yards that way,” he said, pointing her back up the hill.
She grinned. “The interesting thing is, Mr. Fanning, not only am I not trespassing, but you are. It’s a strange bit of law, but there it is—I didn’t write it. You’ll understand soon enough. Soon enough,” she said.
“You’re mad. You’re totally mad.”
“So I’m often told. These days, even my dogs might agree with you. But they’re like you. They don’t know who they are. Or rather, they’re pretending to be people they aren’t, which I suppose amounts to the same thing.”
“Listen to me,” he said, moving a step closer, causing the mastiff to start barking, saliva dripping from his black gums.
“Samuel! Quiet!” she scolded. Amazingly enough, the animal obeyed. “They’re usually not so boisterous at this hour. That’s why I walk them early: my mind’s clearer than theirs.” A light rain had slickened the grass and was slowly dampening Doug’s jacket. “I can see things more lucidly at this time of day,” she said. “For instance, why did you build this house? To support a belief about yourself, about the life you’re living? To give that belief a concrete form in the hope the building would make it true? Isn’t that the idea? And isn’t it false? Wouldn’t you say that honesty—not of the rule-following kind but of the clear-eyed-apprehension-of-the-world sort—wouldn’t you say it requires us to give up those childish equivalencies: the doll for the person, the object for the dream? If a person couldn’t do that, it might suggest a lack of inner resources, don’t you suppose?”
“You have no idea who I am,” he said. “You think I’m like every other person in this town living in a new house, but you’re wrong. I have as little time for them as I do for you. And I’ll tell you something for free—you’re as obvious as they are. You just happened to get here first so you think that gives you some divine right to have it all to yourself.”
As he spoke, the Doberman squatted and proceeded to dump a pile of steaming shit onto the lawn.
“Oh, I do apologize. Honestly. That’s very rude of him. Bad, Wilkie! Never on the grass! I got him from the pound, you see, and he’s never taken well to instruction. It’s hopeless now, of course,” she added. “You simply can’t imagine.”
“Listen,” he said, telling himself to just let the dog shit go, just let it go, “this lawsuit of yours, you’re going to lose, so why not do us both a favor and just drop it. I didn’t come after you. But if you keep this up, I will.”
Suddenly, both dogs lunged leftward, catching Charlotte off guard and forcing her into a run as they chased after a tabby cat Doug had never seen before. Their speed was too much for her and she stumbled at the edge of the driveway, her feet slipping on the wet grass, her hand and shoulder and then thigh coming down hard onto the pavement. Freed from her grasp, the dogs dashed forward, disappearing around the corner of the house.
“Great!” he shouted. “Another fucking lawsuit!”
Miserably, he walked toward her prone figure, though by the time he reached her, she’d sat up and was brushing grass from the arm of her jacket. Rain ran off her forehead, down her nose, and into her eyes. She looked utterly lost at that moment, as helpless as a child. He was about to reach a hand down to help her up when he saw Nate jogging across the circle.
“Ms. Graves, are you okay? Are you all right?”
He knelt beside her and put his arm around her back.
“Who’s that?”
“Can you move? Can you move your legs?”
She nodded and as Doug looked on, Nate dipped his shoulder under her arm, put a hand around her waist, and raised her off the wet ground.
“She needs a doctor. We have to call an ambulance.”
“No, no,” she said. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine.” She pushed the hair out of her eyes and straightened her skirt. “Those beasts will get no dinner.”
“You need to be x-rayed.”
“Heavens, no. Once you get into one of those hospitals you never get out.” She looked shaken but appeared steady enough on her feet.
“So,” Doug said, “just to be clear, you’ve been offered medical attention and you’re declining it, correct?”
Nate glared at him but said nothing.
“All right, then. I guess Nate here will get you home.” And with that he strode off, leaving the two of them huddled together in the