4/9/12

Told You So
By Alice Benson


She was four pounds of white fluff and attitude. Kevin felt ridiculous being on the other end of the leash as the puppy sniffed, jumped and tried to run in twelve directions at once. Where was this place anyway? Kevin frowned as he looked from the address on the paper in his hand to the numbers on the sides of the buildings.

I can’t believe I let Rebecca talk me into this, he thought. His little sister could usually talk him into anything, but this was ridiculous. It was beginning to feel like a high price to pay just for refusing to let her set him up on a blind date.

Rebecca claimed she had a girl who was perfect for him, but Kevin kept telling his sister that he wasn’t interested. Last year, his girlfriend fell in love with her karate instructor and broke up with Kevin three days before he was going to propose. He still had the ring. For several months, friends had been telling him that it was time to move on, but he wasn’t sure he was ready. Rebecca was the most persistent, and he was starting to feel guilty for refusing. When she had a work emergency and called to ask for his help, taking her dog to the groomer seemed to be an easy way to find his way back into her good graces. Only for Rebecca.

Now the puppy started yipping, adding to Kevin’s frustration. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dogs. Actually, he loved dogs. But this was not a dog, not really. This was an overgrown rat on a bad hair day. Kevin had a black lab. Now there was a dog. Big and strong, Max not only didn’t need a groomer, Kevin didn’t even own a dog brush.

Finally, he spotted the door, a pink poodle in a lavender bathtub filled with bubbles above the words “Debbie’s Dog Grooming.” Rolling his eyes, he pushed it open. Missy tried to go in the opposite direction, so Kevin leaned down to pick her up.

“Oh what a cutie!”

He lifted his head and found himself looking into the greenest eyes he had ever seen, sparkling like emeralds.

“Wizard of Oz,” he said without thinking.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Is that little dog Toto?”

Kevin laughed. Not only pretty, but funny too, he thought. As she continued to smile at him, he felt heat spread through his face, and he looked away.

“Are you Debbie?” he asked, hoping to move past the awkward moment.

The woman shook her head, causing ash blonde curls to fall in perfect waves over her shoulders. He couldn’t take his eyes off them.

“No, I’m Jessica. Debbie’s my mother. She had to run a quick errand, so I’m watching the shop until she gets back.”

Missy yipped, drawing Kevin’s attention. He set the puppy on the counter, and Jessica took a step backward. “My mother will be back any minute. Would you mind waiting?”

Kevin shook his head, and Jessica continued. “If you really have to leave, I could watch the puppy, but I’m not very good with these little dogs. I mean, they’re cute and all, but they’re so … so breakable. They don’t even seem like real dogs to me. Not like labs or boxers,” Jessica said. “If that makes sense?”

“Perfect sense,” Kevin said. They smiled at each other and this time, Jessica looked away first. Kevin saw pink creep up her cheeks until they matched his own.

“I have a one o’clock appointment for her to be groomed,” Kevin said. “I don’t mind waiting.”

Jessica looked at the computer screen. “You must be Rebecca Nichols,” she said, then looked at Kevin and laughed.

Music, he thought, symphonies, opera, rock and folk, all rolled into one beautiful sound. He’d never heard anything so mesmerizing.

“You must be Kevin,” Jessica said. “I know your sister. She’s quite devious these days.”

“You know Rebecca?”

Jessica laughed quietly, again sending Kevin into thoughts of symphonies. “Yes, I know your sister,” she said. “Actually, Rebecca has been badgering me to meet you for a couple months now, and I told her I was not interested in being set up.”

“You’re kidding,” Kevin said. “I’ve been telling her the same thing”

“She knew that I was going to be helping my mom out today, so I don’t think this is a strange coincidence,” Jessica said.

They were both quiet for a moment, looking into each others’ eyes. Kevin broke the silence. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time my little sister was right and I was wrong,” he said with a grin. “Are you free for lunch when your mother gets back?”

Jessica returned his smile. “I’d like that.”

Kevin knew he’d be hearing “I told you so” from Rebecca, and for the first time in his life, he couldn’t think of anything that would make him happier.


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I discovered writing as a passion in the second half of my life. I’ve been studying fiction writing for the last six years. Recently, one of my stories was published in the inaugural issue of Lady Ink Magazine. A romance story was published on the Long and Short of It website, a mystery story in the Mysterical-E ezine, and a literary story was published on Annalemma.net.