Page 2 of Somewhere Only We Know
Iuntuck myself from my chair and work to get everything sent to my editor. My episodes are generally thirty minutes long. Sometimes, when things happen in my life, the episodes can stretch to an hour. Sully gets up from her spot when I turn off the studio lights and looks at me like I can read her mind. Our routine has gotten easier. Between the first week filming, recording, and her restlessness I think we were both on edge. She was scared of the lights and I was just a scared dog mom.
Wordlessly, I grab my phone and shut the overhead light off as Sully trots behind me as I head up to my room to change. Who needs a man when you have your faithful, loyal sidekick?
“Go get it.”I tell her as I lob a tennis ball across the field for the fifth time. Bringing Sully to the park reminds me how energetic labs are. We’re out here for about an hourbefore another dog eventually joins and I smile as I watch Sully play.
“I’m sorry. He’s been cooped in the house all day,” a petite brunette, with a full colored tattoo sleeve down her left arm, says next to me.
I look over at her from behind my sunglasses.Break the pattern, Jax. “That’s okay. I work from home so this is her first time out as well.”
“I’m Sophie,” she introduces herself to me, “and that’s Hank.”
“Jax and that’s Sully.” We watch them play together for the next ten minutes. I’m not great at making conversation with strangers so we stand in awkward silence, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Are you new to the area?”
“Is it that obvious? I scream transplant,” she jokes and it lightens the mood. I shake my head as she turns to look at me. “Me and my fiancée just moved here last month. He actually got traded so this really is my first opportunity to get out of the house.”
“Traded?” I ask, my nosiness coming out to play.
Her eyes widen. “Oh, yes. He plays shortstop for Cincinnati.”
“That’s so fun.” I tell her.
She smiles and sighs. “It is. But it’s also exhausting. Him having such a heavy schedule has forced us to work our wedding around his season. We were in Atlanta for the last few years. So this is a bit of a change in pace for both of us.”
“My brother-in-law would flip if he knew I was standing by an Atlanta adjacent member.” I’m already planning ways to rub it in his face.
“He’s a big fan?”
“You could say that.” I say and toss the ball when Sully brings it back with Hank on her heels. “Although now thathe retired from Cincinnati, he has more time to stalk the stats.”
Sophie quirks her head. “Retired?”
“He was Cincinnati’s starting QB.”
She coughs and hits her chest. “Mason Brooks?”
“Mm hmm.”
“My fiancée is going to be so mad that he had to miss this outing for practice.” She jumps up and down like she can’t believe her luck.
I pull my phone out of the side pocket of my leggings and unlock it. “How about you put your number in and we can do a group thing.”
Sophie and I chat for a little while longer while our dogs play. And as more dogs join the park, I whistle for Sully while Sophie does the same for Hank.
“Well, it was great meeting you.” I tell her as I hook Sully’s leash.
“Likewise,” she says.
We part ways with a wave and happy, but tired dogs.
Despite the park being right down the street, I take the long way home. In my single-dom, I’m realizing how much I missed and how much I’m rediscovering in terms of Cincinnati. I look down at Sully who has her tongue lolling out of her mouth and a slow walk, I realize how much she needed this time at the park. Luckily, an ice cream shop is on the way home, so I stop in for a treat which immediately perks her up.
I guess you could say this is also part of my new pattern. Ice cream and my dog. This is the after me. The me after the toxic ex. The me who learns to love herself. The me that wants to create a new pattern. The me that finally wants to live a happy life.
The soundof the ice clinking against the sides of my glass fills the quiet in my house as I look out the windows in the back of the house. It’s just after ten in the morning and I’ve finished recording next week's podcast and took a break before uploading my next YouTube video. I’m hoping this second iced coffee will keep me energized through the editing process.
Since my breakup, I’ve buried myself in work. When Kam and Mason went on their honeymoon, I buried myself even further in work. Anything to keep me occupied.
Having a house to furnish has helped me the most and kept my mind busy. But now that I’ve finished decorating my new space, I’m finally able to call this place home. Will it be my forever home? It could be. I lucked out finding a four-bedroom home. With the way I’ve changed throughout the years, I was able to curate the space and the rooms just the way I like them.
