Shipwreck

Whirlwind. That’s the only word I can think of to accurately describe it and I should know, I was there. I watched everything happen from the very beginning, when I unwittingly arranged their first meeting, until today. It was like the universe’s big bang except in this case, it was two normal, but very intelligent people, Kiersten Gravely and Robert Barnes. 

This is the story of how they became Mr. and Mrs. Barnes; with my help, of course. 

Kiersten is one smart lady, after all, she adopted me. She’s also a software engineer and once told me that an alphabet soup of different government agencies had tried like the dickens to recruit her during college. Many were well-known, a few lesser, and intelligence agencies had tried the hardest. But she didn’t want to live her life in a glass house, adorned with travel restrictions, secrecy, and an inability to talk about her work.

Federal agencies weren’t the only ones who had coveted her; an impressive list of companies sought her employment too. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Oracle, and many others all vied for her talent. She chose Tesla. 

She was not a proponent of Tesla, or electric cars in general. Kiersten was after challenges. The electric car market was expanding rapidly as automakers focused their attention on the future that had arrived sooner than expected. Logically, she assumed, there would be problems aplenty to solve; exactly what she wanted.

The first few years were great; Kiersten had a nice office and worked on programs increasing battery life and efficiency. Then, the pandemic happened, and things changed. Like so many other companies, at Tesla, certain positions were authorized to work remotely. Initially, she was thrilled with the idea, converting a bedroom in her condo into an office. 

As months dragged by with no end in sight, she became lonely, missing the interaction with her co-workers and friends. Video calls on a 15” laptop screen was hardly a replacement. She needed something around the condo she could interact with, something with more personality than fish in a tank. So, she did what most people do when they need to find something, she Googled it.

This is where I come in. 

I’m a Lhasa Apso, and my name was Penelope before she changed it. I have long hair, though not nearly as long as Kiersten’s. Sometimes my hair grows long enough to touch the floor but it’s easier for me, I’m not very tall. I’ve seen some other dogs that look like me, and the things their owners do to them should make them ashamed. They put bows in their hair! Can you imagine that? I wouldn’t set foot outside if someone did that to me.

I still remember the day Kiersten walked in. Taller than average for a woman, she was slim, fit, and her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her hazel eyes scanned nowhere and everywhere at once. 

The place was electric. Noise came from everywhere because that’s what we do when someone enters. We all vie for attention, hoping and wishing to be noticed, to be chosen.

I knew she was the one for me as soon as I laid my eyes on her! That made it all the more crushing when her eyes briefly stopped on mine, then looked elsewhere. I knew I was the one for her, but it seemed she didn’t feel the same. My head fell and I turned around, no longer vying for her attention. Instead, I sought the cold comfort of a dark corner. 

Eventually, things settled down. The flash of excitement had been spent. 

“Penelope,” cooed an older voice I knew well. “Come here, sweetie. You have a visitor.”

But I played hard-to-get, I wouldn’t turn around.

“Let me try,” a warm, soft voice said. “Penelope,” my name dripped from her mouth like honey from a hive. I was done for. I caved.

My beige body turned, darker colored fur hung over my eyes and there she was, inside the cage. She was sitting down; her right hand gently patting the floor, calling me over. I’d like to say that I stood firm, that I would not be cowed so easily, but I can’t. I ran to her, the woman I came to know as Kiersten, and jumped into her lap. 

Her slender hands disappeared beneath my long coat and began working their magic, like a typist with a keyboard. I was in heaven.

When we got home to Kiersten’s condo, I checked out EVERYTHING! There were so many new things to smell and places to visit. She could always tell where I’d been because everything had been left a mess. I wasn’t very good at putting things away. It was towards the end of the first week of us living together that she officially changed my name. I was no longer Penelope. Instead, she named me something her father had always used to describe a messy person when he was in the Navy. My name was now Shipwreck.

That happened a year ago and today, we’re celebrating my adoption day. Kiersten told me it’s a very special day and as a treat, we are going to the P-A-R-K. I don’t know what those letters spell, but she has told me those before, so I know what they mean. I’m excited. Maybe some of my friends will be there.

We’re almost there when we stop; Kiersten bends over and unclips my leash. “You know where you’re going,” she said, “go ahead.”

I take off running, my little legs pushing me almost as fast as I can go. I catch the scent of a few of my friends. Raven is there, Finn and Olive are too. I’m happy. I’m almost there when I catch movement to my right. I’m nosy; I change course to investigate.

“Shipwreck!” Kiersten calls after me. 

I ignore her. I scamper beneath shrubs and bushes, following the scent. The shrubs protect a small clearing before the forest starts. I come to a stop, and there, by a large tree, is who I smelled. Longer than I am, and a little heavier too, he or she, I’m not sure which, looks strange; not like my other friends. 

Cautiously, I creep closer. I’m curious and want to make a new friend. Our eyes are on each other, watching. Then, I decide to go for it and run up.

Mistake. A painful one too. I don’t know what happened, but suddenly my face hurt and there were pieces of hard fur sticking out from my face. 

