Page 18 of The Woodcarver's Model
“Well, hello.”
He hadn’t seen the dog last night. Maybe Mitch had kept him locked up so he didn’t get in the way.
The dog stood up, turned and started to leave the room. Then he paused and looked back at Rob to make sure he was following.
“Okay. I’m coming.”
The dog left the room and Rob stood and stretched. He felt well rested. He rarely, if ever, spent a night at someone’s place. It was usually a quick kiss after the deed was done, a few spoken pleasantries and false promises and a quick exit. He slipped his underwear and jeans on as he took in the spectacular sea view out the window, then he followed in the dog’s footsteps.
The moment Rob left the bedroom, he heard the sound of feet stepping and sliding, and a mixture of humming with an attempt at a few sung words. There was Mitch, in front of the kitchen counter, wearing nothing but boxer briefs and his headphones, dancing and singing softly to a song as he made breakfast. In a partial spin, he saw Rob.
“Good morning! I see you met Rufus. I sent him in to get you up. If I’m going to show you the island, we’d better get an early start.”
How is it possible for someone to look this good in the morning?Rob thought.
“First, I’m going to put you to work,” Mitch said. “Mugs are in the cupboard. I take milk in my coffee.”
“You got it.”
As Rob walked past him, Mitch gave him a kiss. And not just a quick thanks-for-the-fuck kiss, but the kind that could lead to never getting to breakfast.
“Later,” Mitch said, flashing that brilliant smile at him.
Rob poured Mitch a coffee and handed it to him. “I didn’t know you had a dog.”
“Oh, I don’t, really. Rufus doesn’t belong to me. He’s kinda his own dog, if you know what I mean. He just sorta shows up now and then to check up on me, don’tcha boy?” Mitch scratched the dog’s head and Rufus made a strange, pleasant yowly talking sound. “He’s a one-dog neighbourhood watch.”
Their island tour began at the kitchen table and Mitch was as excited as a child at Christmas.
“First we have fresh fruit from the Williams’ place down the road. Try this.” Mitch picked up a blood-red strawberry, dipped it in yogurt and rubbed it on Rob’s lips until he opened his mouth, licking the yogurt off the berry before slowly biting into it.
“The yogurt was from Maggie. You remember—the naked sun worshipper? The venison sausages are from Matty Tsugami. He hunts his own meat. Okay—that’s from the mainland, but he grinds and stuffs his own,” he said.
“I just bet he does,” Rob replied, smirking.
“Very funny. Now, the eggs, they come from Sheila Marsh out by the cemetery and before you say anything, yes, they come from her chickens, not her personally. Finally, the granola…I made that myself,” he said with pride.
“This is great. It’s all so great. You should consider opening your own restaurant,” Rob said, for which he received a kiss from the chef. “You mentioned Sheila Marsh. We ran into each other yesterday. She seems nice and…normal.”
“She’s the island veterinarian. A great person.”
“So, are her family the Marshes of Marsh Island?”
“She’s the great-great-great-granddaughter of the first European to settle here, or something like that. The Marshes were sailors and fishermen, mainly. Josiah Marsh settled here first, which is why the town here is called Josiah. Before him, the island was inhabited by the Coast Salish. Sheila’s the best to talk to about that. I know you can still see their petroglyphs in the rocks along the shore where Mount Admiral dips into the sea.”
“Amazing.”
Mitch grinned. “We’ll see some of them on our trip if we ever get out of here. Mind if Rufus joins us? He likes car rides.”
Rob looked at Rufus. “How could I say no to a face like that?”
Rufus yowled in approval.
* * * *
After breakfast, they headed out in Mitch’s truck, a beat-up pickup with a crew cab. Just the sort of vehicle needed to haul wood and the occasional dog. They had to work out the seating arrangements as Rufus usually travelled in the front passenger seat and wasn’t convinced that the newcomer should get preferential treatment. It was soon decided that Rob could sit in the front seat if Rufus could sit in his lap. At a shifting sixty pounds, Rufus was quite a load, but he soon learned the benefits of a human seat which would hold him in place on the bumpy journey.
The first stop was back in town where Rob paid for his one night of unused accommodation at the Marsh Inn and cancelled the rest of his stay. Carol Gough was quite pleased to hear that he had discovered his childhood friend living on the island and invited him to come back any time.
