Something Drastic

Drastic things are happening... First my tattoo and then, get this-- I got a dog!

Brick and I co-adopted an 8 month old from the pound. Her name is Lucy. She is a mix of a bunch of things... hard to tell... but she's probably got some lab and some German shepherd in there. That was on Friday. After we got back from the pound, Mr. Rochester and Lucy weren't getting along all that well. Mr. Rochester was scared of Lucy and Brick was scared of Mr. Rochester. Everyone was running around the house and all of us were yelping. We decided it would be best to continue the "socialization" project later. Brick took Lucy with him on a date and I met Dan over at Keats.

The next morning, Brick stopped by with Lucy and shared a cab with me and NDN over to Penn Station. NDN and I were headed to his grandfather's house in East Hampton.

It was a fabulous weekend. When we arrived we had crab cake sandwiches for lunch. Then, at a local shop, we ate the most amazing donuts I've even encountered and afterwards we stocked up for the weekend at the supermarket. We spent Saturday afternoon at the bay (after an annoying incident with the taxi company that brought us there), dodging jelly fish, collecting rocks, reading, and watching the sunset. We went for a "long walk on the beach" and when I had to pee, I did so right there, as there were no bathrooms in the near vicinity.

That night NDN cooked us up a feast-- linguini with butter/garlic/pesto/clam sauce tossed with shrimp and scallops and garlic bread. Yum! It was a heavy meal, though. We stayed up talking for a while before crashing to bed.

The next morning, we sat outside waiting for the cab to take us to the ocean-side beach when NDN decided to make me feel "awkward." I was sitting in a beach chair in the driveway and he came and stood above me, straddling me with his crotch in my face.

"Does that make you feel awkward?" he asked, with a grin.

"No. Does that make you feel awkward?" I asked, giving his bathing suit a little tug.

"No!"

It was on-- an old fashioned game of chicken. Before we knew it, off came the shorts, and I was blessed with a very close encounter with NDN's penis. Umm... Maybe that made us both feel a little awkward.

Despite the morning's antics, we had a lovely day on the beach. Mid-day, though, Narc texted me, asking "what's up?"

I did something drastic... I wrote.

N: Oh?

H: I got a dog!

N: Aww! Nice! Thought you were going to say you got married to a fan of your blog or what not...!

H: Ha ha! That would indeed have been drastic! I'm still in E Hampton & the dog is home w Brick, but tonight I'm gonna try to socialize her w/ Mr. R. Wish me luck!

N: Sure she'll get along with Roch just fine.

H: Hope so! You'll have to come meet her soon. Hope you're enjoying the sunshine today! :)

NDN and I stayed at the beach until just after 5:00. Then we packed up, made some sandwiches, and were on our way to the train. While we were waiting for the train to pick us up, I got a call from Brick. He said he wanted to keep Lucy all for himself. I wasn't too thrilled with that idea. A few minutes later, he called back and told me that he was just nervous about sharing her, as he had already grown so attached.

NDN slept for most of the way home (on my shoulder, might I add!). I listened to my iPod and sank into my own thoughts. I did some work that my sponsor gave me, but I mostly just stared out the window and thought about Narc. He must have been thinking of me too, because once again, he sent me a text:

By the way, while you've been off in the Hamptons you've been missing the "Idol" auditions over in Jersey!! Still have tomorrow though, if you want to try...

I wrote back: Was under the impression they started tomorrow... Friend of mine is going. Was seriously considering it but in the end, it's not my scene. On train now...

And then, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I wrote again...

PS: I miss you. Haven't seen you in over a month!

His reply?: We'll get together at some point.

H: Hope so...

I sat there silently after that, my heart in my throat. Then I wrote again:

Did you meet your deadline? It's tomorrow, right...?

He never answered.

Anyway, when we got back to the city, Brick met us at Penn Station. We walked to his place and picked up Lucy. Then NDN said his goodbyes and Brick and I took Lucy to the Madison Square Park dog run.

That night, we tried, once again, to introduce Lucy to Mr. Rochester. It didn't go terribly, but it also didn't go brilliantly. There was a lot of hissing involved and Mr. Rochester appeared to be scared out of his mind.

Normally, when Brick and I sleep together, I leave Rochester in the living room, as Brick is afraid of him. But if we were going to allow Lucy in the bedroom, I felt bad leaving Rochester outside. So, we left the door open. A minute or so after Brick fell asleep, I saw Rochester approaching. He was hesitantly sniffing around, as Lucy was also asleep, curled at the foot of the bed. Rochester looked as if he might climb onto the bed to investigate. I nudged Brick to let him know. Brick woke up and leapt into an upright position. He was convinced Rochester would attack either him or Lucy. I tried to reassure him and tell him that he was being ridiculous, but he wouldn't be swayed.

"Either Rochester goes or I go," he said.

"Then go," I told him. "I won't let Lucy stay here and keep Rochester out."

"Fine."

He got up and got dressed. I was upset, but there wasn't much I could do. He left.

I was a little worried about being left alone with the two feuding animals, but in the end, it worked out. Lucy fell asleep. Rochester crept around and investigated some more, and then he went and hid under the bed to sleep.

This morning, I took Lucy for a walk and then called B. He is finally coming back from the Philippines on Thursday! After that, I showered and dressed and took Lucy with me to a therapy appointment. Then I ate a hot dog and a pretzel in the park and took her back to the dog run.

Now I'm back home, and Rochester is apparently still hiding out somewhere. I have to leave the house again for another therapy later and a meeting, but I'm scared to leave the two of them alone together.

Anyway, I guess that's it for now. But a new dog and a new tattoo in one week... pretty drastic, right? If only I weren't so terribly heartbroken. Things might actually be falling into place...

-h-