent that comes after a summer rain. People walked by at a surprisingly reasonable pace for downtown.
It's a nice day, thought Daniel. Even if I never get used to the smell of wet fur, the beauty around me balances it out.
"Marble," he said to the dog, "Keep your beady eyes peeled."
The dog was named after an incident that occurred immediately after Daniel received him: specifically, an incident involving three marbles, each of a different colour. One was the misty red of Mars, the second the watery blue of Earth, and the third contained numerous rings in its center, representing an inverted Jupiter. A fourth marble, Pluto, had already fallen into the depths of the game's target.
Marble, in its mad excitement, ran towards these three spheres which were rolling across the dirt. Two young boys were chancing a game of stakes in which the winner obtained the other's possessions, but the dog ate the bulk of the game before victory could be declared.
"Mister, you gotta get 'em back for us," said the boy in a faded red hat.
"Yeah!" chimed in his challenger, wearing a shirt two sizes too big for him.
"Just follow it around until they come out," Daniel told the boys.
While Daniel was conversing with Agnes, who had given him the dog that was once her mother’s, the children came back to him with dirty and pungent hands.
"Look, mister! I got mine!"
"Yeah!" again chimed the other, proudly displaying the marble in his hand. "But . . . the other one never came out."
A waterdrop splashed down into a puddle beside the bench, breaking the spell of memory. The Sun was shining above so the rain had to take a clarity check.
Come soon, my darling Agnes. I can only wait for so long before the wolves get to me: the young and obnoxious, teenage punks; the greedy homeless with their weapons of mass annoyance; everyone smoking, especially me (he then tossed the butt); everyone drinking alcohol out of pop bottles.
My dear, this is the setting of the world's untimely romance; or rather, humanity’s infatuation with society. We can only keep up the facade for so long until we crack, and nature welcomes us home with open arms, as if we never left.
"Okay," he said to Marble, but really to himself, "I don't think this is going to work out."
Marble responded with a pathetic bark. Daniel managed a frowning smile and patted the dog's wet, shaggy head. He stood up and tugged the leash, and as he took to walking down the sidewalk through a crowd, Marble kept to him like a helpless child.
"Oh cute! that dog is just so adorable!" suddenly exclaimed a dim blonde. Daniel nearly had to scrape the ejaculated words off of his face. "He looks just like Toto . . . No, exactly like Toto! But I bet you hear that a lot, don't you?" Giggling, the girl pushed some hair – that obviously did not need to be pushed – behind an ear.
"Um . . . No. In fact, you're the first person to say it!" Daniel mocked.
"Really? I find that hard to believe."
"No, it's completely true. One hundred percent, actually – I got the lab results yesterday."
"Oh."
The girl knelt down to rub Marble's head. Craving more attention, the dog rolled over and the girl rubbed its chest.
"How adorable. What's his name?"
"Marble."
"Aww. How'd you come up with that?"
"Sorry, it's too long and winded to explain."
"Please, tell me – over coffee."
"I'm sure the dog could tell it better."
"Well? What do you say, Marble? Want coffee?"
"I'm sorry, but its terrible at pretending to like people." Marble then licked Daniel's hand. "See?"
But he never heard blonde's response. Caught in the press of the moving crowd, the girl was taken away – as suddenly as she had arrived – into the warmth of a hundred lonely souls, without a single word or muttered vowel in parting.
A different voice reached him then with precise timing:
"Hey," was the sound of Agnes, and he turned to see her simple beauty and quiet sweetness standing before him.
"I'm sorry," Daniel said.
"But I'm the one who's late."
Daniel let go of the leash and embraced Agnes.
"I'm not good with dogs," said Daniel, closing his eyes.
Agnes stroked his head while gently rocking him side to side.
"I know," she said. "You'll always be a cat person. I'll always be a Daniel person."
"But I have these terrible thoughts sometimes and I say these terrible things," Daniel admitted in the thrall of the moment, like a child does while being comforted by his mother.
"You don't," soothed Agnes. "You're just a kind and loving person who acts a little strange sometimes."
Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but a plopping sound cut him off – at that very moment Marble had let loose a marble, and the couple watched as the sphere bounced across the pavement before rolling into a gutter.