Must Love Dogs

Elsa was looking at her salad and pushing the spinach leaves around. "No, not yet. But maybe someday."

"Well, whenever you do decide to jump back into the pool, I think you'll be amazed at how many men will be interested in you."

"Oh, please. I'm 38 years old a widow with a high school education. I've never had a real job and well, I'm kind of shy. I really can't imagine anyone finding me...interesting."

"Then you're not seeing the same woman I'm seeing." He waited for her to look up then told her, "You may just be the most attractive older woman I've ever met."

"Hah! Key word being 'older'! Or in your case, 'much older.' There's just no way anyone..."

"Elsa?" He waited again for her to stop. "The woman I told you I recently broke up with? She was 35."

"Okay, so I'm even older than her which means..."

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"You're absolutely beautiful. Trust me. For any age." She started to talk and Curt said, "Let me finish, please." She took a sip of water and Curt continued. "All I'm saying is I'm um...extremely...selective...about the women I date. I can assure you you're as attractive as any girl or woman I've ever gone out with. So when I tell you you're going to have men buzzing around you like you were a queen bee—whenever you are finally ready—you can take that to the bank." He wasn't sure but it looked like Elsa blushed ever so slightly. The bottom of her neck was red around the top of her white blouse but Grimes didn't mention it.

"I guess I'll have to take your word for it. I don't see it myself, but if you say it's true I'll let it go at that."

Curt shifted gears slightly and asked her, "Do you feel like talking about your husband? Some people find it helpful. Others don't. I'll respect your decision either way. I know you said he was the love of your life."

"Oh, right. I did say that, didn't I?" She took another sip of water and said, "I guess once someone is gone we tend to forget the bad and only remember the good."

"The bad?" he asked before taking a bite of buttered bread.

"Jerry was very...he never wanted me to work or really even go out much. It was just his way, you know?"

"It's none of my business but that sounds kind of controlling." He saw Elsa's eyes glistening and decided to change the subject.

"Have you ever been to a dog show?"

She blinked a couple of times then smiled and said, "No. Have you?"

"Nope. But there's one downtown next weekend and I want to go check it out. Do you want maybe check it out with me?"

"Me? With you? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I mean we both love dogs, right? And you're into training Rex now. This should be interesting and maybe even a lot of fun."

"I agree but why would you want me to...tag along with you. Wouldn't you rather spend your time with someone younger and...prettier?"

"Nah, I'd rather hang out with you instead," he said waiting to see if she got the humor.

"But that means you think I'm not..." She picked up a piece of salad and threw it at him. "You're terrible!"

"Hey, wait a minute. No woman has ever said that about me and there's good reason for it, I assure you!"

Elsa's jaw fell open at his comment. "See, you are terrible!" She picked up another piece of salad and threw it at him.

"Hey! Don't think I won't fight back because you're a girl," he told her as he flung a piece at her.

Elsa shrieked then picked up a piece of bread and hurled it at him. "Oh, it is so on!" she said.

Moments later, Rex was having a field day lapping up lettuce, bread, and Lord-knows-what-else that ended up on the floor.

Elsa was laughing so hard she had snot coming out of her nose. Curt was also laughing loudly as he said, "Truce! Truce!"

"Yes, truce!" Elsa said trying to hide her embarrassment and the nasty mess on her lip. "Ugh! That is just so disgusting!" she said as she wiped it off with a napkin. She looked over at Curt and both of them burst out laughing again.

"Maybe we should clean this up," he said looking around.

There wasn't a lot left after Rex did his thing, but both of them still had lettuce, butter, and even some pudding on their clothes. Curt pointed some out on her blouse then used his finger to scoop it off. He went to try and rub it on her nose and she didn't just pull back. She recoiled in fear.

"Hey, what's the matter? I was just playing."

Elsa put her hands over her face and said, "I'm so sorry. I know you'd never hit me. I didn't mean to react like that. It just sort of happened."

Curt was pretty sure he knew why she reacted that way but had no intention of asking her if her husband's control extended into the realm of the physical.

They didn't talk a whole lot after that and Curt ended up finding an excuse to leave before nine and Elsa almost seemed relieved.

The next week's rides were also strained and very little was said there until Friday when Curt said, "So are you still interested in the dog show tomorrow?"

