Poppy: A Short Story

Eli couldn’t remember the last time he and Aster fought like this. Honestly, he rarely fought with his wife, and when he did, their fights typically centered around cereal to buy, game decisions for game night, and snacks to keep in the pantry. Aster was more, for lack of a better term, emotional during arguments. Passionate rather, raising her voice to help get her point across. So she typically won the arguments, which Eli didn’t mind. But today he did. Today she wouldn’t win. She was making outlandish claims and Eli was struggling to see her point of view.

“You weren’t watching her,” Aster accused.

“Were you?” Eli threw back. They stood facing each other in the kitchen, one on each side of the island in the center of the space. Eli leaned across the countertop, and rubbed his bald, brown head as he eyed his wife, who was standing with her arms folded, scowling at him.

Usually her scowl amused him. He thought it was cute. Sexy even. The way her thick eyebrows came together and forehead wrinkled usually made him smile. But today her scowl was a scowl. Aster stared daggers at him.

It was movie night and after a recommendation from a friend, they decided on a romance movie. Less than an hour ago, Eli had tossed a bag of popcorn in the microwave and grabbed the other snacks - chips, cookies, and chocolate - and placed them on the coffee table in the living room, where Aster stood fluffing throw pillows and arranging blankets and candles.

Eli emptied the hot popcorn into a bowl, adding a dash of extra salt, while his wife entered the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. They both sat on the couch adjacent from the TV and began the film.

Thirty minutes into the movie, Eli confirmed that a frozen pizza was waiting in the freezer in case they wanted some real food. He could feel himself craving hot food already and told Aster to pause the movie while he prepared their pizza.

He moved around in the kitchen, preheated the oven, removed the pizza from its box and read the cooking instructions. He walked to the trash and placed the empty box in, and noted the screen to the back door was ajar.

He called to Aster, letting her know about their slipup.

“Were we that eager to get home?” Aster joked.

They both worked typical Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 jobs. They didn’t talk or text much during work hours so there was usually some eagerness around getting home to each other, but no more eagerness than any other day.

Movie night was typically twice a month, on a Friday evening. When they found time, they squeezed it in three to four times a month. They didn’t struggle with quality time as a couple or “keeping the flame alive,” but Eli and Aster agreed during their dating stage that routine dates were necessary. A recurring date to be added to the calendar like a meeting or family reunion.

They also bonded over couples massages and dinner dates. Eli even went for a mani-pedi with Aster every few months. Aster pampered herself regularly but was only able to convince Eli to accompany her every so often. Eli admitted that he enjoyed the experience, but overall would rather spend his time elsewhere.

Eli pulled the back door closed and locked it. Out of habit, he looked around the kitchen for Poppy, their dog. He remembered filling her bowl before he and Aster chose the movie. He looked at Poppy’s food and water bowl in the corner of the kitchen and could see that she’d eaten some of her food. Eli circled the kitchen, calling Poppy’s name.

“Is she ignoring you,” Aster called from the couch. She had paused the movie at his request and was scrolling on her phone.

“No,” Eli replied, “she’s not in here. Is she in there with you?”

Aster stopped scrolling, looked up and called to Poppy.

Poppy,” she called in a singsong voice. “Poppy…. Poppy Seed.”

No response. She called a few more times but Poppy never showed herself.

“The back door was open. Do you think...” Eli didn’t need to finish his question. Aster knew what he was asking.

Yes, there was a possibility Poppy could have gotten out the back door. She’d never run away from home before, but there was a first time for everything.

After checking all the rooms in the two-story house, Eli and Aster walked around the neighborhood looking for Poppy. They walked up and down the block calling her name. It was 7:30 in the evening, so they would have a few more hours of sunlight thanks to summer.

They eventually consulted with neighbors, and after a few hours, they both needed a break. Now here they were, a staredown in the kitchen. They stood frustrated, upset, and dogless, still.

