Читать книгу Paw and Order - V.M. Burns - Страница 12

Chapter 4

Dixie’s stop at the fabric store for black fabric expanded to include a visit to a major pet store. A couple hundred dollars later, I had purchased a crate large enough for both Rex and Aggie to stand up and turn around, but not big enough for them to use one side for sleeping and another for a toilet. Of course, no trip to a pet store was complete without a harness and leash for Rex, a new harness dress and treats for Aggie and more toys than a couple of poodles could gut in a month. I never dreamed I’d be the type of dog owner who enjoyed dressing my dog up in ridiculous costumes and outfits, but harness dresses were an entirely different matter. Dixie and my vet both recommended harnesses rather than connecting a leash to the dog’s collar. Harnesses had a ring on the body that allowed me to hook the leash to my dog’s back rather than her throat. That prevented pulling on her neck. Toy poodles don’t pull a lot, which can pose a problem for more muscular dogs who pull and could damage their throat with a traditional collar and leash. However, I have yet to break Aggie of jumping on people. She was small and in no danger of overpowering anyone, however apart from the fact that it was bad manners, she had managed to get dirty paw prints on a cream-colored skirt and had ripped a couple of pairs of my hosiery. Harnesses helped control the jumping. The fact that manufacturers placed a tiny skirt on the harness just added to the overall cuteness factor. Aggie pranced around when she wore them, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face.

I told myself I wasn’t buying things specifically for Rex. The larger crate and the male harness would be appropriate when I officially got a second dog. At least that’s what I told myself. The reality was, Rex was already a part of my pack and if I had to give him back, I’d cry and be extremely sad. However, until that day, I intended to enjoy each moment with him and not borrow trouble.

Archibald Lowry lived atop a mountain, but unlike Dixie’s home on Lookout Mountain where there were houses, schools, restaurants and an entire community, Archibald Lowry’s estate was on an extremely isolated area on Signal Mountain.

Dixie traversed the steep narrow roads with confidence and more speed than I would have deemed safe. However, she was familiar with mountain driving.

“Why would anyone want to live out in this wilderness?”

Dixie chuckled. “If you open your eyes and loosen your grip on that door handle, you’ll see that it’s really beautiful up here.”

I opened one eye and quickly shut it. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Honestly, this is a lot more rural than I would want, but if you like hunting, fishing and nature, it’s amazing.” She glanced in the rearview mirror.

I turned to my friend. “How much nature?”

She glanced in my direction. “Lots of nature. There are bear, wild boar, turkeys.” She shrugged. “The other side of the mountain has a gated community with large three to ten acre lots. There are also bigger lots which are perfect for what they call gentleman farms. Archibald Lowry lived on the larger acreage. I heard he owned over a hundred and thirty acres of land.”

“That had to have cost a small fortune. How did Archibald Lowry make his money?”

She glanced in her rearview mirror. “No one really knows for sure. He came out of nowhere. He dabbled in real estate, mining, importing and exporting, he bought and sold businesses, and pretty much did anything and everything.”

“Seems strange to me.”

Dixie glanced at me sideways as she navigated around a curve and adroitly avoided a fallen tree limb. “Why? Isn’t it called diversifying when you’ve got your fingers in lots of pots?”

“No, I mean it’s strange that there’s not one thing he’s known for.” I paused for a minute to collect my thoughts. “I don’t know that many truly wealthy people. However, if you think about some of the richest people in the country, you can pretty much tell what they did to get their money. Oprah Winfrey was in entertainment, Bill Gates was in software, Warren Buffett invested in the stock market, Sam Walton was in retail.”

Dixie looked in her rearview mirror again. “I see what you mean. Well, I’m sure someone knows for sure how he made his money, but it’s not me.”

“Why do you keep looking back in the mirror.” I glanced at my side mirror and noticed a car further back with its daylight running lights on, but it wasn’t close enough to notice any other details.

“That car has been behind us for quite some time.”

I turned to look out of the back window. However, I couldn’t see much. “Do you think they’re following us?”

Dixie glanced back quickly and then shrugged. “Maybe they are. I mean, it could just be someone doing the same thing we’re doing, following the signs to the dog show.”

“Then why do you seem nervous?”

She hesitated and then shivered. “I don’t know. I just feel like someone walked over my grave.”

I stared at her and then glanced in the mirror again. “Shakespeare?”

“To Kill A Mockingbird.” She saw my nervousness and chuckled. “It’s just an old saying the old folks used to say when they got a chill.”

“Do you think I should call Red?” I reached down and grabbed my cell phone from my purse.

She shook her head. “Let the poor man sleep. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

We both tried to shake off the uneasy feeling, but I noticed Dixie glancing in her mirror more than usual and I caught myself looking back several times before we arrived at the show site.

Dixie followed several handmade signs that directed us to the Poodle Specialty Show. Eventually, she pulled up to the area where the events were to be held.

There was a flat area where cars, RVs and trailers were parked. There was also a large tent with grooming tables holding all varieties of poodles: toys, miniatures and standards in white, black, brown, and gray. Practically every solid color was represented.

