I knew what had made me stop in. They didn’t.

Right?

As I approached the benches, I chickened out, which was a big mistake. With my pleasant, I’m-not-here-because-I’m-stalking-the-woman-at-the-gate-because-I-think-she’s-the-secret-lover-of-a-major-celebrity expression, I forged past the benches with purpose toward the far end of the park. I was on a path, and I could not stop.

Except the path had no logical end.

I moved fully past the benches, and then it was too late to turn back. The park ended in a closed gate that separated it from an alley. In a few moments, I’d reach it, and then I would only have two options—turn around or climb it and run away as fast as my feet would allow. Since I hadn’t climbed anything since I was a child, I knew the second option was out.

I kept walking, the heat beating down on me. When I reached the gate, I stopped, because there was nothing else to do, and stared out across the alley for a few minutes.

This is your life now.

I spun around, resigned to complete my walk of shame back out of the small park. Instead, I found myself face-to-face with the man from the park bench.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” he said.

I blinked. “Sorry?”

“The park. It’s only been here a few months, and so many people have stopped by to see it.” He smiled. “You checking it out for your little one?”

“I—”

“What is she?” he asked. “Or he.”

I blinked again, understanding suddenly dawning. “She,” I said. “Boxer. Three years old.”

“Nice,” he said. “Well, this is a great park. Like I said, it’s really new, and you can already see it’s become quite the hot spot. And I’m just like you. I scouted out a few parks before I brought Crispy here because it’s all about culture. Some people let their dogs do anything and everything, when we really just want a safe place where they can come and play, you know.”

“Oh, definitely,” I said.

We’d started walking slowly as we talked, and by then, we’d made it back to the benches. I almost gasped out loud when I saw that the woman with the short blond bob had come into the park and was now sitting in the spot where the man had been before. She was holding one of the dogs in her lap, and she looked up at both of us as we returned.

The man looked over at me. “This is…”

“Um, Christine,” I said, clearing my throat, my middle name the first thing that came to my mind. “But you can call me Chris.”