“You never liked her,” Aster spat.

Eli was visibly taken aback by her statements. He’d been leaning on the countertop of the kitchen island talking to Aster, but now he stood alert and tall. His 6’2’’ stature, combined with his muscular build, typically gave him a threatening look, which had its advantages, but none involved Aster. No matter how tall he stood, his guise had no effect on his wife. She remained unmoved, reassured of herself.

Aster became fired up during arguments and said a few irrational, or over dramatic things here and there, but her recent statement was not only untrue, but felt like a slap in the face to Eli.

“How the hell can you even say that?” Eli was usually the calmer of the two in disagreements but could hear himself losing his calm. He heard his voice raise an octave or two.

Eli didn’t know what to make of his wife’s words. Had he not loved and cared for Poppy for the past few years? Had he not done a good job? Should he have spent more time playing with her when he came home from work? Or taken her for more walks?

Was his wife insinuating that he left the back door open? And that Poppy escaping was his fault? Losing his calm more with the thought, he voiced the question out loud.

“Do you think this is my fault?” His voice was up another octave. He stared at Aster, anger in his eyes. “Do you think I wanted her to run away? Planned it?”

Aster held his gaze but stayed silent.

Was her silence an answer? Did it say yes to all of his questions?

Another moment of silence passed and Eli couldn't stand it. It was as if the silence upset him more than the words Aster didn’t speak. He left the kitchen, grabbed his car keys from the hook at the front door and left. He made sure to slam the door on the way out just in case Aster underestimated how upset he was by her words.

Eli hopped in the driver’s seat of his Durango and involuntarily slammed that door too. He didn’t notice, he was already deep in thought.

How the hell could she say he didn’t care about Poppy? He admitted he wasn’t a “dog person” nor was he particularly fond of dogs, until he met Aster. He’d never owned a pet growing up and while that was upsetting for him at the time, he grew up to be someone who enjoyed life without pets.

When he and Aster started dating three years ago, Eli knew he had to embrace Poppy as well and up until this point he thought he had done that perfectly. He remembered how grateful he was that Aster only owned one dog, compared to her brother and sister who owned two each. Aster’s family was the definition of “dog people,” and he liked them very much. He even adored their partners and their children. He just couldn’t relate to that aspect of life.

Owning a dog is a responsibility. Eli knew that. Dogs depend on you for just about everything, shelter, food, doctor’s appointments and much more. Eli underestimated how much of a responsibility taking care of Poppy was, in the beginning, but he understood now.

He honestly liked Poppy. It wasn’t hard to take a liking to her. Eli thought she was smart, loving, and full of personality. Poppy, he learned, is slightly high maintenance but she’s a good dog. She’s affectionate and protective but sometimes needy. She responds to commands and doesn’t make a mess in the house. She doesn’t bark excessively and is friendly towards other dogs, but for some reason she didn’t like children.

There were two aspects of Poppy that Eli still struggled with, but would never confess to Aster. One, he had to adjust to sleeping with Poppy. He would never allow an animal to sleep in his bed but Aster loved to have Poppy near at bedtime, so she slept at the foot of the bed every night. Eli was at least grateful that Poppy was a good dog and listened when they banned her from the room for some adult time.

Two, he had to adjust to the pet hair. The amount of hair Poppy shed was slightly frustrating at times. It was everywhere, bed, clothes, furniture, carpet.

Eli backed out of their lengthy driveway and circled the neighborhood again. He drove and fumed over the disagreement with his wife. His anger intensified with each minute he couldn’t find Poppy. He drove slowly, head out the window, looking for a glimpse of Poppy.

Eli needed another break but didn’t want to return home, especially without Poppy. He kept replaying Aster’s words and each recollection brought more and more anger. He pulled into a park up the street from home, parked the car, and sat thinking.

As upset as he was with Aster, he had to admit that he wished they were in the car together, driving in silence, waiting for their situation to change. He felt better, more hopeful, when the two worked together.

