Meet me tomorrow

A walk in the park

This is my sweet, sweet girl Sasha. She's not actually MY dog, but because I wrote this story once before, I feel like she's my dog through the story's heart. 

A tall man paced inside the tiny room. Back and forth. Over and over again. With such long legs, it only took him 3 steps to go from one end of the room to the other. Occasionally, he would run his hands through his hair, agitated. His pacing stopped as a woman in dark blue scrubs entered the room, a smile on her face. 

"Congratulations! You're expecting!" She exclaimed. 

The tech handed a black and white printout to the brunette woman in the room. The woman reached out with shaky hands and took the photo. She squinted at the mass of gray depicted in the photo, and slowly lowered the image. She turned to her ashen faced companion. 

"This is all your fault!" She shrieked, pointing a finger at him, taking the blame to him. 

--1 month ago-- 

It had been a sunny day in late summer. It was one of those summer days where the sun was like a beacon of hope shining down on the planet. It was one of those days where it was so warm, you wouldn't need a jacket. 

Rey Jackson peered out the blinds of her three story apartment and down at the busy street below. Sunshine glinted off of cars and she could see the tops of trees in the park nearby her apartment. She smiled to herself before stepping back from the blinds. 

"What do you say, we go on a walk to the park, Sash?" Her roommate's face lit up 

"I take that as a yes. Let me grab your things then." 

Her roommate, Sasha, barked her reply. 

Minutes later, Rey and Sasha were strolling down the road. Sasha was a good girl. Her legs took the city streets like a champion, her ears perked at every parking car headed their way. She sat as they waited at every crosswalk. Yes. Sasha was a very good girl. 

As they neared the park, her tail wagged excitedly, happy to be out. She pulled ahead eagerly and Rey had to reign back with a gentle tug of her pink sparkly lead. 

"Almost there, girl." Rey said to Sasha. Sasha barked in response, her body full of determination. 

They waited at one last crosswalk before crossing into the park. Rey squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight and held a hand to her eyes to look and scan the park. She looked down at Sasha. Sasha looked plainly up at Rey. 

"Come then" Rey said, gently tugging on the lead. "This way, Sasha." 

Sasha jogged alongside Rey as they walked the trail that wound around the giant park. Central Park was one of the biggest she knew, and it was Sasha's favorite park. They passed the soccer goals and a massive playground covered in wood chips. 

It hurt Rey's heart. Only 3 months earlier, had her boyfriend, Chad, dumped her, and two months later, she had a miscarriage. She would have had a child, but the stress of it all. Chad had apologized, and had moved away from New York City. 

Sasha gave out a yip of excitement. She knew exactly where she was going. The dog park. 

The dog park was a separate fenced in area inside the park, meant to keep the dogs from running off, getting lost, chasing joggers, and heaven forbid- biting a child. Rey self consciously placed a hand to her stomach. Tears bubbled at her eyes, threatening to spill. 

Rey tucked the book she had brought with her under the crook of her arm as she lifted the latch that led to the dog park. Clutching Sasha's lead with her other hand, she swiftly entered the park, making sure to lock the gate behind her. 

Sasha did a little dance of anticipation. She looked up at Rey with her big honey brown eyes that complimented her shiny fur. Rey reached down and unclipped the lead, folding it neatly in her hand. 

"I'll be over here, Sasha." Rey said, pointing to a bench. Even if Sasha had understood her, it wouldn't have mattered. A butterfly passed by at that very moment, and Sasha went running off into the park, her legs lifting off the ground in a failing attempt to catch the butterfly. 

As Rey settled onto the clean wooden bench, laying Sasha's lead in her lap, she counted about 7 other dogs in the park. An older lady sat on a bench with a small grey poodle in her arms. A pug and a black mouth cur were playing tug of war with a stick while their owners chatted and laughed at funny things on their minds. There was a beagle and a large brown mutt of unintelligible breeds chasing after a worn out tennis ball. A blonde woman, around Rey's age, had a bright white Pomeranian that was yipping furiously at his owner. The woman ignored the dog and continued to flip through her phone. 

Glancing once more to take note of Sasha's location- greeting the mutt and pug by sniffing butts- Rey opened her book. She tucked her papier mache bookmark into the sleeve of the book and began to read. 

The laughter of children at the nearby playground carried over on a small breeze. There were the steady thumps of a high school track team running nearby, the occasional yip or bark from one of the dogs. A perfect day. 

Until it wasn't.