I Buried My Dog and My Love for Him

The day Eugene Sanchez's company went under and he threw himself off a building.

I lost the child in my belly, and Biscuit lost a leg, and that was the price of saving him.

I said, "The three of us are together. There's nothing we can't get through. The baby won't blame you either."

He was so moved he nearly cried, swearing he'd protect Biscuit and me for the rest of his life.

He'd always hated dogs, but he held Biscuit close and said, "I'll give you a grand wedding, and Biscuit can be the bridesmaid."

Three years later, he pulled a young student up beside him, joy spilling from the corners of his eyes. "All my life I never understood what love was. She's the one who taught me what real love feels like."

"Judith Pruitt? Just friends, nothing more. Like one hand touching the other."

I tightened my grip on the wine glass. "Our child up in heaven would like to know what real love is too. Why don't you explain it to him?"

"……"

At those words, almost everyone in the room held their breath.

Eugene's happy smile froze right there, his face barely holding together.

"Judith, the baby's death was an accident, and it was years ago now."

"You said yourself back then that you wouldn't blame me. What do you mean by bringing it up again? Trying to make us sick on purpose?"

Sherry Bowen planted herself in front of Eugene, shielding my man for all she was worth.

"Older women like you always love using old favors to push people around."

"Are you going to tell us next that a dog saved him, so Eugene owes that dog a favor too?"

"Aren't you a little old to be this childish?"

Sherry hugged Eugene's arm and turned coy.

"After I turned ten, I stopped expecting anything back for the good things I did."

"Besides, the building wasn't even that high. Eugene didn't need them cushioning his fall. He'd have survived just fine on his own."

"For all anyone knows, that baby slipped away because she lost her own footing."

"After all, I heard that around that time you were working at this kind of place. Everyone here knows what kind of place this is, don't they?"

"Just now someone touched me by accident, and thank goodness Eugene hit the guy for it."

"You worked here so long? Honey, that baby... maybe it was never going to make it anyway. It wasn't even three months along yet. Doing something with another man could easily destabilize it and cause a miscarriage."

"You're just taking advantage of how kind Eugene is, trying to pin this whole thing on him. Isn't that going too far?"

The people around us were suddenly stunned.

They'd come ready to say Eugene was in the wrong, abandoning a woman who'd saved his life and turning around to marry someone else. They never imagined she'd been pulling something like this behind his back.

After all, nobody likes being cheated on.

I stared at Eugene in disbelief.

"Is that really what you told her? Is that how you see me too?"

"You think I won't sue you for spreading lies?"

This time it was Eugene's turn to push Sherry behind him.

"What are you doing, threatening a young girl for no reason?"

"She's young, she said a few things about you. It's not like it cost you anything, so why bother?"

Sherry stepped out from behind Eugene.

"Eugene, why don't I just apologize to her. Some truths shouldn't be said in front of everyone."

She reached out and took Judith's hand, saying, "Judith, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, just pretend I'm the one who got pregnant and lost the baby back then."

"But if it were me, I wouldn't keep harping on it and embarrassing Eugene. The company's on the rise right now, and making a scene this ugly is bad for its image."

Eugene was pleased with how sensible she was. So young and already this sensible, and that was what made her so rare.

When could Judith ever measure up?

The moment she finished, her brow twisted and she let out a scream. "It hurts! Judith, you actually cut my hand with a knife?"