The Groper’s Good Deed - Part II
There used to be a mom & pop hardware store conveniently located in our neighborhood. One of the employees was a friendly and very helpful fellow in his late forties, but he had one big downfall. He was a groper. Every woman in the neighborhood knew this guy because if he got you alone in one of the back aisles of the store, he’d cop a feel. Encounters with him made my skin crawl and I did my best to avoid him. But one day, out of desperation because I had no one else around who could help with an urgent life-or-death situation, I invited the groper to my house. What he did (and what I learned from his behavior) surprised me.
THIS IS PART 2 of a THREE-PART STORY
Corky
Time was running out. I went back to my house to check on my little dachshund (I heard a whimpering sound, so at least I knew he was still alive). For a moment I stood there, pondering what to do, nerves stretched tight as amped-up wiring in an unhappy lover’s heart. I cherished this dog. He had been my constant companion for a number of years now and he was intensely sweet and loyal. For him to perish under the planks of a deck as I stood nearby hearing his desperate cries was like something out of a horror movie. In fact, I had once seen a film about passengers and crew on a large boat who had all jumped overboard for a swim but had neglected to throw a rope ladder over the side, so none of them was able to climb back aboard and all were doomed to drowning. That was what was on my mind as I stood there, helplessly listening to my poor little dog’s increasingly feeble whimpers. I am not good at thinking under pressure and must have gone into a kind of fugue state, hearing Corky’s useless scratching under the deck and knowing there wasn’t a goddamn thing I could do.
In forty minutes time I was supposed to be at the airport (which was at least forty minutes away) to pick up my friend, and since this was before cell phones I had no way of getting in touch with him. You better believe I was slick with sweat and frantic. My husband was out of town, I was by myself with no one there to help me.
God only knows how long I stood by that deck, digging my nails into my palms and weeping from stress. Then I thought, I’ve got to get a crowbar.
I have no idea what I thought I was going to do with a crowbar, but it was the best answer I could come up with at the time. I needed an implement to destroy that deck and release my beloved pet from certain death. I would do anything in my power to save him.