Novel Excerpts

Background:

For her best friend's birthday, Sabrina, the work-a-holic, takes a rare night off and asks Adam to watch Fleming. Although Sabrina and Adam are good friends, she senses he is keeping secrets. 

Chapter 6 – Conversations with a dog

"Hi Adam," greets Sabrina, smiling in her apartment's half open doorway. She is wearing black tights, a black blouse and a white sweater, her silver pendant dangles, almost floating, within the swaying reeds of her frilled blouse, her ruby lips shimmering.  Fleming crashes past Sabrina's leg, his tail wagging wildly. "There's my boy. It's good to see you too. Only the boys tonight, eh buddy?"   

"You look especially beautiful tonight, Sabrina," Adam replies, still petting Fleming. 

Sabrina blushes and places her hand on his shoulder. "I really appreciate you coming over to watch him." 

"Nonsense. It's my pleasure."  

From the apartment's bathroom, Carmen's voice questions. "Chicky, when's your dogsitter going to be here? We're going to be late." 

Sabrina pivots her head slightly backwards, playing with her hair and furrowing her brow, not quite understanding Carmen.  

Carmen calls out again, "Chicky, are you there?" 

Sabrina shakes off her trance. "Sorry Adam, come in." 

"Chicky, who are you talking to? We're not going make it at this rate." helping Sabrina open the door. "Oh, oh...Hi Adam. How are you?" she dotes. 

"Hello Carmen, it is a pleasure to see you again so soon," bows Adam slightly. He reaches for Carmen's hand, and kisses it."Happy birthday my lady. I got a little something for you." 

"Oh, I could just squeeze you," Carmen says, accepting a small box in her palm. 

Sabrina gently presses her hand against Carmen's stomach, holding her at bay. "Oh, don't kid yourself Adam. She means it." 

Sabrina, her mouth slightly open, twirls a curled lock of her hair, wanting to say something to Adam. She can feel the oxygen leaking from her lungs, and constricting her chest as she watches Carmen gaze at Adam. She takes a deep breath. 

"Carm." 

"Yes." 

"Aren't we going to be late?"   

Dragging Carmen past Adam, Sabrina points to the armchair's seat next to the gilded wall mirror. "You have the keys and my cell number. I'm sorry but there's not too much in the fridge, enough for some sandwiches. Oh, there's left over pizza. I didn't even touch it. It's from lunch today. And the sofa bed comes out." 

Carmen drags her enthralled hands across Adam, walking backwards into the hallway with Sabrina's help. Sabrina directs Carmen's head and body forward, "Hand's off Carmen. He's not your type" He's a nice guy." She motions towards Carmen, mouthing sorry, to a smiling Adam. 

"I'm willing to make an exception," Carmen says, as the apartment door closes behind them. 

Sabrina and Carmen walk down the stairwell discussing Adam. 

"I am so proud of you. This explains your long hours. A boyfriend and a boy toy on the side, boyfriend grade even. It seems like the student has surpassed the teacher. I bet you he's wild in bed. So is it like Amazon sex? That's a banana republic I'd like to visit," she says. "Is he an ass-man or a coconut boy? He strikes me as a coconut-boy." 

"Coconut-boy?" Sabrina asks and immediately slaps away Carmen's hand from pinching her breast. "Adam's sweet. We're just friends." 

"You look at all your friends like that?" 

"Like what?" 

"You know, playing with your hair, touching him after every syllable...the whole fawning thing. Are you telling me that you haven't hit that?" 

"Carm. We're just friends," Sabrina repeated. 

"So you won't mind if I ask him out?" 

Sabrina knew Carmen did not mince words, when she said something, she always meant it. 

"No. Not at all," Sabrina says squinting, her eyes adjusting from the darkness of the stairwell to the late afternoon sun. "Just, treat him well, Carm." 

She opens the door of the cab for Carmen who slides in first. Before Sabrina climbs in, she looks back at her apartment, and sees a watchful Adam through the window. "Promise me Carm that you will treat him well." 

