Walk at the Park

Cali's school year ended. Audrey has a summer job at the city library so Brielle is left to take care of Cali at times if the former does not go to their grandparent's house. To Brielle, taking care and looking after Cali is not a tedious job as the kid knows how to take care of herself. Around the house, she knows where the food is stored and she just eats on her own will.

"Liam and I will go to the park together to test out my bicycle skills. I was not going to ask you this but do you like to come with us?" Cali said out of the blue while brushing strands of hair that blocked her eyesight.

The two of them are chilling in the living room while watching their favorite noontime show. Brielle's eyes grew wide upon hearing Cali's plans with Liam. She always knew how outgoing her little sister is and no doubts Cali made Liam agree due to her eagerness.

Thinking about Liam makes Brielle twirled inside a void of embarrassment. However, it's not like she has the guts to delegate the responsibility of looking after Cali to Liam. She has no choice but to come with them to their neighborhood park.

At around three in the afternoon when the raging heat of the sun already calmed down, Liam fetched Cali and Brielle and they went to the park together. The park is just a five minute walking distance from their house. On the way there, Cali rode the bicycle with her full-gear on.

Unbeknownst to Brielle, Liam and Cali had a conversation after their short bicycle lesson.

A day before, Cali took off her pink helmet and faced Liam, "Did you guys fight?" She innocently asked. To Liam, Cali is an incredible child. He has not met anyone as smart and emotionally intelligent as her. He actually enjoys talking to the kid because she actually makes more sense than most adults.

Amused, Liam bent his knees to meet the child's eyes. He thought he should tell her the truth because there is no point in lying as Cali is an extremely good observer.

"Hmm, we have a little misunderstanding, Cali. And I think she is mad at me," He said in a low and sad tone.

"Dogs make her happy," Cali said so suddenly Liam was taken aback and took a few seconds for him to understand what she meant. Cali was so confident with her suggestion because she knew how dogs and puppies made Brielle happy.

Liam grinned from ear to ear, "Really? What do you think we should do, Cali?" He sincerely asked because he would really appreciate any help he could get.

"Brielle used to love going to the park every afternoon because a lot of dogs were walking there. She also has a friend who has a golden retriever whom she has not seen for weeks," Cali said proudly while removing her protective gears off her body

Liam thought for a while and his face lit up, "How about we go there tomorrow?" Cali nodded her head and went inside the house.

At the park, a lot of kids are playing around and just a few steps away is the dog park where a lot of dogs are playing too. Brielle always loved going to the park to see the dogs.

For her, all dogs are cute. As for babies and children, she does not think so. Anyway, Liam and Brielle were left to watch over Cali while seated beside each other on a bench under the shade of a tree. They were silent while looking after Cali who is enjoying running around the park. She got off her bike and started playing with the other kids.

"Brielle!" A voice coming from an old woman reached Brielle's ears which made her instantly look back to see who it was. It was Zeny! Her seventy-year-old friend who lives around the block.

Brielle immediately stood up to greet her and of course, a two year-old golden retriever named Kitty. A few months ago, Brielle volunteered to walk Kitty around during times when Zeny's knee arthritis attacked.

She so loved Kitty that she would usually cancel her other plans just to walk her around the neighborhood. Today is an unusual day because Zeny has always been the type of person who does her best not to ask Brielle to walk Kitty around.

However, this time, Zeny asked if she'd like to watch over Kitty for a while as she has something to do.

"Well, sure. Kitty and I have a lot to talk about," Brielle gave Zeny a warm smile before she headed off. She immediately got off her seat to hug Kitty who has been wagging her tail rapidly since the moment she saw Brielle. Kitty has very golden fur and a kind pair of eyes. She is always smiling with her tongue stuck out. What Brielle likes most about Kitty is her white eyelashes.

Brielle sat back next to Liam as she let Kitty rest first because she was panting heavily, "You love dogs don't you?" He asked all of a sudden. Finally, he thought of something to talk about.

A permanent smile was etched on her face the moment Kitty arrived. She stopped petting Kitty to answer his question, "I do. I love dogs," She smiled. She added, "Are you mad at me?" She asks.

"No! I can't be mad at you, Brielle." Liam answered in a serious tone and stared at Brielle right in the eye with his thoughtful and honest gaze.

The corners of Brielle's mouth rose, "I'm sorry for acting too shitty for the past days. I was just thinking you might be mad at me. Thank you for defending me against Gerald though. It actually feels so good to actually say that," She played with the handle of Kitty's leash.

This time, Kitty has this cute dog smile on her face that reaches through the deep abyss of a troubled human heart.

Liam slightly hung his head low, smiling.