Walking The Dog

Glenda led the way as Emma strolled through the park. Excitedly, Glenda pressed her nose to the grass, sniffing loudly. Emma had to step aside to avoid being hit by Glenda’s tail. Glenda sprinted from side-to-side, shoving her nose into the grass, sniffing loudly as she discovered thousands of new smells. Emma held the leash loosely, her eyes wandering as she observed the bright blue sky, the fluffy white clouds, the brilliantly green trees and grass, the bright flowers, the clean sidewalk. The day had a sweet smell to it, the freshness of plant-life, as if the sun were warming incense out of the flowers. She and Glenda needed to go backpacking again. The mountains were so much more peaceful than the city. Even here, in the park, she could hear cars on the streets, engines whirring, jack-hammers pounding.

Glenda jerked to a stop. Emma glanced down to see Glenda stretching her tail and rear end, her legs spread apart. It was time not to look anymore. Looking up at the trees, Emma pulled the grocery bag from her pocket. She enjoyed walking the dog, except for moments like this. With a sigh, she squatted beside the pile Glenda had left behind, suddenly missing the sweet smell of moments before. She reached her hand into the bag, and discovered the bag had two holes. She stood up and looked through it.

“Hey, you can have my bag.”

Emma turned and saw a rather handsome young man sitting on a wood bench with his golden retriever lying indolently beside him, the man’s left leg stretched out comfortably. He smiled politely as he held out the plastic bag.

“Thanks,” she said as she took the bag. She turned to her dog’s mess, wondering if he was watching her, and what part of her he would be watching. Her cheeks began to burn. She knelt down and cleaned up Glenda’s excrement before dropping it in the nearby trash can.

She hesitated, wondering who the stranger was, yet afraid to speak. What could she say after cleaning up after her dog?

“This is Glenda,” she said, turning to the man on the bench. He smiled politely. “And I’m Emma.”

The man’s smile widened. He had very nice teeth. He laughed before replying, “This is Major, and I’m Tom.”

She paused a moment, before asking, “So, you’re a David Bowie fan?”

“No. Not really. My friends from the army suggested it, because they thought it was funny. Are you a Wizard of Oz fan?”

“Yeah,” Emma answered. “Most people don’t get that. When they do, they tell me I should have named her Toto.”

Tom shook his head. “You can’t name a black lab Toto. That’s a little dog’s name.” He leaned forward and called Glenda over. Glenda bounded excitedly before rubbing her head against his hand. Major sat up, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he began to smell the visitor.

“Is it okay if they go play together?” Tom asked.

“Sure,” Emma answered. Both owners let go of the leashes, and the two dogs bounded onto the empty grass, running, jumping, playing, biting. Emma hesitated until Tom said, “You want a seat?”

Emma sat down quickly before clenching her hands together. They sat for a moment before he asked, “I think I’ve seen you at the University before. I think you were in my History 20 class.”

Emma looked at him, attempting to remember him from the 900 students who had been in that class.

“I had a beard then,” he explained. He shook his head, saying, “That Professor Blankhart. I was never sure what he was talking about. My friends always thought he was on something.”

Emma laughed. Soon, they began swapping stories of their G.E. classes, of their friends at the University, and the challenges of having a dog and roommates. After half-an-hour of talking, they sat silently. Emma knew she needed to go study for an exam, but didn’t want to leave the conversation.

Breaking the lull of silence, she asked, “So... you were in the army?...”

Tom nodded. “I was honorably discharged.” There was something darker in his voice, something bitter and painful. She glanced at him, wishing she had not asked. He looked away a moment before rubbing his left calf, seeming to squeeze it. It was then she noticed that his right leg moved and shifted naturally, but his left leg seemed to be lifeless.

Seeing her glance, Tom said, “It fell asleep, and I can’t get it to wake up.”

Emma stared at her feet, wondering how she should respond. She wanted to offer to help, yet he didn’t seem to want any. Finally, she offered, “I could help you walk around, if you want. I find that helps the blood move.”

Tom grimaced before glancing at her. He sighed before lifting up his pant leg and revealing a titanium prosthetic. He twisted it at the knee and a gasp of air was discharged before he pulled it off. Circuits gleamed where the top connected with his knee. He held the prosthetic out, and said, “The battery died. The government spent millions of dollars to make this experimental prosthetic communicate with my body, and the battery dies. Also, I’ve left my cell-phone at home, and I can’t walk. I can hop a few yards, but the other leg is unsteady.” He leaned back tiredly, setting the prosthetic on the ground. He glanced at her before asking, “You don’t happen to have a cell-phone, do you?”

She shook her head slowly, unsure of how to respond, or why he had revealed that to her.

He scratched his head before explaining, “I was one of the first soldiers to volunteer to get cybernetic implants.” His eyes were distant. Emma was not sure if he was talking to her. “They gave me microchips that would stimulate my legs whenever I got tired, so I could run further. They also implanted a chip that would give me better night vision...” He shook his head before shutting his eyes, “We were under fire one night... I tried to stop, but the microchip had gone haywire in my left leg. I don’t remember how I fell. I just know I couldn’t stop running, and then I blacked out. I woke up in a hospital without my left leg, and was offered to enter an experimental program that would allow me to walk again.” A wry, bitter smile crossed his face as he mentioned, “I think my dog is treated better than I was.”

He glanced at her, before sighing. “Sorry. I normally don’t go spouting off to people I’ve just met...”

“That’s okay.” She sat quietly, taking in what he had said. There seemed to be far darker memories that he was not acknowledging. Then, she asked, “Can I look at your... leg?” She grimaced, realizing how awful that sounded.

“Sure,” he said, handing it to her.

She looked closely at the circuits at the top before pulling a bobby-pin from her hair. She used them like tweezers to move a loose wire and press it to the circuit. She jumped as the foot spasms with energy.

“What’d you do?” he asked, his face shocked.

Quickly she showed him, before asking, “But I don’t know how to attach it.”

He raised a finger before pulling a piece of gum out of his shirt pocket. He chewed it quickly before placing it on the loose wire, hooking it in.

“That’ll work for now,” he said as he reattached his leg. He smiled as the foot moved in a regular motion. “Thanks. That’s pretty awesome.”

“Your welcome,” she said, a proud smile coming to her face.

He stood up, carefully putting weight on the left foot. He smiled as it remained standing.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” she offered.

“That’d be great.”

They called back their dogs, took the leashes, and, together, let Major and Glenda lead them out of the park.