Adam watches them get into a cab from the apartment's third floor window and then turns to talk to Fleming.  

"So, you want to go for a walk? Let's find something to bring you water," he says, walking towards the kitchen. 

In the sitting area, the sofa bed stretches watchfully residing over an end table and its companion, a tall free standing lamp and a coffee table displaying an artefact, while  some throw cushions and an afghan throw, fleck the sofa's circular, Argus-like eye patterned fabric,  Mounted on the walls, beneath muted display lights, are various unrelated  artefacts, some likely purchased by Sabrina while others were likely gifts given to sate an unquenchable knowledge of a historian and etymologist. Three chairs surround the oval dining table. The light maple dining table contains a slight gap in the middle as if it were extended once to fit a leaf, but once removed, the two sides could not quite return to its original state. A table runner divides the table, its frayed tassels dangling in front of Fleming's mischievous eyes. He sits in an odd gap where a chair should rest. 

"We should think about dinner while we are out," Adam says moving into the kitchen and exploring the light walnut distressed cupboards.  

Fleming jollies on the spot, panting excitedly. 

"You really shouldn't eat people food. Sabrina is right."  

Fleming whines.  

"She's being a good mommy, I'm the one causing problems," Adam says while opening the empty fridge. "Oh, she wasn’t kidding. Should we feed you before we go? Come here let's see."  

He feels around Fleming's belly. Fleming yelps in protest.  

Adam kneels down, looking into Fleming's eyes. "Fleming, I'm offended. There is only honour between gentlemen." Adam tickles Fleming under his chin. "Head up, buddy. Let's go. So where the leash, Fleming takes him to the front closet." 

Adam closes the apartment door, entering the building's hallway. "You're still upset with me? Do you have a better way of checking if you ate?"  

Fleming moans. "Oh sure, if it were up to you it would be an all day buffet." Fleming whines. "Who said you were fat? I never said that," Adam says, holding the stairwell's squeaky door open for Fleming. "Oh, you're too proud to say thank you. No, I'm not changing the subject." 

They return two hours later with groceries.  

"I never said you were fat! This may work with Sabrina, but it won't work on me. Let's just forget about it and I'll make you a P&J sandwich. Deal? Alright, let's get you setup,"  

He places the grocery bags down and accidentally kicks the water dish, sending water across the kitchen floor. Fleming violently jumps backwards. 

"Hey, take it easy buddy. It's just water, you okay?"  Fleming breathes heavily. Adam pets him. "It's okay. Nothing is going to happen to you."  

Fleming drapes perched on the dining room chair watching Adam wash the floors. An additional chair sits close to Fleming, offering a bowl of dog food, beside a jelly stained saucer full of bread crumbs. Occasionally Fleming smacks his tongue along the upper wall of his mouth, trying to remove the peanut butter. 

The flashing images from the television gleam against the wet floor, giving the tile a bluish tint during the late evening. Fleming droops further over the edges of the chair and snorts. 

"When we wiped it up, it looked strange with this one clean spot," Adam points out. "Yeah, so I am a little neurotic! Weren't you supposed to eat your food before the sandwich? Pardon? Not so chatty now, are we? Yes, I realize that I am chirping a dog. Don't tell me you're bored. I'm the one washing the floor." 

Fleming yawns loudly. 

"Am I keeping you up, buddy? What? Okay, so they don't have the strongest starting pitching, but they have some bats. He puts the rag down. "Whoa, I never said that. I am just saying that the Yankees aren't that bad. When their bats heat up...watch out." 

Fleming hangs over the side of the chair and watches Adam. 

11:22pm 

Adam wakes up on the sofa with Fleming resting his head on his chest.  

"Buddy, I'm drenched. You have some active saliva glands," Adam says softly.  

