What a Blue Rope, a Parking Ticket, and a Hearing Aid Have in Common

Lamppost, Pregnancy Test, Tie, Strawberries

A blue rope was tied to the lamppost. Two knots. The dog’s front paws were half an inch off the ground, hind legs braced, no sound in its throat. The volunteer cut the rope. It didn’t run. It lay where it was, urine running down its hind leg. The volunteer wrapped it in a blanket and put it on the back seat of the car. The blanket was grey with cat hair.

The shelter gave it number D-427. For the first two weeks, it only ate food left at the door. Only after people had gone did it come out from under the table. In the third week, a man came to see it. The man crouched down and didn’t reach out. He sat for twenty minutes, looked at his phone, occasionally glanced up. The dog came out from under the table and sniffed his shoe. The man said, “You’ve got mud on your feet.” Then he stood up and left. The next day he came again. He brought an old towel. He laid the towel in the corner and sat beside it. The dog lay down on the towel. The man kept his hands on his knees and didn’t touch it. On the fifth day, he filled out the adoption form. One section said “Why do you want to adopt?” He wrote: “I have a yard. It won’t have to be tied up again.”

On adoption day, he laid the old towel on the kitchen floor. A piece of kibble had fallen by the water bowl. The dog turned in three circles on the towel and lay down. The man turned off the light. In the dark, he heard the tail hit the floor once.

The hospital corridor light was white. The doctor said three words. She only remembered “further tests.” He was holding a parking ticket, the corner curled. They walked to the vending machine. He bought two bottles of water. She didn’t drink. The water stayed in her bag, the bottle sweating.

Three days later, she was in the bathroom. The pregnancy test lay on the edge of the sink. He knocked. “Are you okay?” She said, “Wait a minute.” Two lines. She opened the door. He was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, still holding the parking ticket. He said, “I booked the follow-up.” She said, “Reschedule it.” He folded the parking ticket into a small square and put it in his shirt pocket.

Later, an ultrasound appointment slip was stuck to the fridge, held by a strawberry-shaped magnet. The magnet had been bought at the market last year; one corner had broken off. Beside it, another sheet slowly appeared: a nursery application form. While he filled it in, she ate strawberries on the sofa. The strawberries were from the man in the green sweatshirt. She ate one and put the leaf on the coffee table. The leaves made a small pile. He wrote: “Father’s occupation: warehouse manager.” She wrote: “Mother’s occupation: to be decided.” He looked at her. She said, “We’ll decide after the birth.” He put down the pen and went to the kitchen to pour water. The kettle whistled. He turned off the heat. She called, “Don’t burn yourself.” He said, “I know.” He poured two cups. One he set in front of her. There was a ring of water at the bottom. She wiped it away with her fingertip and wiped it on her trousers.

The community centre borrowed chairs from the neighbouring church. The old suit had been taken from the very back of the wardrobe; there was a crease across the shoulder. The tie was borrowed from their son and was wider than his neck. There were two figurines on the cake; the one in white had lost its head. On the television, black-and-white footage of the 1966 World Cup played. He helped her straighten her collar. She said, “You did this back then too.” He said, “The tie was wider back then.” She smiled. He took off his hearing aid and put it on the table. The band was too loud. She put her hand on the back of his hand. He didn’t speak. There was a plate of sandwiches on the table. A piece of cucumber fell out. He picked it up and ate it.

The photographer asked them to move closer. He turned sideways; she happened to turn her head. The hearing aid fell from the table and rolled to the leg of the chair. He bent down to pick it up. The photographer pressed the shutter. In the photo, their heads did not touch. Later, the photo stood on the TV cabinet, next to an old newspaper clipping from 1966.

