Don and Maggie Evans had a beautiful home. It was warm and welcoming with lush flower gardens and lots of shade provided by two huge Oaks and a breathtaking Banyan tree. The part of the yard closest to the road was open and sunny, but the farther we walked up the driveway, the more it felt like we were entering some kind of magical fairy land. I had put Sheila on her leash, and it was nice having something to do with my hands as we approached.
"Look what we have here!" a man's voice yelled.
I didn't see him at first, but as I scanned the front of the house, I found him. He was near the far corner of the house, and he stood up, stretching his back. He had on work gloves and was holding a large, metal tool—a wrench, from what I could tell.
We continued to walk toward him, closing the gap between us. I hadn't expected Don Evans to look so young and full of life. He was like a slightly older version of Lance with those same broad shoulders and kind smile. He had sun-darkened skin that made it obvious that he spent a lot of time outdoors. There was grey in his hair and little laugh lines near the corners of his eyes, but otherwise, he looked young enough to be Lance's older brother. It was difficult for me to reconcile this man with the person who had retired so that Lance could take over the family business.
"Who do we have here?" he asked, smiling as he took off his gloves and set the tool on the ground near his feet.
"Sidney," Lance said. "And Sheila's the furry one."
"Sidney and Sheila," the man said with a nod. "It's nice to meet you both.
"Nice to meet you as well," I said. I had come close enough by that point for him to step forward and reach out to shake my hand. "Are you Lance's brother?" It was an honest question. The closer we got to him, the more I started to doubt that this man was his father. Lance hadn't yet introduced him to me, so I truly thought it might be his older brother who was there to help their parents with something.
This question delighted the man so much that he ditched the handshake and pulled me into his arms, laughing and squeezing me. "I'm sorry if I’m sweaty, but I've got to hug you for that," he said. "Where'd you find this beautiful little angel?" he asked Lance after giving me a tight squeeze.
I didn't have time to explain that I hadn't meant to flatter him. Lance had already told me about his brother who was a surgeon, and I expected this man to introduce himself as D.J.
"Abigail's wedding," Lance said, answering his dad's question.
"Oh, are you the singer?" Don asked, looking at me with newfound interest.
"No sir, I mean, yes sir. Kind of. I'm doing this project with Lance, but otherwise, I'm not a singer, necessarily… besides in the shower."
"That's not what I heard," he said. "I heard you sing quite well." He glanced at Lance. "I would say we've heard a lot of other things about you, but I've learned, after having three kids, that I'm supposed to play it cool." He looked me straight in the eyes with a serious expression. "So, Lance has not told his mother and I that he met a charming, beautiful young woman with a voice like an angel. He has not said anything like that."
I couldn’t help but smile and blush.
"Thanks, Dad," Lance said sarcastically as he moved to the spot where his dad had been working. "What are you doing?"
Don let out a long sigh. "Your mom had some guys here working the other day, and they put the hose on so tight that we can't get it off. I can't get it with the wrench, and my fingers are too fat to get in there and turn it."
Lance stooped, looking at the faucet curiously as Don smiled and held out a hand for Sheila to sniff.
"She's a pretty girl," he said, smiling at me. "They're pretty good dogs, too, huh?"
I nodded. "Yes sir, she's a good girl."
"How old?"
"She's three... we think. Roughly three. She was a stray."
"I got it," Lance said wiping the underside of his hand with his palm like maybe he had gotten something on it.
"You're kidding!" Don said, turning to look that way. "I've been trying to get that thing off for thirty minutes."
"You loosened it up for me," Lance said.
"Yeah, I did," Don agreed, puffing up his chest and causing me to laugh.
"Hey! Who came over?" A woman's voice came from the porch, and we all looked that way.
"Lance got that hose off," Don said.
"What? How?"
"With his bare hands!" Don said with a humorless laugh.
"You're kidding!" the woman said with a shocked expression. She came to the edge of the porch.
"Who'd you bring with you Lance?"
"Sidney," he said.
"The one from the wedding," Don said. "The singer."
"Oh, the singer," Maggie said, crossing to where we were standing and holding her arms out for a hug. "It's so nice to meet you, sweetheart. I’m Maggie."
She too, was young looking and sweet-spirited with a genuine smile. She had dark blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She had a naturally youthful looking face—not the kind that had been stretched and enhanced—just a kind-looking middle-aged lady who was naturally pretty.
