Page 20 of Roll With The Punches

“They’ve got ticks!” She knelt on the deck, her nightgown soaked. “It’s like Icannotcatch a damn break! I was petting them and felt something and damned if they both aren’t covered in the fucking things. At least I had some dip left from a few months ago when we went through an infestation, but the vet gave me the once-a-month stuff for them. I must have forgotten to give it to them this month.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Can I help?”

She sat back on her heels and sniffled. “Thanks.” She pointed to a flea comb. “If you could start combing through Ham’s coat for me, that’d be great. I already washed and soaked them with flea and tick shampoo. I don’t want to use up the dip until I know I have the ticks off them.”

At least with the dogs’ light-colored coats it made it easier to find the ticks. She’d also brought out a flashlight, tweezers, and a bowl of rubbing alcohol to drop any in that they found.

“Well, look at it this way,” he said. “Maybe Morse will be dealing with a tick infestation.”

She finally laughed. “That’d be ironic. He’ll blame me for it, say I did it on purpose. But I’m glad I found them now instead of halfway to Florida and have my car get infested with them. I’ll have to walk them on a leash in the front yard. I was going to mow this weekend, but once I knew I was leaving I thoughtwhy?”

“I was wondering why the front was mowed.”

“It’s smaller. And we get it sprayed because he likes having a nice lawn to show off to people. We’re never out in the back part of the property, so I don’t even bother with it.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I guess I should just roll with the punches and keep my focus on the fact that I’m finally getting the hell away from the guy for good. This is only a speed bump.”

It took them an hour, and literally going over the two dogs with the fine-toothed comb several times, but they finally thought they’d gotten all the ticks. Finally, she washed the dogs again, just to be sure, and dipped them.

Then the dogs got locked in a downstairs bathroom for the night with towels all over the floor so they could dry off.

Jeff took another shower, carefully examining his clothes before going to bed to make sure he hadn’t picked up any stragglers himself. He once again collapsed into bed, now feeling even more exhausted than before.

At least I know I have a loving family to go home to.