Page 4

N AVY

I leaned back in my chair and relaxed for a few minutes as I let my eyes go unfocused, looking at the image on the screen.

My mind was whirring with ideas based on the preferences and needs of this new client, and it always seemed to help my creative process when I took an imaginary step back and let my mind wander.

After a few minutes I realized that a lightning bolt moment wasn’t likely to happen today, so I shut my computer down, knowing the problem would simmer in my mind throughout my day and even into my shift at the bar tonight.

It seemed crazy to think that some of my best ideas came to me in the shower or when I was doing something mundane and letting my mind wander, but that’s how it almost always happened.

Over the years, I’d found that it was best not to push it.

Besides, it gave me an excuse to step outside my office and find something else to do - even if it was serving drinks to cover my sister’s shift.

I wasn’t surprised to see Boogie watching me when I stood up from my computer and laughed when her ears perked up and she tilted her head toward the door.

The tiny puppy I’d found on the beach, barely breathing and covered in fleas, had turned into a medium-sized dog of very uncertain heritage.

The older Boogie got, the more I was convinced she was the product of an illicit affair between someone’s snobby poodle and a bad boy mutt from the wrong side of the tracks.

She was knee-high and slender with a sweet disposition when she got her way and the snotty attitude of a spoiled princess when she didn’t.

Her wiry white coat was curly in spots and stick-straight in others with tufts of black and brown fur that were soft and curly.

Spicoli, her lazy companion, had also found me on the beach, but he hadn’t been nearly as pitiful as Boogie.

His short brown hair was shiny and soft, and he had the unfocused gaze and attitude of a surfer who was high on much more than just life.

I was convinced that he’d have already become one with the furniture without Boogie prodding him to move now and then.

Boogie hopped up to go for a walk, excited as always, and then nipped at Spicoli when he didn’t even open his eyes to see what was going on.

Spicoli rolled over onto his back before he moaned low in his throat, but that wasn’t enough for Boogie, so she nipped him again.

Spicoli opened one eye and huffed at her before he closed it again and instantly started snoring loudly.

“He’s not down for a walk, babe, and I’m not gonna force him because I refuse to carry his big ass home again,” I explained as I left the room.

Boogie gave up on Spicoli and sprinted past me down the hall toward the living room.

Before I even had a chance to step into my flip-flops, she had gone through the doggie door with a tennis ball in her mouth.

I grabbed the lead that I only carried on the off chance I ran into some Karen who started screeching about unleashed dogs on the beach and followed Boogie out into the breezeway.

A little time playing catch with my favorite girl was the perfect way to let my mind wander so I could think of a fresh, new idea for the website I was creating for my client.

A few hours later, Boogie and I made our way back to the house, sunkissed and exhilarated after our time on the sand with occasional dips in the water to cool off.

Since we were already outside, I took the stairs to check on the rooftop garden I tended with my sister and was happy to find a lemon ready to pick as well as a few peppers and a zucchini I could use for my dinner tonight after my shift at the bar.

After a quick shower, I jotted down a few notes that had come to me under the spray and then walked out into the breezeway I shared with the other three condos in the building.

I was lucky enough to live a stone's throw from the beach in a recently renovated building with great neighbors.

Of course, the fact that one of those neighbors happened to be my sister and her family helped.

The other two residents were retired snowbirds who were only here occasionally during the summer and through the few months of winter.

The location was perfect, not only because of its access to the beach but because it was just a five-minute ride to the bar.

Investing in this property with my brother-in-law had proven to be one of my most lucrative business decisions because it gave me income from the other renters as well as the perfect place to live.

Considering the price of real estate in California, we were sitting on a gold mine, but neither of us was willing to sell since we loved living here.

A few years ago, we’d purchased the building next to ours, and the one on the other side just last year.

It gave us a substantial amount of passive income that we planned to use to buy more property in our area.

James worked hard to add to the nest egg he planned to pass on to his children, but since I had none, they’d probably end up with the money I had saved too.

Even though I wanted kids of my own, I had no illusions that would ever happen. Unfortunately, I hadn’t found a woman who didn’t make me crazy enough to pull out my own hair or walk out into the surf and never come back, so a family and children weren’t exactly on my horizon.

Since I was open to the idea, I rarely ever passed up the opportunity for female company in the hopes I might find a woman I could build a life with, but none of them seemed up to the task.

My sister insisted that was because my dating pool mainly consisted of customers at the bar, which was not exactly the place most people found lasting love.

However, it was a great place to find companionship for at least a night. Maybe even a few.

It had been a while since I’d spent a wild weekend with anyone, and since my sister wasn’t home to judge my choices, now would be the perfect time to enjoy myself.

By the time I got to the bar, I’d come up with a few more ideas for the work I needed to get back to and made the decision to call up a flight attendant who was always down for a good time. However, the shit show that greeted me the second I walked into the bar pushed those thoughts aside.

“What the fuck is going on?” I yelled when I spotted my dad sitting on a barstool with a bloody towel held up to his face.

“Now, son, don’t get all worked up. It’s just a few scrapes and bruises.”

I looked at Raphael, who didn’t seem to be in much better shape than Dad, and asked, “Did you get into a fight?”

“Obviously,” Dad drawled sarcastically.

“With each other?”

Raphael just stared like I was stupid, which was probably difficult, considering his left eye was almost swollen shut.

“Jesus, Anthony. Of course we didn’t fight each other,” Dad said in exasperation.

Raphael snorted because even if Dad wasn’t willing to admit it, we both knew it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility if he’d had a little too much to drink.

“Two assholes wearing full helmets came in and demanded all the money in the register. When I told them to fuck off, they started roughing me up.”