She hugged her son. "Hey baby," she said, looking up at him. "Thanks for getting that hose off."
"You're welcome," he said with a sweet smile aimed at her.
"Busy day?" she asked
He nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"D.J. said you helped him dig up those vines this morning, and your dad told me you moved those boxes at the shop, too."
Lance smiled and nodded, taking a deep breath as his mom reached up and rubbed his back. "D.J. forgot to mention how long those vines had been growing," he said.
"I know," she said regretfully. "I knew it was gonna be a big job for y'all, but it looks so good now that it's done. I went by there this afternoon, and Emily told me how thankful she was that you came and helped out."
"I probably should have brought the Bobcat over there." Lance said. "But enough about my day. Let's talk about what kind of food you have in the fridge."
Maggie laughed. "Dad and I ate light tonight," she said. "But y'all help yourself to whatever's in the fridge… or Daddy can fry y'all an egg."
"Eggs sound good," Lance said. "I can do it, though."
"The least I can do is fry you an egg after you showed me up with the water hose," Don said.
We all laughed as we collectively walked toward the front door.
"I'm gonna take this stuff to the shed. I'll meet y'all in there," Don said heading off in a different direction.
"Will your dog be okay with meeting Tank?" Maggie asked. "He's a big goofball, but he's friendly."
"Yes ma'am," I said. "She'd love to make a friend."
We stayed at Lance's parents' house for the next hour. His dad turned on the griddle and made us breakfast for dinner. He fried eggs, fried bacon, made pancakes, and cut fruit. They had a fenced back yard, and Sheila ran around with Tank, who was a chocolate Lab, not a yellow one like I had imagined.
Don and Maggie were a lovely couple who brought out a side of Lance I hadn't seen before. He was a loving and attentive son. Their banter was funny, and I enjoyed listening to them tease each other one moment and then turn around and encourage each other the next.
I loved Don and Maggie's dynamic as a couple and caught myself feeling amazed that relationships like this really existed. My mom and Aunt Regina had both been let down by their spouses. My dad had moved to Wisconsin, and I had only seen him twice since. Aunt Regina's ex had disappeared completely. I was relatively sure his name was Terry, but no one ever spoke of him. They'd both been single a long time, but there was still lingering hurt and bitterness. I liked to think of myself as an optimist, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I assumed all relationships were difficult or destined for failure. After meeting Don and Maggie, I figured they just might beat the odds.
"You ready?" Lance whispered to me after we talked with his parents and had our fill of breakfast food.
I nodded. "Busy day tomorrow," I said.
I didn't know what to expect with filming the commercial. I did know that it didn't matter what my voice sounded like since we'd be using the recordings from today. This was a relief because my throat was sore and tight from the full day of using it in ways I wasn't accustomed to.
"Can we get one of you guys to take us home?" Lance asked.
"We can, or you can ask D.J.," Maggie said. We glanced at her, and she pointed toward the front of the house where we could see his truck pulling into the driveway. "Emily needed a couple of gift bags for a birthday party they have to go to tomorrow." She pointed at the counter where there were colorful paper bags stacked neatly on top of each other, waiting to be picked up. "D.J.'s not staying, and I'm sure he won't mind dropping you on his way back home." she said.
Lance looked at me. "Will Sheila be okay in the back of a truck?" he asked.
A puzzled expression crossed my face as I tried to remember if she had ever been in the back of the truck before, but I quickly nodded, knowing that everyone was looking at me.
"If not, we surely don't mind driving y'all," Maggie said. "I just thought since D.J.—"
"She'll be fine," I said. "I just couldn’t remember if she had ever done it before."
We spent the next five minutes saying goodbye to Don and Maggie while, at the same time, meeting D.J. and his two kids. His wife, Emily, had stayed behind, but Kate and Max came with their dad for the ride. Maggie and Don offered several times to take us instead since there would be a lot of us in the truck, but D.J. assured them that he didn't mind and that we'd have plenty of room. He also said Sheila could ride in the cab since she had never tried the back of a truck before.
Before I knew it, we were all in D.J.'s truck. Sheila sat in the back with Kate and Max, and I sat between Lance and his brother in the front seat.
"They've been begging for a dog," D.J. said, glancing back at his kids just before we started out of the driveway.