I yiped and yowled and ran circles in the clearing I had found moments ago. I heard something crashing through the brush, but I was too busy being in pain to worry about what it was.

“Shipwreck!” Kiersten cried. “What did you do?”

“Shipwreck?” a deep voice said. “Your dog is named Shipwreck? Really?”

“It’s a long story. Thank you for helping me find her; I can handle it from here.”

“Those are porcupine quills; a vet needs to remove those.”

“Yes, I’m quite aware of what they are, thank you,” she said crisply. “I’ll find an emergency vet somewhere. There must be one in the area,” she said.

“Look, let me call Tim. He’s a veterinarian and a good friend of mine. Normally, he’s not open on the weekends, but I’m sure he’ll make an exception.”

Before she could respond, he was talking on the phone, to Tim, she presumed.

“It’s all set. He’ll meet us at his clinic, Fairway Pets.”

“Fairway Pets,” she scoffed, “Really?”

“He’s a golf nut, what can I say? Come on, let me take you and Shipwreck to Tim’s.”

“I don’t think that’s a smart idea. I know nothing about you, not even your name. I’ll take her back to my place; get my car and find this Fairway place. Thank you, I appreciate your offer.”

“My name is Robert Barnes, and I’m a thoracic surgeon at Union General Hospital. See, here’s my ID card,” he said, pulling the card from a beaten, leather wallet. “What else would you like to know while we stand here, wasting time while little Shipwreck is in pain?”

“Don’t patronize me. Fine, you may take us, but my cell phone will be out with 9-1 dialed and my finger waiting to press the final 1.”

“This is why I’m single,” he muttered.

“What?!” she said.

“Nothing. My car is this way,” he replied.

When I woke up, my face throbbed but the hard fur was no longer there. I was happy. Then Kiersten came in the room, and I was scared. I thought she might yell at me. I must have looked bad because she didn’t yell. She said “aww” and “my poor baby” a lot and hugged me tight.

“I hope you learned your lesson,” she said as we left the clinic.

I know what I was supposed to say, but like I said, she’s a smart lady, it won’t take her long to figure out I’m still curious.

Something else changed that day too. We started seeing that Robert guy more often. Not at first, once, maybe twice a week. She would take me for a walk, and he would meet us. I heard him tell Kiersten that he wanted to keep an eye on where the hard fur, he kept calling them quills for some reason, had been. 

I think he was lying. He spent more time looking at her face than mine. I didn’t mind though, he was ok. I knew. I sniffed him. 

Robert is nice, he always pets me and I love it when he scratches my belly. He has strong fingers and knows exactly where to scratch! His hair is black and very short. I heard Kiersten comment about it once, telling him that his hair reminded her of a man starting to grow a beard. I remember him laughing and when he finally stopped, he said that by keeping it short, his surgical caps worked better. 

One day, after it had gotten colder, Robert came over. He practically lived with us now, but there were some nights he didn’t. Anyway, he had a surprise for Kiersten, and he made sure it was outside so I could go too. I was older now and when it was cold, she always made me put my sweater on. I really didn’t mind it; it felt nice. I just hoped I wouldn’t see any of my friends. I never saw them in sweaters like mine.

He drove us to a place called Middleburg. They must have been cold because I saw clouds coming from their mouths when they breathed. None came from mine though, maybe I had a better sweater than they did. Kiersten really loves me to have given me such a warm sweater.

We walked along a sidewalk that was a lot different than the ones I am used to at home. Where we normally walk is hard but smooth but where we were now was bumpy and uneven. Someone had laid bricks down, and we walked on those. If you weren’t careful though, you might trip. I saw that happen to a few people. Someone hadn’t done a very good job when they put the bricks down.

Maybe it’s because the sidewalk is so uneven it’s tiring them out, but we stop a lot. I see Kiersten and Robert holding hands and looking in windows. 

“This is one of my favorite shops,” he tells her. “Ye Olde Christmas Shop has been here for decades. Most of their ornaments are hand-crafted and have a German look and feel about them. They don’t allow pets, sorry Shipwreck. We’ll go in another day,” he said to Kiersten.

“Everything looks beautiful,” she said.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” he replied. “It’s corny and lame, I know, but it’s true.”

“You’re sweet,” she said. “Thank you,” and kissed his cheek.

We continued walking, stopping in front of Alistair McCabe’s Antique Book Store for a few minutes. I think they talked more than they looked in the window, but I did see them point at different things.

“Hang on a minute, I need to check something quick,” Robert said. 

He pulled his phone out and quietly spoke to someone.

“Ok,” he said. “There’s one more shop I want to see. It’s been in my mom’s family for generations. My aunt and uncle own it now.”

We walked another block and stopped in front of another window proclaiming Graves Jewelry, Est. 1922 in gold stenciling.

I couldn’t see what Kiersten saw, but I saw what happened. She dropped everything, my leash and her mouth included. Her hands went to her face, her eyes doubled in size, and they started leaking. 

Turning to Robert, she said “Are you…” but that was as far as she got.

“Yes,” he replied, “I am,” he continued as he dropped down on one knee, a ring box in the palm of his hand.