CHESS WITH FRED

(Continued)

Dinner was actually quite nice as it turned out and now the fire crackled in the stove at the corner of the living room while the two of them played a game of chess. Laura had a golden retriever named Fred who was on his way toward 15 and showed his age with white whiskers around his mouth and eyes. The next day they would throw the tennis ball in the backyard but now Fred snored with his head squarely placed upon the man's feet, through the wool socks he felt the warm prattle of the gentle creature and he marveled at such perfect trust.

What a friend you have here? He said.

Castling the handcrafted maple rook and king, Laura said, don't know where I'd be without him.  He thought briefly of Zoe and how she might be experiencing her feline retreat but didn't want to become distracted. He was a fierce competitor, he almost couldn't help but want to win no matter what the engagement. Sure for now she was all smiles, enlisting her pet for the extra distraction. If history would serve she would soon be charging in with the knight or the tiny carved queen whose head dress resembled a crown roast in a perfect circle of eight.

Not this time, he thought. They had played only a few times when he would stop by after the painting class for scotch and to talk about people in the class. He and Laura experienced that immaturity of newfound friends who didn't mind pointing out the oddballs in what would otherwise be a perfect group of mutually supportive folks. The arrogant know it all who tried repeatedly to correct their generous instructor, the neon sign of a woman ensconced in polyester who spent as much time filing her nails as painting for whatever reason.

They made fun and had fun and so this visit, although a cause for some watchfulness, felt as natural to him as ever. But as for chess this was his time to turn the tables.

And that is precisely what he did as the phone rang and Fred jumped up and barked and the chessboard flew up in the air scattering pieces all over the floor. The cabin had an old-fashioned rotary phone on the wall with an intensely brash ringer.

Scampering to the phone she apologized profusely, realizing that not everyone was accustomed. She picked up the receiver and made her way around the corner pulling the lengthy coiled cord into the other room with her.

Fred gave a good shake and settled down with some nice happy panting as only dogs know how to do while Laura talked on the phone and he picked up the pieces of the chess set from the oval woven rug on the floor. It was woven of various shades of brown and beige, bespectacled by threads of red and orange, nearly identical to the one in his grandmother's home where he'd spent much time as a boy.

The cabin was a comfy space where he could see himself, perhaps, visiting more often.

Why am I living in the city? He asked himself. Not giving himself much more time to pursue it as he knew overall one of his greatest challenges was thinking too much and too often about his surroundings, perfecting the setting of his life to the nth degree as though it were somehow an avenue toward contentedness. Surely he knew otherwise.

As time wore on and she was not returning, he took the liberty to add a few small pieces of pine to the stove and then sat down to thumb through a book of poetry called Turn by a local poet he'd never heard of.

Ten minutes later, after finishing the Chardonnay, He became concerned and walked over to listen in on the conversation without listening in.

Several more minutes passed and he sat staring at Fred who had flopped down on the floor across from him in front of the leather couch. He gazed now with some degree of concern through the window out into the purple dusk where a sprinkling of stars had become visible between the blue and white checkered curtains.

Finally, he heard the phone hung up and Laura made her way into the room.

It was another world now, another moment. Hey man, she said.

Are you all right? Is there something I can do?

It's just…ah, shit…

Her face was flushed and he felt the energy of overwhelm, frustration, concern.

Um. I just want to go back like half an hour…

Whatever you need, what's up?

I've been seeing someone… On and off. It's his mom, she's not doing well. She has a rare blood disease and I guess things got bad over the last day or so. Good Lord, what time is it even… I had no intention of being… I'm so sorry…