After so many entries carrying only bad news and danger, I’m excited to write about something lighter for a change. Part of me rather misses being a Cupid.
Freya has been dogsitting for one of her neighbors this past week. She is a little afraid of dogs, but Bailey is a fat beagle, thirteen years old and as harmless as can be. He and Freya have become good friends, and today she even decided that she would take him to the local dog park, which his family tells her is his favorite place.
I can confirm that Bailey loves the dog park. He was in a state of bliss, waddling after the more active dogs, absorbing all of the smells and occasionally touching noses with a friend. Freya was nervous at the presence of several other dogs, but I stayed with her, showing her how friendly they were, how they were simply happy to be outside, to be running, to be with the people they loved. Dogs are true sources of joy.
It was when she was collecting Bailey that someone said to her, “Excuse me.”
She looked up, and up, into the amused eyes of a very tall young man. “Now,” he said, “I happen to know that that’s not your dog. Am I going to have to report you for dognapping?”
Catching his tone immediately, Freya grinned and straightened with Bailey’s leash in her hand. “And to whom would you be reporting me? The dog police? Go ahead.”
“Ah,” he said, shaking his head. “You called my bluff.” His mock-stern expression evened out into a sweet smile, and he held out his hand. “I’m Sol. I see Brad and Mary a lot around here. Dogsitting?”
“Yes,” she said, “they’re visiting his mom. My name is Freya—oh, and I am not a dog person.” She backed away hurriedly as Sol’s dog, a Saint Bernard, approached with a sloppy grin.
“Really? You’re a brave woman to come here, then. Jax, sit.” Jax collapsed into a heap at Sol’s feet, and Bailey came over to exchange greetings with him. “See? He’s a big old teddy bear.”
“Not one that I’d be tempted to hug.” Still, when Jax looked up at her and let his tongue loll out to one side, Freya smiled. “He is kind of cute, I guess.”
“And he likes you. Did you know that dogs are excellent judges of character?”
“Is that so?”
“Well, no, not always. Jax likes everyone.”
They continued to banter, and I was intrigued watching the dynamic between them. Sol liked Freya on sight, and liked her more as he spoke to her. He invited her to come back to the dog park even after Bailey’s family returns, to work on her fear a little bit, and she said yes. Freya would not have done that if she didn’t like him, too.
Whether this is the beginning of a friendship, or possibly more, I can’t yet say. It’s not really my place to get involved anymore, either. But I wonder if Freya might be happier to have someone she felt that she could rely on. Sol is intelligent and respectful, lives close by, and is interesting to Freya. He could be that someone.
I’m letting my imagination run away with me, of course—it’s too soon to tell for sure. Freya is not looking for that kind of relationship right now, so it would take some time for her thoughts to turn in that direction. But I can’t help but hope for her happiness.