Page 163 of Mountain Daddy
Buddy drops the offending item and shouts again.
I snag the string before he can go back for it and ball it up in my hand.
I don’t want him swallowing it.
“Well…” I look at his leg and the indentation in his fur where the string was.
I want to do more, like apply some ointment or something, since I’m pretty sure his skin is rubbed raw in places. But I’m certainly not qualified to treat a fox.
“How about I get you a little snack?”
He bounces once, and this time, his shout is extra loud.
I laugh again. “Alright, just hang tight.”
Rushing back inside, I put some lunch meat into a small metal mixing bowl, then I dig through the garage to find a handful of towels.
Buddy is still waiting for me when I step back onto the deck.
“I know they aren’t much,” I lift the bundle. “But maybe you can take a little rest on them and let that leg heal up.”
The towels are old, discards meant for rags, so my dad won’t miss them.
I stand in the grass, not sure where to set them down, when Buddy lunges forward and snags the corner of a towel.
He drags it out of my hold and goes under the deck with it.
“Dad’s not gonna like this,” I say as I drop the rest of the towels where he disappeared. “Now, don’t get so lazy that you forget how to hunt.” I set the bowl of meat down next to the towels. “This is a one-time thing.”
I’m pretty sure we both know this isnota one-time thing.
Buddy pops his head out from under the deck, sniffs the meat, then dives face-first into the bowl.
I lower myself to the steps, turning sideways so I can watch him.
The smile fades from my face.
I was expecting something so different from today.
I could tell something was off.
Knew we had to talk. Was nervous about exposing our relationship to my dad.
And the unease I felt was real.
Just for all the wrong reasons.
“Karma, am I right?”
Buddy glances up at me as he swallows another slice of turkey.
Buddy is confused, but I’m right.
I deserved this.
I did the same thing all those years ago. I made the decision to end it with my boyfriend. I didn’t give him a choice.
But I knew.
