Finding Brutus

Luca arrived home from school to find his house empty. His parents were still at work, and there was a note on the counter from his mom, reminding him to walk the dog after he got back from school.  He went into the garage to fetch the leash and bring his dog in from the backyard. 

When he went to fetch the brown pit bull, no dog was in sight. Instead, Luca found the back gate wide open. 

“Brutus!” He called out desperately. Luca ran through the gate, looking up and down the street in hopes of spotting the escapee. No such luck. 

With a green leash in hand, Luca strolled up and down the sidewalk, calling out for his family dog. After a few laps around the neighborhood, Luca decided to take his search further. He walked the next street over, and the street after that. He searched until he came to the neighborhood park, calling out for his dog as he walked along the main trail.  Stray cats were often spotted by the playground, so he knew it would be a prime place to spot a runaway dog if Brutus felt the need to chase unsuspecting felines. 

But Luca didn’t spot his friendly pit bull. What he did see was his classmate, Sadie, pushing two kids on the swings. Luca knew they were her neighbor’s kids, and that she sometimes babysat for them. Her hair was the color of a steaming cup of hot cocoa, and her eyes were like pure dark chocolate. His heart pounded in his chest, and his face burned with anticipation of their potential encounter. Usually, when he spotted her in the school halls, he would avoid such an encounter at all costs. But now, Sadie was the only person around who might be asked if they’d seen a dog pass by. So, taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage and walked over with the leash in hand. 

“Hey,” His voice warbled a bit, and he cleared his throat. “I’m looking for my dog.” He dug his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through his camera roll to find a decent picture of Brutus. He picked one of both him and Brutus, snuggling on the couch together a few days ago. He held the phone out so the picture could be seen by both Sadie and the children. “Have you seen him?” 

“I think so,” Sadie admitted. “He came running through the park a few minutes ago. I remember taking notice of it because it was a pitbull, so I steered the kids to the opposite side of the park.” 

“Did you see what direction he was running?” 

“Over there,” Sadie pointed to the northwest. Luca felt an immense sensation of relief at having managed a lead. 

“Thank you so much, really.” 

“Do you need help looking for him? I’m sure the kids would love to search for the dog with you,” Sadie offered. Before Luca could answer, the little girl answered for him. 

“Yeah! We can help!” 

One look at the children’s faces made it hard to say no, so he didn’t. He reluctantly agreed, so they all searched the park together. But the children weren’t taking it seriously at all, turning it into a game of hide and seek. They peered around every corner playfully, and Luca started to get anxious. If the children kept acting obnoxious, Brutus would never come out of hiding. Despite appearances, pit bulls were like adorable little teddy bears. In this case, the adorable teddy bear in question was afraid of his own shadow. 

Finally, Luca sat down on a nearby bench. The kids became occupied with a jungle gym at the park, so Sadie sat down next to him. 

“I’m sorry,” She said. “I really do hope you’ll find him. Even if you don’t, I’m certain god has a plan for you.” 

He blinked, dumbfounded. He often forgot that some people still believed in a greater power, whether it be fate, god, or such cosmic nonsense like astrology. 

“You believe in god?” 

“Well sure, don’t you?” Sadie asked, but the question seemed rhetorical. “I just . . . I live day to day, and I can feel his hand in mine, guiding me through my decisions. So I know I’ll always make the right one.” 

“I wish I could have blind faith like that,” Luca sighed. Sadie shook her head. 

“It isn’t blind. I didn’t always believe the way I do now, it took a lot of hardship to come out the other side. It’s the easiest thing in the world to give up on trusting what life has in store for us. It takes true courage to keep your faith held high even when life gets you down.” 

“I guess,” Luca admitted. “I never really looked at it that way,” 

“Giving up doesn’t mean you’re a coward,” Sadie told it. “It just means your human.” 

For the first time, Luca truly saw her. Sadie Hopkins, a girl with two parents and perfect grades. That didn’t mean she hadn’t known heartache. But she was strong enough to come out the other side with her beliefs intact. 

Before he could talk himself out of it, Luca kissed his crush. Her mouth tasted like an orange peel, and she smelled like citrus. Before he had time to savor her touch, he heard a familiarly shrill bark behind him. He turned and saw Brutus running towards him eagerly, tongue lolling out of his mouth freely. 

“Brutus!” He jumped to his feet and ran to the dog, who jumped on him as soon as they were within range of each other. Luca laughed uncontrollably as Brutus licked viciously at his face. 

“See?” Sadie laughed, watching Luca with a strange expression. Luca sat up, realizing what he had done. He couldn't gauge her thoughts from the look on her face. Oddly, Sadie didn’t seem angered by it. “Everything happens for a reason,” She said simply. “And now, I see something I’ve never noticed before.” 

“What’s that?” 

“You.”