III
After they took George’s body away, Jillian could not stomach staying at home alone as she had before. She had yet to go through his belongings or decide on what to do with them all. Her thoughts felt vacant and not hers at all. So, she took long walks with her dog instead. Spencer, her Brittney Spaniel was more than eager for his evening walk. They had not done so in a long while. Spencer was Olivia’s pet long before she had even met Gorge. Next to her sister the dog had been Jillian’s best friend.
Heading a stone’s throw from the Lake Cliff Apartment Complex was an undeveloped wooded area. It was where she always found herself heading when things got – too confusing for her. Spencer excitedly tugged at his leash wanting to be released; she called him down, “Hold on.” Pulling Jillian along, she began upping her stride to keep pace with the dog as they continued along the curvatures of the winding sidewalk’s broken path.
Across the open field, another lady was walking her Datsun. Jillian shot a look over to her and asked herself, “Why does she always follow us boy. Let’s hurry up now, Spencer.” He sniffed for a place to do his business near the wooded area’s tree line.
This was the very place where she first met George, and where he had later proposed marriage. It had been their special place, and now that he was gone memories was all she had left. Her thoughts paused. The pause made her wonder what she had been thinking about. Then a blur moved. Something in the wooded area on her right caught her attention. Glancing up, she could have sworn she saw – George.
The man was walking quickly away from her along a parallel pathway in the woods. She suddenly found herself calling his name out. Even more astounding was when he actually turned around. It was George!
With wide eyes, Jillian shouted, “Why did you do it, George? I had to clean up the mess from the walls myself. You had no right to leave me like that! George! George?”
There was no response from beyond the silent trees. Spencer looked up. Jillian glanced at the dog for any validation that she wasn’t being irrational, and then back into the now empty thickets.
The other dog-walker came up from behind and asked, “I’m sorry what did you say?”
Jillian’s flat voice replied, “Thought I saw someone I knew.” Then, realizing who it was that was asking, Jillian said, “Stop following me, Sandra. I knew you and George had something going on, alright, so just leave us alone.” Jillian shook her head, telling the Brittany Spinel as she began heading back home, “She’s everywhere, Spencer. You’d think she was a nurse waking us up in the middle of the night for a stool sample or something crazy.”
CONTINUE Reading... 4
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