The Art of Wag (33 page)

“I...uh...went for a drive.” Tracy took a big gulp of coffee. “But I changed my mind, since The Turd was uncooperative.”

“No fantasy driving flow happening, huh?”

“Not even.”

When Tracy got home from work, Rob was sitting on the floor in front of the futon with his laptop on the coffee table. His hair was wet and he was squinting at the screen. She put down her bag, grabbed his glasses from the green table, and handed them to him. “That looks uncomfortable.”

He put on his glasses. “Thanks. It’s better now that I put Roxy on the futon. Having a dachshund in my lap was problematic.”

Tracy sat down on the futon next to Roxy and ran her fingers through his damp hair. “I thought you were supposed to put the computer in your lap. It’s a
lap
top.”

“You think this looks uncomfortable? That’s worse. Laptops can get hot.”

She leaned over and kissed his neck. “Hmm. That could be bad. I didn’t think about that.”

He turned and smiled up at her. “Life is full of trade-offs. How was your day?”

Tracy leaned back on the futon, slipped off her shoes, and put her feet on the coffee table next to the laptop. “Nothing unusually disgusting or heart-rending. Just kind of an average day. I’m tired.”

Rob extracted himself from under the coffee table and sat next to her on the futon. “I took a look at your car.”

Tracy stared at the ceiling. “Ugh. Is it terminal? Can we shoot it?”

“No. Sorry. It does need some work, though.” He pointed downward in the general direction of the gift store. “I took out the carburetor. It’s soaking in a bucket in a corner of the storeroom.”

Tracy closed her eyes. “Eww. Soaking in what?”

“Carburetor cleaner.”

“Yuck.” She turned her head to look at him. “Does my mom know this?”

“Yes. Actually she was very supportive of my efforts to revive the car. I learned a little more about its colorful past.”

Tracy sat up straighter. “My mom told you? She’s never told
me
. No one ever told me the car was a way-out hippie-mobile. I never would have known if I hadn’t seen that photograph again.”

“Your father painted it.”

Tracy’s eye’s widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That
Alice in Wonderland
stuff was incredible. I didn’t even know he could draw, much less paint like that. And then he painted over it with that ugly brown paint? How could he do that?”

Rob took her hand. “Your mom said that’s why they left the commune. He had tried to sell his art in a lot of different ways, and it just didn’t work out. You were getting older and they started worrying that they wouldn’t be able to take care of you. So they moved into town and got jobs.”

“My dad was an artist?” Tracy looked down at the floor and shook her head. “He’s the one who drilled it into my head that you can’t make money as an artist. I can’t believe they didn’t tell me.”

“I think your father didn’t want her to.” He interlaced his fingers with hers. “Your mom likes me.”

Tracy leaned back on the futon again. “I think she’s just relieved that I’m with someone who actually has all his teeth.”

“The fact that your father couldn’t sell his artwork does explain why he was so against you doing anything art-related.”

She closed her eyes. “I don’t know what to think about all this.” She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. “Thanks for working on The Turd, though.”

He squeezed her hand. “That is one dirty car. The engine is a study in grime. I was so ready for a shower by the time I was done.”

“I know. I try not to touch The Turd unless I absolutely have to.”

“Well, there’s a sentence that could be taken the wrong way. You’re too hard on that car. It’s just old.” Rob released her hand and readjusted his glasses. “By the way, I also went to the store and bought food. I had some ideas for ways we can eat inexpensively and not die from malnutrition.”

Tracy opened her eyes, leaned forward, and kissed him. “Have I mentioned that I love you lately?”

“Not really.”

“Well I do. What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta and veggies. Cheap and not filled with scary chemicals.”

Tracy grinned. “Are you secretly a health nut?”

“Not particularly.” He waved toward the kitchen area. “I just prefer food that does not include made-up names like crunch berries. What is a crunch berry? It doesn’t even make sense. Berries aren’t crunchy.”

“Sometimes you can be a little too literal, you know that?”

He gave her a kiss and got up. “Let me check my e-mail, then I’ll figure out dinner.” He rearranged himself on the floor, with his legs back under the coffee table.

Tracy stretched out on the futon, pushing Roxy to one side so she could put her feet up on the arm rest. She closed her eyes. It was so nice to not be standing up anymore.

Rob tapped her shoulder. “Hey. Look at this! This is—wow—I don’t believe it. They changed their minds!”

Tracy propped herself up to look over his shoulder at the laptop. “What are you talking about?”

He pointed at the monitor. “Ben Walsh. He says that you were right. He wants to give us a chance!”

She put her feet on the floor, put both hands on his shoulders and leaned around to get a better look at the screen. “What about the LA people?”

“I don’t know. It sounds like they had the project kick-off meeting and it didn’t go well.” Rob turned to look up at her. “What does he mean, you were right?”

“I went to talk to him.” She raised her hands, palms up. “At the time, it seemed like he wasn’t really listening and just thought I was an idiot. And he remembered that I worked at the restaurant, which was embarrassing. I thought going out there was a waste of time. But I wanted him to know that you know what you’re doing and that we could do the work.”

Rob took off his glasses and scuttled out from under the table onto the futon. He wrapped her in his arms and hugged her. “You’re amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so. When I talked to him, he also said you sent him what he referred to as ‘an impassioned e-mail’ about me.”

