A Common Person and Other Stories by R. M. Kinder;

Author:R. M. Kinder;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)
Published: 2020-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

“He said they’ve had snakes before. They get adopted faster than dogs.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Zoos, Leo. Heard of zoos?”

Three days later I saw the pretty girl in the neighbor’s backyard. She was standing where the collar and chain had been and maybe still were. She wore an old-fashioned print dress, one with square, padded shoulders. I had horseshoes in my hands and was waiting on B. J. and Jonathan to find the energy to join me. They were arguing about summer courses, whether they were harder or easier than regular semester. Neither of them had to worry. They liked challenge.

I let one horseshoe fall, linked it, dropped it, linked it. It was a heavy sound, but musical still. She looked at me and so did Brute. I don’t think she could see him from her position, but it didn’t matter if she did. Brute could have turned up at my place on his own. I thought maybe she’d walk over and we’d fall in love for a few months. But she turned away. Obviously she was a woman who liked snakes.

My buddies and I played horseshoes for two hours or so. Fireflies were rampant, in a hurry as they have to be. The night cooled. The professors’ back door opened, and they came out on their deck, walked down the stairs while one of their black dogs keened so fiercely the woman clamped her hands over her ears. A ringer hummed. Their three dogs barked intermittently. The strange family came through the gate, and the professor went on by, three dogs pulling him along. She came into our yard like being around a group of young males might make her nervous but would never stop her. B. J. and Jonathan called a halt, kind of listened without nosing.

“I know you did all that,” she said to me, nodding toward the neighbor’s place. “And I want to thank you and to apologize for what I was thinking about you.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “He did it all himself.”

Jonathan snorted.

She smiled. “Yes, he sure did.”

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