A Stranger Stared Me Down and I Fell Hopelessly For Him
I was turning around to head back towards the town, rounding the rocky outcrop that marked the end of the beach, when I first saw him.
Ginger, my dog, running ahead, happened to have found him first.
Still a distance from me, they stood looking at one another; he with his hand outstretched and she with her inquisitive nose pointing upwards, in danger of crossing personal boundaries. But that’s Ginger for you — forward as anything.
I always feel a certain warmth towards anyone who shows some affection towards animals, especially my own. And so he instantly scored some valuable points.
As I approached, he looked in my direction — a face that oozed gentle curiosity, seemingly charmed by the dog. Which isn’t surprising. She’s a coy thing with her melting chocolate eyes lined with black, reminding me of Nepalese babies who have kohl applied to their eyes in the belief that it will protect them from evil spirits. They are just as adorable as Ginger makes herself to strangers.
There they stood, the charming dog, the man whose composure and stance had struck me instantly, and the near-empty beach surrounding them.
I eventually caught up with them and we both opened the conversation with a zest to connect. He commented on Ginger’s forward and trusting nature and began to ask all about her. Again, not surprisingly, because she is unusual to look at. Her curly tail, her narrow whippet-like build, though chunkier and with a more Eastern or African upright stance. Her big ears with asymmetrical chunks taken from the corners that at times sit in a smooth backwards stance, and at others, stand in the upright, full-breadth one, transforming her look completely.
So I told him all about her street dog past and then the attacks by a German Shepherd that persuaded me to adopt her.
I often talk with passers-by wherever I am walking Ginger. Though sometimes, depending on where and what time we are walking, we see no one. I’m good with both solitude and company, and so is Ginger. But we both…
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