He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “I guess I did do that. But I wanted him to know that you are a great artist and know the subject matter really well.”

“Maybe you’re a better writer than you think.” She patted his shoulders with excitement. “Do you know what this means?”

He tilted his head. “We’re not going to be totally broke this winter?”

“That too.” She gripped his shoulders. “It means I don’t have to worry that I’ll be driving your car for the last time in Napa.”

“Something would have worked out. We still have your car.”

Tracy released her hold on his shoulders and leaned back on the couch. “Ugh. Now that we’re not going to be destitute, do we get to shoot it?”

“No. I’m going to get it working better again.” He leaned back next to her. “The Turd is part of your family history, Rainbow.”

“Fine. I’ll drive your car. I love your car.”

He reached over and pulled her into another hug. “I’m sure it loves you too. I know I do.”

The following week, Tracy and Rob got into The Turd to take Roxy out to Kat’s place. Roxy was in the back of the car gazing out the window, apparently looking forward to another car ride. Tracy put the key in the ignition and turned it. The car started with only a few extra sputters of complaint. She turned to Rob. “You had an ulterior motive in fixing this hunk of junk, didn’t you? You don’t want to subject your car to Kat’s road.”

“The thought did cross my mind.”

She reached over and poked his arm. “You are
such
a planner.” Tracy steered the car out of the parking lot, down the alley, and out to the main street. She pointed at one of the buildings. “Look, there’s some new business going in there. I guess that real-estate guy finally gave it up. He had the same listings hanging in the window for years.”

“I guess they didn’t sell?”

“They didn’t look terribly appealing. I’m okay with rustic and as you know, I’m definitely not a neatnik, but I draw the line at falling-down shack. A roof is important. As is indoor plumbing.” She turned her head to glance at him. “If we ever move, just so you know, running water is a non-negotiable feature. I don’t do outhouses. I still have some nightmares about the one at the commune when I was little. Spiders around here can grow really large.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Spider nightmares sound bad.”

“You don’t want to know.”

Later, they bumped their way down the driveway to Kat’s house. A group of people and dogs were standing outside the house talking. Tracy recognized Kat, Joel and the librarian who had helped her do research. She was standing next to a seriously gorgeous man. Like male-model-level gorgeous. He should be on a poster. Yowza.

Tracy parked the car and waved to Kat.

Kat walked over. “Hi Tracy. Hi Rob.” She waved toward the people and dogs. “I think you know Jan. She’s one of the librarians at the Alpine Grove library. That’s Michael. The furry white dog is Swoosie and the black lab is Rosa.”

Tracy waved at the group. “Wow, this is quite a crowd you have going here.” She opened the back door, removed Roxy from the car, and put her on the ground. The other two dogs started straining at their leashes to get a look at the exciting new mini-canine.

Jan walked over with Rosa, who engaged in some reciprocal sniffing with Roxy. “Hi Tracy. How did the meeting go? Did the research I did help you? It was fascinating learning about human interaction with computer interfaces online.”

“Yes. I sounded a lot smarter than I was. Thanks again for your help,” Tracy said.

Rob said, “Yes. Thank you. She did great. We actually got the contract.”

Joel said, “I thought it fell through. That’s why you’re doing the networking job.”

Rob shook his head. “They changed their minds. But we’re still going on the trip.”

“There’s no way I’m giving up the opportunity to drive the car all over winding roads through vineyards.” At Joel’s expression, Tracy pointed to The Turd and added, “Not this car. Rob’s car.”

“She likes my car,” Rob said. “A lot.”

Michael walked closer to the group with Swoosie and asked the dog to sit. She looked up at him eagerly and he gave her a treat. “Driving around Napa is fun. It’s like you’re driving through the set of that old TV show
Falcon Crest
.”

Tracy said, “I’m okay with that. Maybe I’ll find Lorenzo Lamas wandering among the grapes. Would it be okay if I pet Swoosie? I love Samoyeds—and she’s adorable.”

Michael nodded and Jan said, “Actually, the exterior shots of
Falcon Crest
were filmed at the historic Spring Mountain Winery, which is near St. Helena. The Victorian mansion from the show is called Miravalle. You could still visit it when the TV show was on, but the winery changed hands and now it’s closed to the public.”

Tracy crouched down to dig her fingers into the deep soft fur on Swoosie’s ruff. “That’s too bad.” She looked up at Jan. “I’d love to see the real
Falcon Crest
house.”

“You never know. Maybe they’ll open it up again someday,” Jan said.

Michael pointed at Kat, “So did you decide what to name the boarding kennel yet?”

Kat said, “Well, Maria suggested Poopenbarker’s, which technically may be accurate, but I’m leaning toward Wag on Inn, which sounds a little more welcoming. She turned to Joel. “Could you put Roxy’s crate in the house? I’m going to show Jan and Michael the new, improved door to the Tessa Hut.” She waved toward the outbuilding. “Come on.”

Joel got the crate, and Jan and Michael followed Kat and the dogs across the driveway to the outbuilding, leaving Tracy and Rob standing next to The Turd.

Tracy looked at Rob. “I guess Roxy still gets to be a special inside dog.”

“You don’t really think she’d put up with staying outside, do you?”

She grinned. “No. And there are no pots and pans to play with out there. What would she do?”

“I’m sure she’d think of something.”