Animal

Saturday night; Saturday night was usually beer and cartoons. Buck liked them and so did I. For the last month or so we'd meet at his place, pop open some beers, grill some steak and watch episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog. That was his favorite show. I kind of thought it was cute. I met Buck at a local bar in town where I was a waitress. He used to always sit alone with his thoughts in one corner of the bar. After observing him for over two weeks I finally picked up the courage to go and talk to him.  He was handsome and rugged.  Steely eyes, blond hair and facial features chiseled from a rock. The first night we spoke was awkward at best but then we got to talking about our pets. You see, I was a hardcore pet lover. I had two cats, a dog and a parrot as flat mates. We bonded over our common love for dogs. He used to have an adorable dog named Alex. Ever since she died he had lost the motivation to live. He also mentioned that it was the first night since Alex's death that he felt truly alive.

A few weeks of dating and we had taken the relationship a step ahead.  He called me over and we spent the night together. It was the first night of many. That's how our little ritual of beer and cartoons began.

One night while watching reruns of Courage the Cowardly Dog I went in to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and saw Buck pouring dog food into a bowl.

"Hey buck what're you doing there?", I asked

"I'm just pouring out some food for Alex. ", Buck replied not making eye contact.

"Buck, Alex is dead. I know you're still grieving but you've got to let it go." I held his head in my arms and tousled his hair. Somehow that gesture always made him feel better. But then he looked at me and said,

"Do you think I don't know Alex is dead. I do this every night. I leave food in the bowl and when I wake up in the morning it's gone. I don't know who has it but it helps me feel that Alex is back. "

"What do you mean the food is gone?", I enquired.

"I mean I leave the food here and in the morning the tray is empty.", Buck said matter of factly.

I thought Buck was nuts but that's where our conversation ended. So that night, I decided to get up first thing in the morning and prove to Buck that he was delusional. That there was no way his dog tray would be empty.

The next morning I woke up at 5. Buck was sleeping beside me snoring soundly. I put on my dress and tip toed to the kitchen. There at the center of the room was the bowl of dog food and it was empty.  "How could that be?", I wondered. I was convinced that something was sneaking up in here at night and cleaning up the dog tray.

So the next night I stayed up past 2 and waited by the kitchen to catch whoever was responsible. I had made up my mind to prove to Buck that he was wrong. I put on the TV and began my watch. The news was on and as usual reports of some murder here and there flooded the telly, but my attention was on that solitary bowl of dog food. That was when I heard a sound. I wasn't sure what it was but it sounded like a door had swung open. I rushed into the kitchen and switched on the light, nothing, no one. I tiptoed to the door and looked in through the peep hole. Just darkness and utter silence. I stood there near the door paralyzed and that's when I heard another sound. It was unlike the first.

It was the sound of nails on wood. Something was scratching the door from the outside and the sound was increasing in intensity. I was shocked, too shocked to understand what to do. I froze and waited, waited for something to happen. That's when I heard it bark. I was convinced there was a dog behind the door, an angry dog. I mustered up the courage to turn the door knob. Even as my heart was in my mouth with thoughts of a ghost dog behind the door my mind was not ready to accept it. Beyond the door however was nothing, just darkness and silence. I shut the door and bolted it, deciding that retiring for the night was the best option.

The next morning when I woke up I saw that Buck had left. He worked as an auto car salesman in the car rentals place a few blocks from the bar.  I freshened up and also headed to work.  As I was leaving the apartment a car stopped right at our patio. From it three men alighted. Two of them were wearing a suit and the third man was shouting instructions at them.

As I opened our gate, one of the men looked at me and said,

"Ma'am what were you doing in that apartment."

"Ohh, I live here with my boyfriend.", I said.

The man looked at me in disbelief, "You live here? Ohh ma'am that can't be right. This property has been abandoned for a few months.", he said.

"Abandoned? Whatever do you mean. I've been living here the last two weeks.", I said slightly embarrassed at the revelation.

"Ma'am I'm not sure you're quite aware of what happened here, but the last owners of this flat have put the land up for sale", he said.

"What happened here?", I asked him, slightly irritated.

"Never mind that ma'am, you have a nice day. And don't be coming back here", he said.

I walked silently towards the bar, a myriad of thoughts flowing through my head. Buck lied to me. He was nothing but a homeless jerk. He was staying in someone else's house for the last two months. I had dated jerks in the past so this was not a new occurrence, but even still I didn't expect Buck to be a homeless guy.

That night I decided to head back home as I didn't want to see anybody, especially Buck. As I opened my apartment door I could smell something cooking. I made my way to the kitchen when I ran right into him.

"Buck what are you doing here?", I asked.

"Baby, you do so much for me. I thought I'd make you a nice dinner. You must be starving", Buck said.

"Listen, Buck. I don't have time for any more lies. You don't have a place to stay and you certainly can't stay here, so if that's what you're here for, then I'm sorry, but you lied to me", I said.

"Lied to you?", Buck looked at me questioningly.

"Guess what I met some realtors on your front lawn. Turns out that property where we have been camping, has been abandoned. It's not yours. You sure went to great trouble of pasting the place with your pictures, but I'm no fool", I shouted.

"Ohh, so you know", Buck said.

"Of course, I do. And I have no interest in spending time with people who lie to me", I said.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't lie", Buck said. "That house was mine. I lived there for 30 years till..."

"If you have some truth to tell me, do it now", I thundered.

"Until my dog died", Buck said.

"That's a load of horseshit", I said.

"Listen baby, I will leave, but not without you tasting the dinner I've made. I put a lot of effort into it. Would you please taste it?", Buck asked.

"Okay", I said grudgingly. I was more hungry than angry anyways.

He smiled and placed a huge steaming plate of meat in front of me. "Eat", he said.

I looked at him and picked up a spoon. I forked a piece of meat and tasted it. It was delicious and juicy. I looked at Buck and said, "It's really nice. What meat is this?".

"Oh...I'm glad you liked it. It's my secret recipe.", Buck smiled.

Back at the house the three men were having a beer in the hallway.

"So, Ted, what really happened here", said one of the men in the suit.

"Don't bother yourself with it Clayton", said Ted.

"No Ted, I won't to know man. Why would the owners want to demolish this place and sell the land", asked Clayton.

Ted looked up at the fan and said, "Because, a few months ago a man who lived here killed his 3 dogs, seasoned and ate their meat and hung himself from that ceiling fan"