Rastus and me in the Park (No 2)

After my first encounter with Rastus (aka Tinkerbell) we got on famously. We were birds of a feather you could say if you liked mixed metaphors, him being a dog and me not! I suppose I had been a bit of a dog in my past and that is what he liked about me. You may have noted that I didn’t say I was human. I did so deliberately as at times I despair of the human race. So with Rastus I was happy to run along with the pack as it were, an overstatement seeing there were only the two of us.

We are having a walk now, and have stopped for a paws. I know it is a bad joke but it is the sort of humour that Rastus likes. You note I haven’t told you my age, well I am older than Rastus and because of that he defers to me and for what he can get out of me. So I look for a bench in the park we are in. I find one but it is occupied by a human of the female persuasion. So I sit right on the end of the seat and Rastus after a sly glance at the girl, sits on the ground between me and her.

Rastus is a real flirt and after checking her out for sign of canine aversion decides there is none and edges a bit closer to her. She is eating a baguette, it being lunchtime, so there is a good reason for him preferring her at that moment as I had brought no consumables with me.

It’s at times like this I wish I was a dog. His steely eyes focused on the baguette as he forgets himself and edges so close to her that his chin is all but resting on her knee. She knows he is there but tolerates him as he is somehow emanating his lovable dog aura. Meanwhile I am watching the pigeons on the grass with just half an eye on my pretty neighbour. I too have noticed her knees emerging enticingly from her dress. They are very pretty knees and Rastus at this time agrees and plonks his chin on them and gives her the “Surely you need some help in eating that baguette” stare, that he is so good at.

Compliantly, she breaks a tiny piece of from the baguette and gives it to him. It gets wolfed down without touching the sides and Rastus managed to kiss her hand all in the same go with the quickest of licks.

I cannot but not notice their foreplay and decide that it is time for me to do something about it.

“Sorry about him, he’s a bit forward.” I say.

She turns to me. Hell’s boots, she is beautiful. I could lick her too. I wonder whether she would mind?

“What’s his name?” She asks hardly looking at me.

“That depends. When he is at home he is Tinkerbell, but when he is with me he is Rastus.”

At me mentioning his name Rastus turns his attention from eyeing the baguette to me for half a second affirming that statement.

“Oh, so he is not yours?” She says.

Clearly Rastus is a bit annoyed that more baguette is not coming his way, decides on another tactic and decides to lick her bare toes. She squeals with delight and looks directly at me with a smile on her face as though as I had done it.

I wish I had.

“No, I walk him for a neighbour. She can’t manage to control him any more when he’s out so he gets his exercise with me.”

She didn’t reply as she was finishing the baguette but swept the crumbs off her lap which were quickly vacuumed up by Rastus.

She then produced a carton of juice, drank that down in silence as Rastus leaned against her passively. She then turned to me and announced “Well back to work” nodding at the small private hospital across the park.

I took the carton from her and put it in the bin on my side of the seat.

“Thanks,” she said getting up. “Probably see you around.”

I nodded. “We often come through the park.”

“I know, I have noticed, but you spend most of your time talking to Rastus though.”

“That could change,” I finally muster a reply.

She shook her head. “No, I will have to have a longer conversation with Rastus first to check you out.”

With that she got up, patted Rastus on the head and with the most engaging twinkle in her eyes glanced my way. She then turned and walked across to the grass to the hospital.

Rastus looked up at me and seemed to say “Well that went well” as I hitched him back on the lead and we too left the park but in the opposite direction.