Tonight's The Night!

The Last Chance

Beth roamed through the large empty house.  So clean it squeaked of loneliness. She looked into the mirror above the dresser and her eyes narrowed with determination.  “Enough”, she told her image.  “Tonight’s the night.”

She picked up the photo of Ralph.  Young.  Handsome. Muscular.   And said, “Honey, forgive me but I can’t spend another night alone.”  She opened the drawer and gently placed the photo deep within.

She walked into the bathroom and filled the tub, reached for bubble bath, and instead, poured musk oil into the steamy water.  Slowly her body sank into the slippery liquid.  She felt a shiver of excitement, sighed, leaned back and imagined Ralph.  His warm body as he sprawled onto her side of the bed, their early morning runs, his loyalty and his death.  Eighteen months ago he had been struck by a hit-and-run driver as he fetched the newspaper in front of their house.  He died before she could reach him – before she could whisper one last time that she loved him.

 Anger and regret turned the bath water cold.  She stood and tried to shake-off the bloody memory.

“Enough”, she said aloud.  “Tonight I won’t sleep alone”.

She dressed like a woman on the hunt. Jeans with a tiny bit of wiggle room, a red turtleneck, and black boots.  No flowery perfume. Ralph had preferred her natural scent and had sneezed whenever she wore cologne. 

Beth drove to the outskirts of town. The road was familiar because she had already taken the same route three times that week. She had parked outside The Last Chance, had drummed her fingers on the steering wheel waiting for the nerve to open the door, but each time fear had glued her fingers onto the wheel and she’d driven home alone.  But tonight was going to be different. 

She pulled over a block away from the seedy, old concrete building, slammed the lever into “park”, pushed the car door open, and could hear the sound of a hundred hungry souls.  She took a deep breath and walked toward The Last Chance. 

Doubt slowed her steps. Beth thought, Sally better be right!  Short, plain Sally. She’d met Fred at The Last Chance and they’ve been together for three years.  And he’s totally devoted to her.

 Then she imaged her mother’s face if she knew that her only daughter was about to open the door to “a place like that; a haven for losers”.  The image of her up-tight mother worked.  Beth yanked open the heavy metal door. 

Every face in the place turned toward her.

She smelled desperation and loneliness.  She blushed; she wasn’t a woman accustomed to such attention. But being timid wouldn’t get her what she needed.  She strutted into the room. 

Beth felt the room vibrate with energy.  A trim guy with long hair openly stared at her.  She ignored him.  A blond stud winked at her; he was drooling.  She shivered in revulsion and was about to turn and walk out the door when she noticed him.  Alone.  Unkempt.  Old.  His head rested on the bar. He was the only one in the room who wasn’t begging for her attention.  She willed him to look up, and, as if she were the moon and he the tide, he lifted his head and met her eye.  And in that instant she imagined his past -- a youth spent with inattentive parents and abusive siblings, a long line of promiscuous sexual relationships, and finally his life on the streets.   

“Turn around and walk out that door!” She commanded herself.  But her heart drove her feet.  She walked toward him, suddenly bold, and whispered, “Hi, handsome, do you have a name?”  He raised an eyebrow. Beth continued, “Would you like to go for a walk?”  Hope leapt into his red-rimmed eyes.  “It’s going to be okay”, she said.  He got to his feet – slowly. She brought her face close to his.  He needed a bath.  Badly.  She fantasized about soaping his bony body.  Slowly, gently. And she knew that although he would never replace young, strong Ralph, chemistry was based on something deeper than a young healthy body. 

Beth paid his tab. She held the door for him and they strolled to her car. They sat for a moment in silence, and then she said, “Viejo, let’s go home.”

He barked and licked her face as they drove away from The Last Chance.  

Note:  If you have lost a dog like Ralph or if you have a sliver of space in your heart and the ability to properly care for a pet, there is a lonely, desperate Viejo waiting.  Willing to give his devotion, love and ready to bring joy into your life. For these animals it may be their last chance.