"I wanna get a Tank's-uh puppy." Max said, mostly making sense the way toddlers did.
"Tank doesn't have puppies," Kate corrected in typical big-sister fashion. "He's a boy. Only girl dogs have puppies."
"Is you a girl dog?" Max asked.
I turned in my seat and glanced back to find that he was staring sweetly at Sheila like he was waiting for her to answer.
"She is a girl," I said. "But she can't have puppies."
"See!" Max said to his sister.
"No, most girl dogs can, but Sheila can't," I said.
"How come?" Max asked.
"She's fixed," D.J. explained. "That's what you call it when a dog can't have puppies anymore.
"That's broken," Max said, looking genuinely confused. His comment struck me as funny, and I had to hold back a laugh at his precious confusion.
"You're right," Lance said. "They call it fixed even though it's kind of the other way around. Either way, she can't have puppies."
"Does she bite?" Kate asked, even as she had her hands all over Sheila's face.
"No," I said.
"I wouldn't go pinching her or anything," D.J. warned, glancing back. "Pet her easy."
"Where did you get her?" Kate asked.
"One of my students found her in his neighborhood. They looked for the owner, but no one claimed her."
"What kind of students do you have?" Kate asked.
"High school. I teach high school. Seventeen and eighteen-year-olds."
"Why didn't your student keep her?"
"Honestly, because dogs cost a lot. He probably would have wanted to, but having a dog is a big responsibility. You have to buy their food and pay their vet bills and everything."
"I will just give our puppy some of my food," Max said. "I don't eat all-wov it anyway."
"You have to feed them dog food," D.J. said.
"Are there more of them if we go to that neighborhood where your student lives?" Kate asked.
"I think she was the only one," I said. I shifted in my seat so I could see them better. My body brushed against Lance as I moved, and I realized that I was hyper-aware of his presence. I experienced waves of adrenaline at the accidental contact. For a second, I had to concentrate on breathing.
"How did she get to that neighborhood?" Kate asked.
"I don't know," I said.
"How do you think?" she persisted.
"Ms. Sidney just said she doesn't know," D.J. said.
"I can't say for sure, but I think a bird might have carried her there."
"A bird!" Max said, giggling hysterically at the idea.
"Shhhh!" Kate said seriously, pushing at her brother. "Let her tell us the story!"
It was obvious that Kate wanted me to make something up—I could see that by how her face lit up.
"I've actually thought about this a lot," I said seriously. "Sheila's got these black spots all over her back, you see that?"
Both of them checked Sheila out and then nodded or otherwise stated their agreement.
"Well, there are two of them that look kinda longer and skinny, see that? Like the marks from bird claws. I think that's right where the bird held onto her while they flew. I believe a big bird, like an eagle, or an egret, or maybe even a flamingo, saw a lost puppy in the woods, and he swooped down and picked her up, giving her a ride in the sky all the way across Miami to a neighborhood where he knew there was a sweet boy named Matt who would find her."
"Matt's the one who found her?" Lance asked, getting into the story. "Really?"
I nodded as I turned to him. "He wasn't my student yet, but I knew him, and he told me about the dog. She was really skinny and scraggily when he found her. She had to spend a few days at the vet. His mom has enough on her plate with Matt's medical stuff. It was too much for them."
"So, they gave her to you?" Kate asked.
"Yes," I said. "And, to this day, she still loves birds. Ask your Uncle Lance; she tried to chase one today. She always runs after them when we go to the beach."
"Does she ever catch one?"
I shook my head. "They usually get scared and fly away, but I'm sure if she would ever catch up to one, she would just want to thank them for giving her a ride."
"I think a bird did give her a ride in the sky," Kate said, sounding convinced. "I see the claw marks on her back."
"I don't," Max said. "Where are they?"
"Here and here," Kate said, pointing at two spots that were not at all the ones I had been talking about. I just smiled at them.
And just like that, we were at Lance's house.
"Okay, munchkins," Lance said. "We have to go. Thanks for the ride. Tell Ms. Sidney and Sheila 'bye'."
"Bye!" they both yelled.
I waved at them, and Max wiggled his chubby toddler fingers at me. "Bye, Max and Kate," I said. "It was really nice meeting you."
"Hey, Ms. Sidney, tell your friend if a bird ever leaves another dog in his neighborhood, we want to have her," Kate said.
"I will," I assured her.