Elsa let Rex off the leash and told him to sit. "Oh. I just kind of assumed you wouldn't want to do that after, you know..."

"Of course I do. Elsa, I don't know why I scared you so badly or what may or may not have happened in your past. I just want you to know that I have never, ever hit a woman and I would never do so. Period. If I scared you, I'm sorry, but I want you to know you're 100% safe around me."

"Thank you for saying that, Curt. I have had a few issues...in the past."

"We don't have to talk about it. I can only imagine how painful that it is. I just need you to know that I respect you and will never, ever lay a hand on you."

She smiled and thanked him before he said employing his ever-present dry sense of humor, "Unless of course you ask me to. Then all bets are off."

Elsa laughed as hard as he'd ever seen her and it made him feel good to know things were back on track. "Well, then don't tempt me," she told him as though it was a serious warning.

"I'll make no such promise," he told her and watched her laugh again. "How about I pick you up at noon so we can get there a little early? I have no idea how many people attend these things."

"Oh, it is indoors, right?" she asked. The weather was turning cooler and although Elsa didn't mind it, she wanted to make sure to dress appropriately.

"It is indeed indoors. Well, let's put it this way. The stadium's roof will be closed," he assured her and with that told Shea to 'heel' and headed out.

"See you tomorrow morning, Curt!" she hollered as he pedaled off. Curt waved briefly, the leash in his hand and headed around the corner and out of sight.

Elsa was in good spirits Saturday morning and they had a great ride punctuated with a lot of silly banter. Back in front of her house he reminded her he'd be by around twelve and she said happily, "It's a date!" She immediately got that 'look' and said, "I don't know how that came out. I meant to say 'that sounds great'."

Curt looked at her in a way she now understood meant he was about to say something not to be taken seriously. "Elsa? Are you saying a date with me would be terrible? You know, terrible as in—me?"

She smiled and then laughed briefly. Her expression changed and she looked down when she told him, "It wouldn't be terrible for me, but it would probably be pretty terrible for you."

"I find that hard to imagine," he told her. "In fact, I'm sure that isn't true."

"You are?" she said still not looking at him.

"Well, I'm not 100% certain." He got off his bike and walked over to her and said, "I suppose I'd have to actually go on a date with you before I could say for sure."

"Oh, right. That would make sense," she said as she took one quick look up at him before looking away again.

"Yeah, and then I could be absolutely sure that spending time with you really is terrible." She looked up and saw his face and started laughing again.

"So I guess I'll see you at noon then?" she said avoiding any further commentary on the subject.

"Definitely," he told her.

She was sitting on her front porch swing when he pulled up. She waved at him and smiled as she stood up and made her way down the steps and along the sidewalk to his car.

Curt got out as soon as he saw her and went around to open her door for him. This time he couldn't tell whether Elsa was happy or sad based on the way she looked at him. He closed her door then went around to his side and got back in.

"Thank you," she said. He looked over and he could see her eyes welling up again.

"You okay?" he asked as he put on his seat belt.

"It's just that I can't remember the last time a man opened a door for me. Thank you for doing that, Curt."

As before, he pretended not to notice her emotion and said, "Okay, let's roll, Kato!"

Elsa said, "I should know where that line comes from, but I can't place it. What movie was it used in?"

"Movie? Hah! That was from the old TV show The Green Hornet which was way before both of our times," he told her with great authority. "I just like watching old time TV reruns."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me how much older I am than you."

He just smiled and headed off for downtown Seattle.

Qwest Field was huge and parking wasn't even close to being an issue. "Well, so much for planning ahead," he said as they were only a few hundred cars in a lot meant for many thousands. "Looks like we have some time on our hands."

"We could go look around if you want to," she suggested.

"You know what? Window shopping sounds really nice. Let's do it!"

Curt drove a couple of blocks north to Pioneer Square and parked the car. Elsa went to open her door and Curt held up a finger. "Uh-uh. No ma'am. That's my job." He let her out and she thanked him again as sincerely as the time before.

He held out his arm in a grand gesture as he said, "Shall we?"

She hooked her arm under his and said, "We shall!"

