BooksBarbecue
Back Life Events Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1.
  6. 2.
  7. 3.
  8. 4.
  9. 5.
  10. 6.
  11. 7.
  12. 8.
  13. 9.
  14. 10.
  15. 11.
  16. 12.
  17. 13.
  18. 14.
  19. 15.
  20. 16.
  21. 17.
  22. 18.
  23. 19.
  24. 20.
  25. 21.
  26. 22.
  27. 23.
  28. 24.
  29. 25.
  30. 26.
  31. 27.
  32. 28.
  33. 29.
  34. 30.
  35. 31.
  36. 32.
  37. 33.
  38. 34.
  39. 35.
  40. 36.
  41. 37.
  42. 38.
  43. 39.
  44. 40.
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. Also by Karolina Waclawiak
  47. Praise for Life Events
  48. A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  49. Newsletter Sign-up

I stared at the pill bottle—the dosage, Pierre’s name, my address. The label said NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. I wondered why. What could be so different about treating a dog’s pain and a human’s? The pills were white and oblong, like any other painkiller I had consumed in the past. I hadn’t been in contact with any in years, but imagined that not much had changed. The potency, maybe. I had never been careful about that before, either. I rolled the bottle back and forth across my palm so I could listen to the pills gently click against each other.

By the next afternoon, I was sure Pierre was developing a pill habit. It came on quickly. He would wake up periodically and nudge me for more. His legs seemed fine now, or at least he was using them with no hesitation. But I was worried about stringing him out for Daphne’s friend. I told him we had to conserve them.

He did not like that. He looked forlorn, even when I petted him.

“We have to wait,” I told him.

I went to my closet and found Daphne’s hand towel and tucked it under his chin on his bed. He sniffed it and whimpered. I petted him again.

“I know.”

I watched him until he fell asleep, nose tucked into the hand towel.

When Daphne’s friend came back in the evening, she didn’t offer to pay the vet bill.

All she said was, “I told you he was a handful.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to see him ever again, but I didn’t think she deserved to keep him, either. I handed her the pill bottle and Pierre’s food, and the bowls I knew I would never use again, in a bag, and watched her pack the car. I also gave her the hand towel. She looked at it and then back at me.

“Where did you get this?”

I shrugged, but I knew she knew exactly where I had gotten it from. She didn’t place it in the back seat with Pierre. She took it for herself and thanked me in a way that seemed like she wouldn’t call me again. I watched Pierre stare at me through the window as they drove away and I waved at him.

I crawled into bed and stared at the wall. I looked down at where Pierre’s dog bed had been and noticed he had left a hairball behind.

24.