Fleming whimpers as Adam gently slides him off his chest and back on to the squeaking sofa bed. He removes his damp shirt and bundles it into a pillow, placing it under Fleming. The gauze wrap falls from his arm unnoticed. 

Fleming moans and whimpers from the noises as Adam moves throughout the house. "Don't yell at me, I smell like I am wearing 'eau de milk bone'. It might work for you, but I assure you, it’s not a budding trend in the fragrance industry. I don't mind a kiss, but that's a little excessive. What? I still love you, don’t take it personally." 

Adam stands upright and surveys the two doorways from the sofa. One door is closed while the other is barely visible. He is feeling uncomfortable about going into Sabrina's room and rummaging through her things. Deep in thought, he debates exploring beyond the common area. 

"Go back to bed. I'll be back. I need a shirt." 

In the two-bedroom apartment, he tries the first door's handle. It is locked. He stands patiently outside the door, seemingly waiting for someone to open the door.  

Defeated, he wanders into Sabrina's room and flicks on the light. Draped on the back of a matching dining room armchair, he sees a handful of outfits. 

 The mirror spanning the chest is adorned with a collage of photographs, its edges tucked neatly under the rim of the mirror's frame. He scans the pictures, much of which consists of Sabrina and another woman with similar features. He removes a picture of the two leaning their heads together from the piers, the harbour is in the background. He focuses in on their laughing faces, how they seem to be falling onto each other in joy. Sabrina's eyes gleam with happiness. The silver pendant rests on the other woman's chest. He runs his finger across Sabrina hair, almost willing it aside, to have a clear look at her face. He places the picture back. 

The other photographs are almost exclusively portraits of the woman, Fleming always at her side, either being hugged or sitting obediently. "What's your mommy's name, buddy?” he says to himself. He sees a single photograph of a male who he assumes is the boyfriend. He is muscular, and has shorter hair.  

He breathes deeply, reminded that she is with someone.  

He surveys the room, debating which he should open first, the closet or the armoire. He opens the closet, and large cardboard rolls topple out, pushing out what little personal items she had resting on the closet floor. Fleming whimpers from the living room. "I know. I'll take care of it." The closet's top is filled with boxes labelled 'McKenzie's photos' in Sabrina's handwriting. Nestled within the papered frames and stacks of rolls, rests two pairs of heels. One is a pair of black stilettos, while the other is a red heeled evening shoe. Two dresses hang from the closet while a handful seemingly hangs forgotten from their dusty dry cleaner wrap. He leafs through the wrapped, modest dresses. They crinkle and stick when Adam lets go. Adam tries to best stack the rolls and papered frames in the same manner with which they fell, pressing her shoes against this leaning mass. Carefully, he closes the door; the bottom corner of the warped, door passes the closet's frame, seemingly on the verge of bursting open.  

He notices a red strap dangling from the armoire's top drawer. He opens it. It is a red lace bra. He pulls it out; it dangles in front of him like a bunch of grapes. Fleming whimpers. "What? I am human too. Well kind of."  He places the bra back and leaves the drawer ajar, staging the scene. But it does not seem right. He pulls and then pushes the drawer numerous times, trying to put things back as they were.  Finally, he gives up, and simply closes the drawer, hoping she will forget. 

He sits beside Fleming, gently placing his hand on him, and watches the television's images without sound. "No such luck, buddy." Fully awake, he sits there quietly and watches the clock. He scours the room, until he sees an 11 x 18 poster on the fridge from a previous museum gala. He gets up and removes the advertisement from the fridge. He flicks on the light above the small dining table and flips the poster around. And then walks into Sabrina's room. 

2:55am. 

Keys jiggle outside the apartment door. 

"Shh...looks like everyone is sleeping, Carm. You should just take the cab," Sabrina whispers while opening the door into the dark apartment. 

"He's probably awake. The cab is waiting anyway, I'll take him home," Carmen says.  

"He lives in the other direction," Sabrina responds, invitingly holding the apartment's door open for Carmen to leave. 

