I put the phone down and felt a familiar twinge of jealously rush through me. Keith and I had spent our honeymoon in New York, and it had been, without question, five of the happiest days of my life. Whenever we fought or argued, I sometimes went back to those days, remembering the carefree, infatuated way we’d roamed the city as we started our lives together.

I wanted that back.

I’d walked into the apartment after leaving Klein’s and, for a reason I couldn’t explain, had decided to change clothes. I pulled on my nicest pair of sweatpants and a tank top and brushed my hair up into a high bun. I grabbed my tube of root cover-up from the medicine cabinet and dabbed it on a few grays, added some concealer, and finally stepped out into the living room to face the afternoon’s biggest challenge.

I moved into the living room and stood in front of Shelby. Keith was at the college again and wouldn’t be home for another three hours. I wasn’t scheduled at the diner that afternoon and could’ve picked up several more rides.

Instead, I was going to take Shelby to a dog park.

The girl with the pink hair and her boyfriend had said Emma went to the park almost every afternoon. Who was to say I couldn’t go too? After all, it was a public park. And in a way, Emma and her friends had invited me back.

I swallowed.

If I didn’t think it would one day be my downfall, I would’ve Googled what’s considered stalking.

“Hey, girl,” I said, kneeling down in front of Shelby.

She opened her eyes and then pulled herself up onto her feet, watching me warily. If Keith had so much as walked out of the bedroom, she would have been up instantly, spinning in circles and nipping at his pant leg.

Instead, she watched me, waiting, as if she could see through to the depths of my simple, terrible soul.

“Hi,” I said. “How about we go for a little drive?” As the words came out of my mouth, I thanked my lucky stars that no one was around to hear me all but luring my dog into my unmarked white van. She continued to watch me without moving, and I straightened, walking over to the hook by the front door where we kept her leash.

I swallowed and walked back toward her, holding it in my hands.

“So…what do you think?” I asked. “Want to go to the park?”

Her back straightened a little at the word park, and I knew I had her. She continued to watch me, her big, brown eyes following my every move, and finally, she took a step forward.