Buttons and Bows

Chapter Three: Tangled Threads

"I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" she asked her old friend. "To be upset by this? It makes me a horrible person, right?"

Her friend didn't reply. He couldn't. And even when he could, it wouldn't have been in English. Melinda would have understood what the bark or whine meant, however. She knew she would have.

Looking at the grave in front of her, Melinda decided she must be crazy. Crazy people talk to their dead dogs. Crazy people visit pet graves at least twice a year. Crazy people bring prospective husbands to meet dead dogs. Crazy people tell dead dogs they are pregnant before they tell their mothers. Although, given Lady, that may not be so crazy.

Crazy people came to talk to dead dogs because they were jealous at the attention their puppy was giving their new baby.

"Bows adores Cindy. She protects Cindy. It's what I wanted, right? I mean, I wanted Cindy to have someone like you," Melinda paused for a moment. "When I was much younger, I thought she'd actually have you. No one thinks to explain to four year olds about dog years. But this is what I wanted.

"So, why…why am I upset that Bows spends less time with me? Why am I upset that Steve spends less time with me?"

Melinda shook her head. She must sound a mess. She was sure she looked it. When she first got to Buttons grave, she'd burst into tears. It had been a while before she could even speak.

"You know, I was a little worried when the doctors told me it was a girl. All men want boys, right? I was afraid that Steven would be disappointed. And he wasn't, he adored our Cindy from the moment she landed in his arms! But now…

"Now I only feel useful, appreciated, SEEN as Cindy's mother. What happened to the romantic man who used to suddenly pull me into a waltz? Who'd talk to me about pop culture or call me beautiful? Now he only misses me when it comes time for Cindy to eat…and that's only because he can't breastfeed himself." Melinda's voice dropped. "Bows doesn't miss me at all."

"You'd miss me, right Buttons?" Melinda asked after a few minutes of silence. Hesitantly, remembering Button's first owner, she added, "Did you…did you miss Lady at all, after I was born?"

She almost wished she could hear a bark in response to that question. They had never talked about Lady. In many ways, Buttons probably could have given her insight into Lady, if she's known how to ask for it. He was Lady's first, after all. And he responded to her calls and commands – Lady couldn't have been but so bad an owner.

Was she anything like Lady? Melinda wasn't sure – she didn't know Lady well enough to be sure. And, without a mother's guidance, Melinda didn't know what the hell she was doing on the other side of the parenting equation.

"Is it wrong to want some attention? To want to be Melinda again? To want a break?" Melinda shook her head. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be able to wander off on an adventure with you."

"Will I do?" a voice asked quietly behind her.

Turning so fast that she almost fell, Melinda looked for visual confirmation of what she heard. "Steven? But who's with –"

"My mother and Bows are with Cindy. She's fine," her husband said as he approached. Pulling Melinda into a hug, Steve held her for a few minutes. Then he asked again, "I know I have been a little distracted, but will I do as a protector for one of your adventurers?"

"How did you know where to find me?" Melinda asked instead of answering.

"I didn't at first," Steve admitted after a pause. "And that scared the hell out of me, Melinda. I called all your friends. I called all of my friends – Jase and Emily think I'm an idiot, by the way – and just as I was about to call your mother, I thought you might have come here to see the friend who always protected you. So I called my mother, talked to Bows, and came here as soon as I could."

"Talked to Bows?"

"Melinda, Bows adores Cindy, no question. But she was worried about how you left the house. She'd check on Cindy, then she'd pad to the front door and whine for a few seconds. Then she'd go back and check on Cindy. I'd say she's worried."

"Oh," Melinda whispered. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, we go home and tell Bows you're okay. Then you are going to pack a bag and we are going away for the night. Just as Steven and Melinda. Mom will watch Cindy…and I can take you waltzing."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to realize that I need to let you know more often how much I love you – for being Melinda. Enough to be sure to give you the chance to be Melinda. And enough to realize I'm lucky as hell, so I shouldn't blow it."

"I love you, too, Steve," Melinda gave him a hug and began to walk away. She paused after a few steps when Steve didn't follow. "Steven?"

"I'll be right with you. I just want to talk with Buttons for a second."

"Okay," Melinda smiled at her husband as she began to walk away again.

Melinda let Steve have a few private moments with Buttons, which was just as well. Although she would have appreciated it, she didn't need to hear her husband thanking Buttons for once again protecting and looking after Melinda. Besides, Steve would say that his promise to keep Melinda happy and a little girl at heart was something that needed to stay between the males in Melinda's life.

- to be continued -