The cake at the community centre was cut. The figurine in white had lost its head; it was put on a plate. Someone asked whether to keep it. He said, “Keep it.” She took a plastic bag and put the figurine’s head inside. The bag was from the supermarket, with “Thank you” printed on it. She tied the bag to the strap of her handbag. On the way home, he walked slowly. She waited for him. The streetlights came on. He said, “It rained on our wedding day in 1966 too.” She said, “It didn’t rain.” He said, “It did.” She said, “You remember it wrong.” He said, “Maybe.” She put her hand through his arm. He paused half a step. She held him. He said, “There’s a pebble in my shoe.” She bent down and took off his shoe for him. The pebble fell to the ground and rolled to the drain. He put his shoe back on. She said, “Let’s go.” He said, “Let’s go.”

The man in the green sweatshirt arranged the strawberry punnets in three rows. Six in one punnet, twelve in two. He had a cut on his hand, covered with a plaster. The edge of the plaster was peeling up. A woman came over to ask the price. He said, “Three pounds for two.” The woman said, “Last week it was two fifty.” He said, “It rained last week.” The woman bought four punnets. He gave her one extra and said, “This one’s a bit soft. Eat it today.” The woman left. He flattened the empty boxes and stacked them under the trolley.

Across the field, a dog was running. The dog was black; when it ran, its ears lay flat back. It ran one loop and came back to the bench. A couple sat on the bench. The man held a paper bag; the woman took strawberries from it and ate. She handed him one. He ate it and spat the leaf into his hand. The dog rested its chin on the woman’s knee. The woman said, “You want some?” The dog didn’t move. The man said, “It doesn’t eat strawberries.” The woman said, “How do you know?” The man said, “Last time it ate one and threw up.” The woman laughed. She put the strawberry leaf on the dog’s nose. The dog sneezed. The man took a tissue from his pocket and wiped the dog’s nose. The tissue was from the petrol station, with a red logo printed on it.

After packing up, the man in the green sweatshirt went to the petrol station to buy coffee. He put the change on the counter. The cashier asked, “How’s business today?” He said, “Rain.” It hadn’t rained. He got in the car and put the remaining punnets of strawberries on the passenger seat. One punnet had gone soft. He drove home. There were still three punnets in the fridge. He took one out, washed it, and put it in a bowl. He ate one. Sour. He added a spoonful of sugar. The sugar jar was empty. He turned it upside down and tapped the bottom. A little fell out. He ate it. The television was on, no sound. He changed channels. Stopped on football. Black and white. He watched for a while. Turned it off. Washed the dishes. The water was cold. He dried his hands. The towel hung on the hook. The towel was red. He turned off the light. In the dark, the fridge hummed.

After the rope on the lamppost was cut, it was thrown into the bin. The bin was on the street corner, next to a convenience store. The clerk came out to dump coffee grounds and saw the bin lid was open. He closed it, then opened it again, took the rope out, and threw it into “other waste.” He said, “This rope is still usable.” But he didn’t pick it up. He went back into the store.

The leash hung behind the man’s door. It was red, newly bought. The man walked the dog twice a day. Six in the morning, eight at night. The dog walked on the left and didn’t pull the leash. When they met other dogs, it sat. The man said, “Wait.” The dog waited. The other dog passed. The man said, “Go.” The dog went. One day, in the park, they saw a child crying. The child’s ball had rolled into the bushes. The dog stopped and looked at the man. The man said, “Go.” The dog ran into the bushes and nosed the ball out. The ball was covered in mud. The child laughed. The dog wagged its tail. The man said, “It didn’t use to play ball.” The child’s mother said, “Thank you.” The man said, “No need.” He wrapped the leash around his hand and left. At home, he wiped the dog’s paws with the old towel. It was the same old towel. A piece of kibble had fallen by the water bowl again. He picked it up and put it on the counter.

The strawberries were on the plate, the water droplets not yet dry. The ultrasound slip was under the keys. The 1966 photo stood on the TV cabinet. The television was off. The leash hung behind the door. Outside, a dog barked. The man put down his cup and said, “See you tomorrow.”