“I came out when I heard the commotion and jumped in to help, but then two more men showed up. They took off when a customer opened the door and started screaming bloody murder, and this is what we’re left with.”

I looked around and saw that the men had done quite a number on the bar too.

There were broken chairs tossed around along with two busted barstools.

Some of the framed pictures that had been hanging on the back wall for years were on the floor surrounded by glass shards.

Broken beer mugs were everywhere, and I could tell in an instant that they had thrown them at the walls like they were having target practice.

The door opened and daylight spilled into the dim interior, making the glass on the floor sparkle before the door shut again. I turned to find two uniformed cops taking in the sight and watched as one of them keyed the mic on his shoulder and started talking in code.

“Did you recognize them?” I asked hurriedly before the cop made it across the bar.

“No,” Dad and Rafael said at the same time.

As Rafael gingerly touched his cheek, he said, “They were covered in tattoos down to their fingertips. There were letters, but I couldn’t make out what they were.”

“They had on motorcycle boots, but they weren’t like yours. They were fancy asshole boots with buckles and shit,” Dad added.

“Were they women?” I asked. Dad glared at me, and I put my hands up before I said, “Fancy buckles are a chick thing.”

“I did not get my ass kicked by a woman, Clark Anthony Michaels.”

“Yessir,” I said, biting back a grin even in such a dire situation.

I hadn’t heard that tone or my full name since well before my mom passed, and the jolt of fear I felt at the sound made it hard not to laugh out loud.

Instead, I turned to the officer who was now standing near us and asked, “Can you call an ambulance to have them check out my dad and Rafael?”

“We already called it in, but it may be a while.”

“Would it be better for me to just drive them to the hospital?”

The cop shook his head and said, “This is the fourth call that’s come in like this in the last hour, so we’re spread pretty thin, as are the paramedics.”

“There have been four robberies?”

The cop nodded before he said, “They started about six blocks away and worked their way down the street until they got to your bar.”

“What the fuck?” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.

“That’s exactly what I thought,” the cop admitted. He looked at Dad and asked, “Can you answer some questions for me?”

“Of course,” Dad said as he dropped the towel and let the cop get a good look at his face.

The officer and I both hissed at the sight before he said, “Yeah, you definitely need to see a doctor.”

“I’ve had worse,” Dad said with a shrug.

“Maybe, but you weren’t damn near seventy years old when that happened,” I reminded him. I glanced over at Rafael before I said, “You need to be checked out too.”

“I’m not gonna argue.”

“I’ll put a sign on the door saying we’re closed for the day. Maybe a few,” I said as I walked around the bar, glass crunching with every step I took. “It’s gonna take at least that long to get this place cleaned up.”

“I could probably use a day or two off.”

I saw Dad shrug and then rolled my eyes when the cop started laughing.

Once he was able to pull himself together, he asked, “Do those cameras work?”

“Sure do,” I told him with a grin. “I’ll put everything we’ve got on a thumb drive for you.”

“Perfect.”

◆◆◆

DALISAY

“Well, hello there!” I exclaimed in shock when I noticed two dogs napping in the shade of the courtyard.

One of them jumped up to greet me, while the other just lifted his head and huffed before he laid back down on the grass and closed his eyes again.

The odd-looking one sniffed me excitedly before it sat on its haunches and lifted a paw.

As I bent over to shake, I said, “You are just the cutest!”

I sat down in the Adirondack chair nearby and put my laptop and drink on the small table attached to it before I bent forward and showered the dog with scratches and pats.

I looked around, thinking I’d somehow missed the dogs’ owners, but when I was assured I was alone, I wondered who they belonged to.

The building only had four units, as far as I could tell, and there was no way to get in or out without access through the tall iron gate nestled in the brick patio wall out front or the garage doors on the bottom level.

Both animals were wearing collars and seemed clean and healthy.

It was obvious that their owner must take good care of them, although I wasn’t sure how safe it was for them to be outside alone for however long they had already been here.

I decided that was a problem for later, so as soon as the odd little dog, whose collar told me her name was Boogie, got bored and walked off, I settled my laptop on my knees and started working on my resume.

My drink was gone, and I was starving by the time I was content with the progress, and the sun was starting to set - something I didn’t want to miss again.

Of all the things I’d missed most about home, watching the sun set over the water was close to the top of the list. I couldn’t wait to get back out in the surf and promised myself I’d find a board as soon as my new doctor released me.

I was having to work through some respiratory issues caused by complications from the infection that developed after my lung had been punctured, but I felt stronger every day.

Although I knew there was no way I was strong enough to tackle any waves yet.

When I got up from the chair, I saw both dogs watching me, so I blew them a kiss before I walked off, hoping I would see them again.

They were the perfect companions - one didn’t care what I was doing, but the other one occasionally interrupted my work for some attention before she wandered off again.

I had just started up the stairs when the dogs caught up to me and then walked beside me all the way to the top floor.

“Oh, no! You can’t follow me home, you guys!”

When we got to the landing, I looked down and asked, “Where do you live?”

As if in answer, the larger dog meandered toward the door across the way.

That’s when I noticed the pet door and realized they must belong to Corrie’s neighbor.

I smiled because, as hard as living in an apartment might be for dogs of their size, at least they had access to the courtyard whenever they wanted to visit it.

“Maybe I should get a dog once I’m settled,” I said aloud as I entered the code for Corrie’s door. I laughed bitterly before I added, “I should probably find somewhere to live first.

That was on my agenda for tomorrow and probably the next few weeks along with finding a job.

Neither of which sounded like any fun at all.