Page 6 of A Boy Called Lovesong

I stood in the doorway of the bedroom and looked at a puddle of pee and a petite little poo beside the bed—myside of the bed—and realized two things.

The pee and the poo told me I hadn’t taken Chet for a walk in the last two days.

The size of the poo told me I hadn’t fed him in that time either.

“Oh shit… literally.”

I cracked open two tins of dog food in the kitchen.

I forked them into Chet’s bowl andtingedthe side of it like a dinner bell.

I heard his footsteps on the stairs, slow and wary.

He walked cautiously into the kitchen, as though he’d done something wrong, as though not only had his master abandoned him, but that I was punishing him for it.

“Chet buddy, I’m sorry. I’m not… I’m not thinking straight right now. Here boy, have some food. Eat. One of us has to eat, right?”

He stopped three feet away from his bowl, looking from me to the food then back again.

“You want me to leave? You want to eat in peace? I get it. I have a poop to clean up anyway.”

I left the kitchen and headed for the stairs. As I glanced back through the open door to the kitchen, I saw the little pooch slurping up his food.

I cleaned up the poop in the bedroom and sponged the rug clean.

I undressed.

I showered.

I didn’t use the loofah or soap. I couldn’t explain why, other than I didn’t want to scrub myself clean just yet… in case it meant scrubbinghimaway.

The last time he touched my hand.

The last time he nibbled my earlobe and whispered he loved me.

The last time he kissed me goodbye on his way to work.

I wasn’t ready to wash any of those things away yet. Not yet.

I lost track of time once more.

How long I stood under the running water, I had no idea.

When I finally stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me, I looked into the bedroom to see Chet sniffing the spot on the rug that I’d just cleaned up.

“Okay, okay, we’re going for a walk. Gimme a minute, would ya?”

With a towel around my waist I stepped into our walk-in closet.

My clothes were on the left.

His clothes were on the right.

I opened my underwear drawer, then paused a moment.

I glanced right.

I stepped over to Joel’s side of the closet.

---