“Well, not really. I was always wrapped up in police work at your age, so I never paid much attention to girls. The closest I’ve ever come to what you’re going through now would be the way I met your mother.”
“Not helping, Dad.”
“Well,” Rex said defensively, “I’m only telling it to you as I experienced it.”
“So what should I do?” asked Toby in despair.
“Tell me something,” said Rex, staring at Toby intently. “Is it really the thought of a relationship that bothers you so much, or is it more Pete’s teasing?”
Toby shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, yeah, it doesn’t help much that Pete’s been on my case about it. But…” he shuddered. “Well, it’s just so weird. I mean, Luna’s my friend.”
Rex raised an eyebrow. “And assuming you had to pick someone to go out with I suppose you’d rather be dating your worst enemy?”
“Well, no, but…” Toby tried to come up with a response, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. “I guess you’re right about that.”
Rex nodded. “Well, this may seem like I’m pushing you and Luna together, but may I point out that your mother and I started off as friends.”
“I’m not looking for anything like…like you and mom, dad. I just want this to be over!” Then out of curiosity he asked, “So how did it go for you and Mom? I mean…you know, how you met?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. I think it would help if you understood that your mother and Pete’s father had the same master, so they lived together. But when Pete’s father died, Terry was so heartbroken she couldn’t bear to be near anyone or anything that reminded her of him. So she ran away from home and became a street dog.”
“So that’s why she spent those weeks on the street that she’s always talking about,” said Toby. “But what does it have to do with you?”
“More than you’d think. You see, a lot of the street dogs weren’t so happy about a housedog intruding on their territory, so Terry got into a lot of fights she didn’t want. And one day, while I was going for a walk…“
“You? asked Toby incredulously. “Out for a stroll? But you never go outside unless you’re on duty.”
Rex’s paw strayed to his thin fur. “Well, it was summertime, and the chief said I should get some exercise. And it’s a good thing he made me do it, because I found your mother caught up in a fight with three other dogs. I wasn’t such a great fighter, but I managed to drive them off. Then once I had gotten her calmed down enough that she could talk, I convinced her to tell me her story and then I persuaded her to go home. And, since it just so happened that she lived close to here, we saw each other quite a lot after that. We became friends, and…well, by and by we fell in love.”
Toby nodded. “Well, I’m not quite sure I want it to go that way for me and Luna,” he said, half-fibbing. “I just want to be friends with her, that’s all. I don’t want it to get romantic.”
“Well, in that case, you’d better go talk to her before she’s too upset with you to be friends anymore.”
“Okay,” Toby said, heading for the door. He thought that was the end of it, but something wouldn’t let his mind rest. “Dad?” he asked.
“Yes?”
Toby gulped, deciding it was time to confront that badgering in the back of his mind. “Well, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Luna. When she started acting weird, I was worried. Really worried, more than when she’s been sick before. So the truth is…I think I do sort of like her.”
“Well, if you like her and she likes you, what’s the problem?”
“Well, having a girlfriend seems like a lot of pressure. What if I do something wrong and end up looking like a moron in front of her?”
Rex thought about that. “Ah, yes. The pressure to impress her. Tell me, when you two are together, just as friends, are you worried about making a mistake?”
“No, why?”
“Well, if she likes you warts and all as a friend, she’ll probably like you any other way too. In light of the hospital incident, it’s pretty obvious that she knows you’re not perfect and accepts you anyway.”
Toby winced. That incident had been an accident, but he still felt guilty sometimes when it was mentioned. “Could we please not bring up the hospital incident?”
“Hey, I’m just saying that if she knows you’re not perfect, it takes a load off your shoulders.”
Toby shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I’ll give you one more piece of advice, Toby.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t rush into anything. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. When your mother and I realized we were becoming attracted to each other, we took it one step at a time and thought things through. I didn’t want her to suffer a second heartbreak, and neither did she.” He shrugged. “Of course, Luna may prove a bit impatient sometimes, but she seems like she’d understand in this case.”
“Okay,” said Toby, glancing at the window. “Uh-oh, it’s getting dark. I’d better get going.” He headed for the door. “Hey Dad?” he added, looking back at his father just before he slipped out, “Thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Uh-huh,” said Rex with a grin. “Good luck, son.”
And Toby stepped out the dog door and into the gathering dusk.
Luna walked away, her head and tail drooping. ‘What have I done?’ she thought. ‘I’ve messed up, and probably lost my best friend.’ She was so busy dwelling on her problem that she didn’t realize she had passed her parents’ house until she heard running feet behind her.
“Luna, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Luna, come on. Tell me what happened.”
“Mom, I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Which probably means you should.”
Luna spun around with her eyes burning. “I blew it, OK?” she snapped. “I completely blew it. I choked, I scared him off, and I don’t think he’ll ever speak to me again!”
“Ouch,” said Taya. “That doesn’t sound good.” Then she noticed that some of the other dogs on the street were staring, surprised by Luna’s outburst. “Come on, let’s go somewhere and talk about it alone.”
The two dogs found a quiet spot and sat down. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“Well,” said Luna, “I started off just like you said. I told him there was a guy I liked, and he took that just fine. But when he asked me who it was…” she started to choke. “I tried to say it was someone he might know, but when I opened my mouth, out it came.”
“Ouch,” commented Taya, wincing. “So then what happened?”
“Well, he looked at me as if I had attacked him or something, and when I tried to explain, he ran off.”
“I’m sorry, Luna.”
Luna hung her head. “No, I’m the one who blew your advice. I’ve completely messed it up, and now I’ve probably lost my best friend.”
“Now hold on, Luna. You two will still be friends. He’ll get over it.”
Luna was near tears by now. “But what if he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore? And how am I supposed to speak to him after…after…” and
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Thanks. I thought it was pretty good.
