Роберт Уилсон - Days Since... - Jenny - Day 986

“Not quite. I got you something else.” Danny dangled a brand-new canine lead from his hand. “I prefer a leather lead, so now you prefer a leather lead too.”

Proudly, Jenny squeezed it in her gloved hand. Man! I can’t believe I finally got my own lead. The black leather felt tight, crisp, rigid, nothing close to Danny’s worn lead where the slack bounced nicely with Sherman’s pace. This one was hers to break in. Hers to put the miles on. She wrapped it around her wrist a few times and jerked it with her other hand. Sturdy. “This means everything to me, Danny.” Their rifles clacked together as she leapt into him, squeezing him with a big hug. “Seriously, you didn’t have to do any of this. Thank you.”

“We’re not having a moment here, so don’t get too whatever with the sappy stuff.” He peeled her from himself. “It’s not yours yet. You’ve got to earn it to keep it. It’s just for training today.”

“Right!”

“I’ll be covering you now.” He unclipped his lead from Sherman’s harness and ruffled his fur, riling him up. “Ready, boy?! You ready?!” Sherman sprung up from the ground, circling around Danny, splashing through the snow. A whine. A few barks. “Alright, alright, Sherm’.” Danny gripped the harness, clipping Jenny’s lead to it. “You’re listening to the lady now.”

Jenny forced a deep, frozen inhale to try and calm her nerves again. This is it, Jenny. You got this. Get this training done. Show Danny you still know what you’re doing. Own this. You can’t afford to slip up. “Hier.” Sherman took to her side, and Danny took to his rifle behind them.

Through the twist of branches below the crest of the hill, sat the Depot’s training ground—a cul-de-sac with houses in various stages of construction. Jenny had cleared those homes before, more times than she cared to remember. She knew the layout. Knew what to expect for the most part. Even with Sherman, this wasn’t much different. It might not be the most exciting training, but it was this or daily checks, and she’d take most anything before that. Don’t make Danny regret this decision. Don’t give him a reason to send you back.

“Let’s go, boy,” Jenny said.

Sherman bounded off, and Jenny suffered a quick jolt when the lead reached its limit. With him, there was no in between. He was all-go, despite Jenny pulling him back. His legs churned at a vigorous clip, his paws shooting puffs of snow into the air behind him. Some chunks thrown so far back they struck against her pant legs. Damn, pup! You’re making me look bad. She didn’t want to say anything. Didn’t want to give Danny the impression she was hurting to keep up. And to her fortune, he didn’t seem to notice, or at least didn’t say as much.

After half a mile of fighting through his exhausting pace, they met the hill’s descent, and Sherman finally slowed. Phew! He was relatively surefooted and seemed almost annoyed at Jenny’s tentative, choppy steps down the face of the hill. She found staying balanced difficult, one hand outstretched, pulled by Sherman, the other pressing against the ground or grabbing hold of brush to help regain her footing. When the hill bottomed out, they came to a small creek winding its way through the beginnings of an open field which led to the training grounds. Jenny brought them to its edge, wiping the snow from a large rock so she could sit and rest while Sherman drank.

“Okay, kiddo?” Danny’s breathing seemed heavy too. “This snow’s deep, huh?”

“Yeah…” Jenny gazed out at the training grounds. The yards. The houses. Familiarizing herself with the path she’d be taking.

“Never seems to bother him, though. He’s always loved the winter.” Danny balled up some snow. “Right, boy?” Sherman turned from the creek, and Danny tossed the snowball toward his mouth. He caught it, enthusiastically chewing through the powder. “Always willing to play.”

“He seems to like the work too.”

“He doesn’t know the difference. Work is play to him.”

“That makes sense.”

The two of them chatted a while longer, allowing Sherman to get his fill. Once the sound of his tongue lapping water ceased, Jenny got down from the rock, dusting her pants off before kneeling next to Sherman. “Ready, boy?” she whispered to him.

“He’s listening to you better lately.”

Jenny simply nodded, trying to regain her focus.

“Seems you’re ready then. I want to see what you can do with this pup.”

“Let’s go!” With her first step, Sherman took many, skittering across the creek, not paying any mind to getting wet. It left Jenny with little choice but to follow, hastily placing her feet across the stones. To her surprise, she made it with little difficulty, although soggy from where her boots had slipped once or twice. In the openness of the field, the lead’s slack quickly ran out, and she fell behind again. I can’t keep up. Why can’t I think of the damn word to get him to stop?

“Platz!” Danny called. Sherman responded immediately, laying down, but his paws kneaded at the ground, still wanting nothing more than to go.

Jenny threw her head back in disgust. “Damn it, Danny,” she huffed. “At least give me a chance.”

“You have to correct him.”

“I was about to do—”

“Was that before or after he started pulling you around like a sled?”

“Before…” she muttered, hustling through the calf-deep snow to Sherman.

“I gave you a little leeway up top with him, but not here. You need to treat this as the real thing. There can’t be any excuses. You’re in control. He’s your dog right now. Act like it.”

He’s right. Sherman’s my dog right now. My dog. I’ve done this before. Act like it! Jenny swiped the fresh powder from her eyes as she came even with Sherman. Kneeling down, she scratched under his muzzle then across the top of his head and ears. “Come on, boy, you’re making me look bad.” He whined while still pawing at the ground. “The better we work together the more we can do stuff like this.”

“He’s ready,” Danny said impatiently.

“I know—” Jenny turned, only to find Danny essentially on top of her, watching her every move. “How about some space?”

“How about no? We’re close to home, but not close enough. If the wrong sort of person comes through here, then we have to be ready.”

“No one comes through here anymore.”

“I’m not taking that risk.” Danny shook his head. “Just… Jenny, I’m giving you the chance to train outside of my better judgment. Take this blessing and for once, just once, quit fighting every damn thing I say and think for a second. What’s stopping someone from coming through here?”

“I…” Jenny looked around her. Sure, this was their group’s training ground, but there was nothing that secured it. It was an open street with open houses. Only a few of them even had the ability to be locked. And that wouldn’t really stop anyone. To a stranger, there would be no way of knowing the Depot used this cul-de-sac for training. Anyone coming through here might decide this was their new home. It didn’t take much. A person only had to throw their bag down and it was theirs. “I understand.”

“Again.” Danny nudged Jenny with his elbow. “Let’s go.”

Jenny gave the lead a few tugs, and Sherman rose from the ground. This time, she wrapped the lead around her balled fist to keep him closer than before—not willing to let him get out of her control again. They pushed on through the snow at a much slower pace and into a backyard of one of the more complete houses. With Sherman at her side, Jenny leaned into the wall of unfinished brick near the back door to the house. “What do you think?” Jenny asked, looking back toward Danny.