He couldn’t fully explain it, but being with Aster gave him a certain confidence boost. When they problem solved together he was more focused, more optimistic about the overall outcome.

He cursed himself for not bringing some weed, to help him relax, calm his nerves. He smoked more than Aster but the two smoked together occasionally, mostly at Aster’s request. His wife was a wine person. He didn’t realize how much of a wine person she was until they moved in together. Everyday after work Aster liked to “wine down,” with candles and a glass of wine, two or more on stressful days. Eli was concerned at first, but eventually realized Aster didn’t have a codependent relationship with alcohol. He grew to believe she drank more out of routine than necessity.

He smoked somewhat routinely, so he could understand. He was grateful that Aster accepted his smoking habits, though her only request was that he not do it in their house. She hated the smell, which he could understand. Even when they indulged together, they’d take a drive around the neighborhood or stop at this park to sit, smoke, and talk.

In spite of his anxiousness, he tried to stay optimistic about finding Poppy. Even with the stream of unwanted thoughts flowing through his head. Ones that said the sun would set soon and they’d be left to search for Poppy in the dark.

He was in the car now, he thought, he could continue driving around the neighborhood and switch on his headlights at sundown. That’d be better than going home to search for flashlights that may or may not have working batteries. Unfortunately, Eli had an aching feeling that they had a better chance of finding Poppy on foot anyway. It was a more in depth and intimate way of searching, yielded better results he thought.

He let out a huge sigh as he continued to think of scenarios that didn’t involve him finding Poppy today. Could Aster make it through the night without Poppy?

Feeling overwhelmed with these new thoughts, Eli left the keys in the ignition but stepped out of the car for some fresh air.

---

When Eli finally got back in the car, accompanied by Poppy, he struggled to find the keys. He was excited to have found Poppy and anxious to get her home to Aster. He was moving fast, checking the passenger seat as well as the row in the back, he opened the armrest and glove compartment with no luck. He was about to hop out of the car and check under the seats when his phone dinged, indicating the arrival of a text.

Deciding he needed to stop, take a deep breath, and retrace his steps, he decided to sit and check his phone. As he did so, he paused for a moment to look in the rear-view mirror at Poppy. She was pacing back and forth in the back seat, smiling, tail wagging, ready to be taken on an adventure. She enjoyed car rides with the window down, something about large amounts of air slapping her in the face at once brought her great joy. Eli cracked a smile, happy to have found Poppy. Happy that she was unharmed. He watched her a second longer then he ran through thoughts of how to get the dog hair off the fabric on the backseats.

Eli looked down at the message on his phone and when he saw Aster’s name, he didn’t know how to feel. At first, he was elated, suddenly anxious to tell her about Poppy, then switched to feelings of nervousness and uncertainty. At times, if he or Aster stormed out during an argument, she would text him the part of her argument she didn’t get to say, which usually upset him more, and he wasn’t in the mood to be upset or continue to fight with his wife. Not now. Not after getting a win with Poppy.

He thought about not opening the message, pretending he didn’t see it and just show up home with Poppy. Aster would be so consumed with Poppy that she wouldn’t care about her text going unanswered, he thought.

He opened the message despite all thoughts and was unexpectedly surprised by his wife’s message. She had sent a lengthy message, not to his surprise, but as he read her apology he felt himself untense. An apology after an unfinished argument was unheard of. An apology was hard to come by at times. Whatever the reason for the text, Eli didn’t care. He loved his wife regardless of any argument and was untroubled now that he found Poppy. Now if only he could find his keys to get home and reunite the two.

He put his phone down on the passenger seat and resumed his key search, which didn’t last long. Eli stared at the keys resting in the ignition a moment before starting the car. In his haste to get home with Poppy, he must have overlooked that component.

Finally content, for the first time all night, Eli took a deep breath and drove home with Poppy.