December 15th 2019

Chapter 349
Their Run Toward Honesty

Ever since the dogs had been part of the household, it had been something they all shared that one or two or more of them would get their turn at taking them out for a walk. More often than note, when it would be either Maya or Lucas' turn, they would go together. The morning after their last classes, it was to be Maya's turn, and she ended up having to go alone, as they woke up later than planned and Lucas had to go in to work for the morning. Everyone else was either working or really wanted to start on their reviews, so she headed out with the three pups on her own.

Managing the three leashes at once really wasn't so hard as it could have seemed. The three of them were well-behaved, always, if you kept Trix and Lou together. Depending on where they were, Maya would then either keep Peanut on the same side or hold that third leash in her other hand.

They had their usual route, taking them toward the dog park, though today they took a detour to go and pick up some treats at the pet store. It could have been silly, but she was mildly concerned about the upcoming move, all three of them leaving this home that had been theirs for all this time, and also Peanut going along with Rosa while the other two stayed with Lucas and her. Would it be empty bribery to get them a new toy or something?

After spending a good twenty minutes trotting through those aisles with the salesgirl, who Maya knew very well by now, they left the store again, all the new treats in Maya's backpack.

"Alright, park time?" she asked the dogs, just as Trix seemed to grow curious over something which stalled her and nearly pried the leash from Maya's grip. "Trix, come on," she turned to look at her, absently looking up toward where the dog was looking and doing a double take when it clicked in her brain that she knew this face and the boy it belonged to.

For a moment, she hesitated as to how she might proceed. She especially hesitated over the thought she had at first, as it could all go horribly bad if she was wrong. She didn't feel wrong though, so she crouched and unclipped the leash from Trix' collar. At once, the motherly dog sped off a few feet until she reached the bus stop bench and the boy sitting there. She nuzzled at his knees and he startled, like he'd been thinking, distracted. He reached over and gave her head some scratches, earning Trix Points instantly, before looking around. If he'd been looking for her owner, he didn't have to look long to spot Maya and figure out this was who the friendly pet belonged to. She walked up to him.

"Hey, Tyler."

"Hi, Ms. Hart," he spoke quietly, turning his eyes back to the dog nudging at his hand.

"Mind if I sit?" Maya asked. He shrugged, so she sat, taking a moment to reconnect the leash, in case Trix got any ideas. "Where are you headed?"

"Nowhere," he shrugged again. He was working extra hard to make himself up into this careless demeanor, but he betrayed himself in the attention he continued to give to the dog. Trix had this way about her where she wouldn't abandon any quest, not when the goal happiness. And this kid before her? Oh, he was so far away.

"Out and about. Cool. This is a good day for it, yeah?" she looked around. "I have to get home and study for my final exams later, but I'm going to the dog park first. You wanna tag along? These guys are like… competitive fetchers. Even Trix here, with her little paw." Here again, he gave himself up, as he looked down at the dog staring up at him with that lolling tongue of a smile and spotted her short leg.

"Trix," he repeated. Trix barked. Tyler smiled.

"And this is Lou, and that's Peanut," she completed the introductions. A few seconds went by, then…

"Can I walk her?"

They took off for the dog park, Maya holding Lou and Peanut's leashes, one in either hand, while Tyler had Trix. As they went, she discovered that Tyler used to have a dog himself, called Bear, because he kind of looked more like a bear than a dog to him. He'd had him from a puppy, when he was six. Then, last year, Bear had been lost. He'd made fliers, put them around his neighborhood, called all shelters, but he'd never found him. His mother had offered for them to get a new dog, but Tyler refused. He wasn't going to replace his Bear like that. Anyway, his father had said no. He'd lost one dog, and they weren't going to pay to look after another one.

"You like dogs a lot, huh?" Maya asked. What little she knew of the boy, from his being in class, he would draw one, whenever he felt like it. He was by no means a talented artist, but he could do enough that, when she looked at his projects and there was a dog again, she could recognize that it was the same type of dog. It did sort of look like a bear… "Or just the one?" He didn't reply, but she could read him enough to think it was the first answer.

When they reached the park, the dogs were let off their leashes and they started to run around giddily. Reaching into her bag, Maya took out some of the tennis balls they'd throw around. She gave them over to Tyler, who tossed the first, sending Trix, Lou, and Peanut all scampering to reach it. He had a good arm. It was as she watched him play catch with them that a new idea came to Maya. It might have been even crazier than setting Trix loose before, but that had turned out okay, hadn't it? Her gut was telling her this was right, and if she could just do this before leaving Houston… then she could leave and feel okay with it.