The spent the better part of the next hour knocking around various shops and looking at some of the old landmarks in what was once the city's center before most of the old wooden structures had been burned to the ground during the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

They passed a clothing store called Clementine and Elsa saw something that caught her eye. "That is so pretty!" she said pointing to a lavender-colored cashmere sweater. "I don't even want to know how much it costs."

"Why not?" Curt asked. "It can't hurt to look, can it?"

Having said that he started pulling her inside and she screamed a happy scream as she said, "Curt? What are you doing? I can't afford to shop in here."

He opened the door for her and gently nudged her inside. A young-looking girl of about 18 said, "Hi, welcome to Clementine! Can I show you anything?"

"Oh, no. We're just looking, thank you," Elsa said.

"Actually, we'd like to see the lavender sweater in the front window in a..." He looked at Elsa as though he was sizing her up then finished with, "A small, please."

"Sure! Just gimme a sec, okay?" she said in a very perky voice.

"What are you doing? That's gonna cost half of what I get from Jerry's social security every month."

"We're just looking, okay? Don't stroke out on me," he said employing his dry humor again.

"Did you just call me old—again?" she said punching his arm.

"Here you go!" she said handing it to Elsa. The changing rooms are right over there.

Elsa pulled out the tag and showed it to Curt. "See? This is insane?"

The tag had '$325' crossed out and right below it was: 'Sale price $199.'

Elsa went to hand it back and Curt said, "She'd like to try it on."

The girl ignored Elsa and focused on Curt and not just because he was interested in a possible purchase. "I'll open one of the rooms for your wife right now, okay?"

Curt smiled then looked at Elsa whose eyes were wide open and her mouth agape. "You tryin' to catch flies or something?" he said as he gently raised her jaw back up.

"Now I'm your wife? We haven't even been on a first date and I'm suddenly married to you? Sheesh!"

"Hey, would it really be that bad?" he said as though he were deeply hurt. "I'm hurt!" he said punctuating his statement.

"Oh, you're gonna be hurt if you keep this up," she said sweetly just as the girl told her it was ready.

"Go on. Try it on." She gave him a cold look and said, "Try it on for me? Please?"

She made a noise of some kind then smiled at the girl and thanked her. She shot Grimes another look before going inside.

"Your wife is very pretty," the girl sound loud enough for Elsa to hear.

"Yes, my wife IS very pretty!" Grimes said even louder.

"I heard that!" Elsa said.

"Well, it's true, honey!" he said louder still.

Seconds later, she opened the door and stepped out. "Okay. I tried it on. Now can we go?" she said with a mild hint of irritation in her voice.

"We'll take it," he said to the girl.

"What?" Elsa said with complete disbelief. "We will not!"

"I'll ring that up for you right over here," the girl said.

"We'll do no such thing!" she told Grimes. "Curt? This is crazy! I can buy three or four sweaters for this price at any normal store. I'm putting this back."

"No, you're not," he told her. He reached out and took her hands and said, "I was hoping you'd wear it for me on our first date."

"Our what?" she said weakly.

"Our first date. You know, where a man and a woman who like each other spend time together doing something they both enjoy. Like maybe going to a dog show?"

Her eyes were darting back and forth between his but she couldn't speak. "Oh, and she'll be wearing it out of the store okay, miss?" he called over.

"Sure. I'll just get the tag for her and removed the anti-theft chip."

"First...date?" she said not having heard the exchange between Curt and the store clerk.

"Uh-huh. That is, if you agree to this being a first date."

Her eyes were once again getting misty. Grimes had a tissue in his pocket and he let go of her hands to retrieve it. "Here, let me get that," he said as he dabbed her eyes. "We don't want your mascara to start jogging, do we?"

Elsa couldn't keep from laughing. She put her hands over her mouth as she did and said, "No, we don't want that."

"So...?" he asked her.

"So?" she repeated.

He took her hands again and asked, "Is this a first date?" He moved even closer and saw her eyes begin darting again.

"Okay," she said very quietly.

Grimes leaned down and gently kissed her for the first time. "You look very pretty," he told her.

Elsa's opened then opened wide again as she said, "I do?" It was barely a whisper.

"Yes, you do," he told her as he touched her cheek with his hand. "Don't forget your purse."

"No. No, I won't," she said her voice slightly shaky.