"So it's decided then, he can come with me. It's the least I can do. I mean, I should thank him for the gift."  

"Carm! How did you convince me to let you in," Sabrina's says, still holding the door open. 

"You have a boyfriend, what are you worried about? Speaking of which, am I ever going to meet him?" She motions towards Adam,” I just want to take him for spin, and then maybe I’ll lease him for a couple of years, with an option to buy," Carmen comes closer to the sofa and a sleeping, open mouthed Adam. "Pstt. Pstt.   

"Carmen!" Sabrina says, still holding the door open. 

"He has a tramp stamp. It's a strange one. " 

The door glides closed, thumping lightly. "I didn't know he had a tattoo," Sabrina says, approaching the sofa.  

"I think it’s a tree. Looks like there is glitter on it. See, he's got a bit Ke$ha in him. I'm liking him more and more," Carmen pauses. "Is it me, or it's rippling?  

Adam stirs and mumbles, turning to his left. 

"Shhh,” Sabrina says. 

"Wake up. I'll take you home. You and those abs -,"she runs her hand down his abs. "Mmm. Feel that. It's like a juicer!" Her hand moves towards his waist.  

"Carm, what are you doing? You're going to wake him up." 

"Can I take a peek? Make it my birthday present," she pleads, leaning down pulling up his jeans.  

"Carm, no!" 

"You're such a prude!" Carmen pauses. "Girly?" 

"Yes, Carm." 

"What did you think of the Cabbie?" 

Sabrina locks the door behind an exiting Carmen. And shakes her head, chuckling at Carmen’s comments.   She kneels over Adam, and looks at his closed eyes, waving her hands in front of his face. "Adam. Adam," she says softly. "Are you awake?" 

She fixes her gaze upon his face and, like feelers in the dark; her hand slowly makes its way down his bare chest and his contoured abdomen. Her fingers tiptoe past the wild curls below his belly button, finally slipping down to his jeans,  

"Adam," she whispers again. "Are you awake?" 

She raises his jeans, and gently lifts his underwear. She methodically turns her head to have a peak, turning slowly and deliberately, poised to stop and not look suspicious if he should awake.  Fleming whimpers. She releases her grip, the underwear snaps back.  

Adam stirs and mumbles.  

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay.  It's just me," she assures, playing with Adam's hair, trying to put him back to sleep.  

"I've always loved the way you play with my hair," he says from his sleepy state.   

She gives him a curious look, and wonders what he is dreaming about."I've never played with your hair, silly," she smiles. And as quickly as she utters the words, she grows serious as it sounds incorrect.  When he is back asleep, she hovers over his face and kisses him on the forehead. She remains there for a moment before conceding a single kiss on his lips. 

Sabrina flicks on the lights in the bathroom and closes the door. She throws water on her face. As she finishes rinsing, she remains still, almost paralyzed. She stares into the mirror and slowly turns off the tap. Methodically, she pivots her torso, slowly as if, behind her, there were a bird she did not wish to scare away. She pulls back the shower curtain and stares at the full tub, standing over the water trying to understand her friend.  

In the kitchen, through her tights, her foot unexpectedly slides on the tile. Flipping on the light, she realizes that the floor has been washed as have the dishes. She opens the fridge to grab a drink and is surprised that it has groceries in it. She stands in front of the open refrigerator, almost gathering herself. Her chest begins to rise and fall rapidly as her breath grows short and loud. She stares at the fridge door, before removing the drawing from the magnets, her short breaths resembling whimpering. The fridge door is ajar, and casts her shadow across the kitchen floor. 

Returning to the living room from her bedroom, draped in a blanket, she uncoils, and hovers over Adam. The moonlight runs its ray-like fingers against her bare, gleaming thighs and ankles. Wearing only underwear and an undershirt, she stands over Adam, studying him in his sleep. She places the blanket over him and finally slides in beside him, taking his arms and wrapping them around her.