Since reconnecting with my college friend, I had learned a lot about dogs in general, and specifically poodles, and dog shows. Dixie owned two standard poodles, Champion Chyna 9th Wonder of the World and Grand Champion Galactic Imperial Resistance Leader, also known as Leia. Chyna and Leia were retired obedience, agility and conformation champions. However, Dixie brought them out for events like this weekend where they could demonstrate their skills. Aggie was here merely to observe and, hopefully, learn how to behave like a trained poodle by hanging around with other trained poodles. Rex was here relaxing.

A poodle Specialty meant the only dogs entered would be poodles, so I wasn’t surprised at the number of poodles present. From the smallest toy poodles like Aggie and Rex, to the largest standard poodles this event was a poodle lovers’ dream, and ever since Aggie came into my life, I had become a lover. Although, just like Dixie, I liked dogs of all kinds. I loved my daughter, Stephanie’s golden retriever, Lucky, and her boyfriend, Joe’s Plott Hound, Turbo. I was quite fond of the dogs from our dog club, too. Dr. Morgan’s German shepherd, Max, B.J.’s Westie, Snoball, and Monica Jill’s dog, Jac, whom she lovingly referred to as a mutt.

I walked through the grounds and admired all of the dogs and marveled that less than a year ago there were no dogs in my life. My husband, Albert, didn’t like them. When Albert dumped me for a woman younger than our children, I realized she’d done me a favor. I was able to do the things that I enjoyed, including owning a dog. I moved from Indiana to Chattanooga, which I loved, and I had friends and was putting down roots.

“What are you grinning about?” Dixie glanced at me.

“I was just thinking how different my life is now.”

She gave my shoulder a squeeze and we walked our pack to the main tent.

Dixie had corralled a number of folks from the Eastern Tennessee Dog Club to help, even though they weren’t technically members of the Poodle Association, so I saw quite a few familiar faces. Beau, Dixie’s husband, was one of them.

“Great, there’s Beau.” Dixie pointed toward the area near the side of the tent with a large dog pen, several stadium chairs and refreshments for both humans and canines. “He’s got our crates set up.”

“Thanks, dear.” Dixie kissed Beau’s cheek as he took the standard poodles from Dixie, freeing her hands.

He removed the leashes and put the larger dogs in their crates. “You’ve got me trained pretty well,” he joked.

She smiled. “It only took a quarter of a century to do it.”

Chyna and Leia were great with Aggie and all dogs, but I knew they were going to be participating in some of the demonstrations later and didn’t need to be aggravated with a playful puppy, so I unloaded the new crate I’d bought and placed Aggie and Rex inside. Aggie wasn’t crazy about not being with the big dogs and voiced her displeasure.

“She’s so loud and disruptive, what am I going to do?” I asked Dixie.

She picked up a blanket laying across the arm of one of the chairs and placed it over the small dog crate. Similar to covering a squawking bird, the cover immediately quieted the angry poodle.

I stared at my friend. “You’re a genius.”

She shook her head. “Not even close, but this isn’t my first rodeo. You should have heard Chyna when she was a puppy.”

Beau shook his head. “She screamed whenever Dixie took Leia out and left her behind.”

Dixie left to talk to the volunteers who were working the trial. As one of the judges, she had some duties but was only judging a small group of puppies so she could participate in the obedience demonstrations later. Tomorrow, she’d take a more active role.

Beau and I sat and watched. The tent was sectioned into three major areas and each area was a ring with different poodles being judged. Dixie’s puppy group was first and there were multiple fluff balls, all groomed to perfection, prancing around the ring as though they owned it. Dixie examined each one from head to tail and quickly pronounced a beautiful gray poodle the winner.

I passed several hours comfortably with Beau. We watched the trials and killed time by trying to guess the winners. Beau was right more often than I, but he’d spent a lot more years in this world than I had. Eventually, Dixie returned.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” she announced.

Beau slid a cooler from behind his chair and opened it to reveal sandwiches, salads, and small containers filled with the jerky Dixie used to entice her dogs to perform to their highest levels. She called it, ‘food they’d sell their souls for.’ There was also a good supply of bottled water and cans of Diet Coke.

“I need to use the facilities, but…” I glanced around.

Dixie understood my revulsion of portable potties and smiled. “We’ll go to the RV and take care of business and then we’ll come back and eat.” She turned to Beau. “Why don’t you see if the dogs need to go potty.”

Beau looked around for the leashes. “I’m not sure I’m up for task of taking four at once.” He turned to Dixie. “Do you think they’ll be—”

Dixie waved her hand. “Of course. They’ll be fine. Just take them two at a time.”

He nodded and took the two standard poodles first. Chyna and Leia were so well-behaved, they didn’t need to be leashed, but I learned from Dixie that all dogs had to be leashed on the grounds of a dog show.

Dixie and I walked the short distance to the RV and took care of business. We were just on our way back when we heard a huge commotion.

“STOP!” I recognized Beau’s voice and we ran toward it.

Just as a mother will recognize her child’s cry in a room full of babies, I recognized Aggie’s bark. My children called it my mom “Spidey sense.” She had several different barks and while I hadn’t figured out what they all meant yet, I knew this one wasn’t good. There was a growl in between each bark that made the hair on my arms stand up. “Oh my God, Aggie!”