The girl quickly took care of her end of the transaction and thanked Grimes after he signed the credit card receipt. "Have a great day, you two!" she said. "You guys make a really great couple!"

Grimes helped her on with her coat and when they got outside Elsa stopped and said, "That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Her eyes were again filling with tears and he pulled out the slightly wet tissue and said, "We better get you to an eye doctor. I think you've got a leak somewhere up there."

She went to playfully swat him again and he grabbed her arm and held it gently as he stared at her. "I wish you could see how beautiful you are to me, Elsa." He slid his hand down her arm and took her hand then turned her arm behind her back as he softly kissed her again. This time Elsa kissed him back but still didn't speak.

He caught her opening her coat more than once to get a look at her new sweater in various shop windows. "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?" she said turning toward him. "I love it!" She was looking at him 'like that' again and he waited for her to speak. "Curt?" she said quietly. "Would you please kiss me again?"

He gently raised her chin and kissed a third time. Elsa put her free arm around his neck and kissed him back again. "Wow. You're a really good kisser," she told him as they separated.

"You're not bad yourself," he said to her.

He held out his hand and took hers. "We should probably head back to Qwest Field."

When they pulled back in, another couple hundred cars were in the massive lot, but it hardly made a visible difference.

"Think it's warm enough to leave my coat in the car?" she asked. "I'd like you to be able to see what you bought me."

"I'm sure it'll be okay inside."

She set her coat down then told him, "I just wish I had something other than jeans to wear with it for you."

He was standing behind her on her side as she dropped her coat in the front seat. Grimes made a big deal out of ensuring she saw him looking at her butt when he said, "I think you look just fine in jeans."

She turned around and went to playfully hit him again then stopped and put her arms around his neck. "You really are terrible," she said before kissing him for the first time.

He put his arms around her waist and said, "Again, I assure you I am not terrible."

"You're not?" she said smiling brightly as she kissed him again.

"Nope. And I can prove it," he told her.

"Hmmm. Well, as much as I'd like to take your word for it, I will have to verify your claim."

They kissed one more time then walked inside, hand in hand. "Oh, it's not bad at all in here," she said nothing the temperature was very pleasant with the 'roof' closed.

For the next three hours, they held hands, laughed, kissed often, and enjoyed the various events ending with the award of 'best in show.'

When they got back to Elsa's place, she said, "Curt? Thank you for the nicest time I can ever remember having. And thank you for the beautiful sweater. I really love it. I just wish I could wear it longer for you."

"Well, you could if you really want to," he told her. She looked over at him with a questioning look before he continued. "In all this time you've never been to my place. We could go back there and spend some time together. I mean, isn't that what people do on a date? And maybe we could consider it our second."

"I'd like that very much," she told him with a warm smile. "Just let me go inside and give Rex a chance to go outside and feed him."

"Or..." he said. She looked over at him. "Or you could put him in the car and take him back to my place. After he takes care of business first, of course."

"Hmmm. Okay. That sounds nice. Are you gonna wait here?"

"Sure. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

She leaned over and kissed him and said, "You know I really like you, right?"

"You do?" he said pretending he had no idea.

"Yes, I do," she said as though she needed to convince him.

"Well, I'm glad because I really like you, too."

"You do?" she said. He kissed her again and asked her not to take to long.

It was almost thirty minutes before she came back out and Grimes was just about to go see what could possibly be taking her so long. When she stepped out onto the front porch he said out loud, "Holy shit!"

Elsa had changed into a short black skirt and a pair of three-inch black heels with ankle straps. She'd also put on some plum-colored eye shadow and mascara and even a bit of eye liner. She was wearing a silver necklace and earrings and Grimes almost forgot to get out to help her.

Rex no longer jumped and went nuts around other people and that was a good thing because Grimes barely noticed him. "Holy cow!" he said when she got to the car.

"Is this okay for the rest of a first date? Or...a second?" she asked unable to keep from smiling.

"I didn't think you could look any more amazing, but...wow! You look...amazing!"

He opened the back door and she told Rex, "Up!" He got in and sat in the middle as Curt opened the door for Elsa.

He could see Rex panting in the rearview mirror and laughed at his tongue hanging out. "He's such a good boy," Grimes said. "You've done a lot with him since that first day."