Shay Savage - Otherwise Unharmed

I looked out at the Chicago skyline as I boarded the bus and found two seats together so I had a place for my packages. It was equally strange to know I wouldn’t be riding around on the same CTA buses, looking up at the same buildings, or walking along the lake with Odin chasing seagulls and pigeons.

There were so many memories, so many things I had done here, but more often than not, they weren’t pleasant things. I rode the bus to where my car was parked and then found myself driving around Lake Shore East Park. Someone had fixed the warning sound for the parking garage. It wasn’t as loud as it used to be, but it still made me cringe. There was a spot open, so I parked the car and looked up to the balcony of my old apartment as I walked around the park.

Without actually meaning to, I went inside the dog run.

There were a few people hanging out there, and I sat down on a bench for a minute to watch the dogs sniff and bark at each other. A golden retriever mix came up to me, and I rubbed his head before his owner called him back. Memories of Odin flooded through my mind, but they were all good ones.

I left the park, drove to Giordano’s, and ordered a pizza.

After I had stuffed myself, I walked by the 676 Bar and Grill, but I didn’t go in. It was too early for Michele with one “L” to be working, and besides, the last memories I had there were of Davies. I’d known then he was hiding something, but I thought he was just planning to turn me in along with the rest of Greco’s group, not kidnap and try to rape my girlfriend.

My hands clenched into fists. Lia hadn’t said anything else about it, but I knew she thought about it. She’d woken up last night in a cold sweat, crying. I held her against my chest until she fell back to sleep.

I supposed I owed her a few nights of that.

I was pretty sure she and Luisa had talked about it more, and I was glad she had another woman to go to because I couldn’t even deal with my own traumas, let alone help with hers. I could be there for her, but I didn’t have any words to take away what had happened to her.

After all of that, she still felt guilty about taking his life.

I only regretted not doing it myself.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I turned away from the lake wind and made the trek back to the car. I drove slowly through downtown traffic and watched the tourists with their shopping bags and Chicago-themed sweatshirts walk up and down the street, looking at maps and smartphones as they tried to figure out where they were.

I drove by the corner where Bridgett used to hang out and wait for tricks.

“You need to stop this shit,” I told myself. “Too many fucking memories.”

With a quick twist of the wheel, I got myself onto Lakeshore Drive and headed toward the less damaged of Rinaldo’s homes. When I arrived, all of Lia’s things were in a pile on the porch next to mine. As I pulled up, she came outside with Luisa and Jonathan behind her.

“Ready now?” she asked.

“Definitely,” I replied.

Luisa and Lia shared an awkward one-armed hug, carefully avoiding bumping the bright pink cast over Luisa’s arm and elbow. They spoke a few soft words as I threw the last of our things into the car and shut the lid to the trunk. Jonathan came over and clasped his hand on my back.

“You take care of yourself, brotha,” Jonathan said as he shook my hand vigorously. He was wearing his Save Ferris T-shirt, which made me smile. “You ever need anything, you know how to find me.”

“Thanks, dude,” I replied. “You sure you’re okay with taking care of…of Odin?”

“It’s my next stop,” Jonathan said. “He’s getting the biggest fucking stone in the pet graveyard, so if you ever come back, it’ll be easy enough to find.”

We looked at each other for a long moment, but there wasn’t anything else to be said. As strange as it was, given how many bodies I had disposed of during my tenure with Rinaldo’s organization, I couldn’t bring myself to take care of Odin’s. The very thought of it brought me to the point of vomiting. It could have been left over from the concussion, but I didn’t think so. When Jonathan had volunteered, I knew my dog would get the best final services he could. Thanks wouldn’t have been anywhere near enough, and Jonathan already knew how I felt about it anyway.

“Don’t put up with any shit from this guy!” Jonathan said to Lia as he gave her a quick hug and opened the car door for her.

She laughed.

“He wouldn’t dare,” she said with a wink to me.

I rolled my eyes, waved goodbye to Luisa, and got behind the wheel. Lia settled in beside me, and I pulled around the circular driveway and off into the street.

“We need to make one last stop,” I said.

“Where?” Lia asked.

“The old apartment over on Kingsbury. I’ve got to grab a couple things from there.”

“What?”

“Cash,” I replied.

Lia came with me as we headed up the elevator and then to the unit we had inhabited. She stood near the door and looked around as I grabbed a couple of suitcases from the back of the closet. When I came out, she was staring at a spot on the floor in the living room.

Odin’s spare rubber bone was lying there.

“Get it,” I said quietly.

She glanced at me, and there were tears threatening to spill from her lashes. She didn’t say anything, just quickly walked over and grabbed the bone. She shoved it into her purse, and we headed back downstairs.

I tossed the suitcases into the trunk and was about to slam it shut when a voice shouted out from behind me.

“You there!”

I startled and went for my gun. Lucky for her, the crotchety old woman with the bitch Odin had knocked up didn’t end up with a bullet in her head.

“You owe me eight thousand dollars!” she snapped. “I have four mongrel pups I can’t sell for anything!”

For a moment, I could only see red. I was dangerously close to strangling the old hag, but before I did, I glanced behind her and saw her dog on the lawn with four playful, white pups rolling around in the grass.

One of them perked her head up and looked over to us. Her tail began to wag furiously as she tried to bound over in our direction but tripped on her own feet instead. Distracted by whatever scent filled her nose upon impact, she attacked a blade of grass and forgot about us.

“You’re a nut,” I informed the woman. “Fuck you and the dogs.”

I turned around and started to walk away, but Lia stopped me.

“Evan?” Lia said as her hand rested against my elbow. “Evan, can we…can we take one of them?”

My chest tightened. At first, I wanted to say no. I wasn’t replacing Odin—there was no way. But these pups…they were part of him, too.

He took a bullet for her.

I went back to the car, looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching, and then opened one of the suitcases full of cash. I quickly counted out eight grand and brought it over to the woman.

“Here,” I said. “Don’t ask for another fucking thing from me, and don’t give me any shit about it—we’re taking one of the puppies.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to argue with me anyway but thought better of it as she stared at the cash in her hand. I took Lia’s arm and led her over to the fluffy white, wriggling balls of fur. The same puppy that fell over her own feet earlier bounced over and licked Lia’s hand.

“That one,” I said definitively.

“I think you are right,” Lia replied as she picked her up.

She twisted and turned to get out of Lia’s arms at first, but then turned toward her face and licked her chin.

“That’s disgusting,” I told the pup, and her ears perked up at the sound of my voice. She stared at me intently for a moment and then struggled to get out of Lia’s arms and over to me. I rubbed her head, but Lia kept hold of her.