Maya: Hey, would it be alright if I dropped by with someone? I kind of have a small/huge favor to ask.

They played around for a little over a half hour, after which they got the leashes back on the trio and moved out of the park. When they did, Maya told Tyler that she wanted to buy him lunch. It was getting about that time. He hesitated, but he still had Trix' leash in hand, and he looked like he wasn't ready to let her go yet. So, off they went.

"They let you take them inside?" he asked, uncertain, as they approached the restaurant. "You shouldn't leave them outside, that's how I lost my dog," he admitted.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not going to do that. I have someone across the street who will watch them while we're eating," she pointed, and Tyler looked to find that they were just across from the vet clinic.

When they walked in, the receptionist smiled and said hello, to Maya and the dogs, knowing each of them fondly. She let Maya know that Dr. Hillard was busy with a patient, but she would be done soon. In the meantime, she had been told to let them into the back, and so they went.

They were met with various of the doctor's patients, currently residing at the clinic, recovering from surgery in some cases. Tyler looked at all of them, as they went, and like with Trix and the others, he showed a very genuine sort of gentleness she had not seen from him before.

"My boyfriend works here," Maya revealed. Tyler looked back at her. "His aunt runs the clinic. This is where we got Peanut. He was found in a park, abandoned, barely alive, and a woman brought him into the clinic. Lucas, that's my boyfriend, he helped take care of him, and eventually we brought him home." As she told this story, Tyler looked over at the dog, who was as solid and alive as they came now. He went and knelt in front of him, and Peanut approached him, planting his front paws on the boy's legs. Tyler was looking at him so fixedly, and after a while he just… smiled, to the point where Maya wondered if he was actually about to cry.

"He was all curled up under a bench. Only saw him because I tried to throw my juice box and it didn't make it into the trash. My mom told me to pick it up and put it in the bin. I crouched, and I heard him…" As he went on, Maya wasn't sure what he was going on about at first, but then when she understood, her mouth hung open with surprise. Was this possible? Thinking back, hadn't Lucas said it had been a woman and her son who'd found Peanut?

"How come you weren't in school?" Maya asked.

"I had to go to the dentist. Don't like going there, that's why my mom took me to the park before taking me back to school. She said she'd take the puppy to get looked at, took me back. I wanted to come and check on him later, but my dad said to forget it." It was doubtful that Peanut would remember this brief encounter, but Tyler was absolutely thrilled to finally have this answer, if nothing else.

"Hey, you must be Tyler?" They turned to find Dr. Hillard standing there. Maya had to wonder how long she'd been standing there.

"Yeah," he stood up again, just a bit unsure of how to act.

"Can I join you two for lunch?"

A few minutes later, they were sitting at the restaurant across the street, Maya, Tyler, and Tanya Hillard. Here, Maya and the vet took turns in informing the soon to be seventh-grader about a few things. They explained how Lucas had been working at the clinic for a while now, helping here and there around the place. But now, he would be leaving, and they could use someone to take his place. Obviously, this person wouldn't do everything that Lucas would do, but it would still be decent work, and it would take a certain kind of person. Dr. Hillard revealed how her son had held this job for some time, too, a few years back.

"So, what do you think? Would you like coming to work with us? A little after school, over the weekends… It wouldn't pay much, but some, and who knows, down the line…"

"For real?" Tyler asked, looking from the doctor to his former sort-of-teacher.

"Yes, for real," Tanya told him with a smile. "We can see about starting you off over the summer. I'll need your parents' permission, of course." He seemed hesitant at this.

"Both of them?" he asked. Tanya looked to Maya.

"Why don't you talk to his mother first?" Maya told her. Tanya looked back to Tyler.

"Sounds good."

After she had to go back to the clinic, it was just Maya and Tyler again. He was looking at her like he wanted to ask her something, and she had a good feeling it would go something like 'why are you helping me?' Technically, she didn't have any obligations to him anymore, not any specific ones, no. But why should that stop her?

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she slowly asked after a beat. "When you were suspended," she started, and he immediately looked down. "Hey…" she beckoned, quiet, and he slowly looked back up again. "You came back very different than how you were before. What happened there?"

"I changed, that's all," he shrugged. "I was wrong, and I was sorry for how I acted. I wanted… to be better, not like…" He closed up again, but she wasn't going to push for more. It was lining up with what she had figured back when he'd returned. There was still plenty in there for him to unpack, she could tell. It lightened some of the weight from her, at the thought of leaving him, to know that with Tanya's help, maybe Tyler would get his wish.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners