They say that a dog is a man’s best friend and in my case Doc proved he was my best friend time and time again. Animals have better intuition than humans so when my pooch showed me some signs I decided to take it seriously. I wish I had taken the hint sooner, but oh I didn’t and that’s when the roller coaster began.
I wasn’t in the habit of dating artists, but this one caught my fancy and since my divorce I tended to lean in many different directions depending on which way the wind shifted on that particular day. This night I happened to be on another date with a nice, sweet, man my own age. Erin was a blonde blue eyed general contractor with a heart of gold. I enjoyed his company, but the spark was non-existent on my part. We met for dinner and drinks and then proceeded to our local karaoke bar for a bit of fun. We nestled up to the bar, ordered a beer and listened to some good and some not so good tunes. Erin had to go to the restroom and while he was gone, Grady, a tall hazel eyed salt and pepper haired artist made his move. He leaned over and gently whispered in my ear, “You’re not having a good time with your date, are you?” I felt horrible, because as much as I liked Erin as a friend, it must have been obvious that there was no love connection. I was caught off guard by his comment, smiled and said that I was having a nice time.
Before too long, Erin returned, meanwhile Grady had memorized the cell phone number I gave him and my date and I left shortly afterwards. Erin and I were over and Grady and I were on! Grady called me the next day and we planned our first official date. Dinner and drinks at a local hot spot. I was so excited to see my new found artist I could barely contain myself. He was sixteen years my elder and seemed to have it all. A house in Winter Park, an apartment in New York City, a booming art career and somewhat of a business entrepreneur, how exciting! was ready for the ride of a lifetime and couldn’t wait.
We certainly hit it off at dinner and then we went back to his house so he could show me his art collection. I was impressed, but his house was a bit dated and a little unusual for my taste, but I figured he was an artist and become enthralled in the moment. One thing led to another and we were making out in his bedroom. All the sudden he turned from sweet and charming to rude and disrespectful. He said that he was turned off because I needed to shed a few pounds! Granted, I could have lost a few pounds, but I felt pretty good. I was 5’7”, 140 pounds and was happy with my looks and body. I was flabbergasted, started to cry and left. I later realized that he couldn’t get hard and blamed my body, instead of his, a classic case of narcissism at its finest.
Now, this should have been enough to never talk to or see this man again, however he had different plans. He wooed his way back into my life and I let him, so stupid. He drove a Hot Rod, which I pretended to like, but found completely odd and obnoxious so we usually drove my car when we went places. A few months later, my mom, Jacqueline, was in town for a visit and we were having dinner outside at one of our favorite restaurants and catching up. All of the sudden we heard a loud roar and a Hot Rod drove by with Grady in the driver’s seat. I turned to my mom and told her that this was the guy I was dating and I think she almost died. We both started laughing, she called the server over to order a glass of wine and the rest of the evening she remained in shock. Her reaction got me thinking as well. What was I doing with this man? Did I actually feel that lonely that I stooped this low so I didn’t have to be on my own? What on earth was I doing?
Over the course of the next few months his funds were depleting and I was cooking a lot for us because he couldn’t afford to do anything. I thought this was getting pretty bad and I was growing sick of his Jekyll and Hyde behavior and learning that this man just didn’t add up. One night he gave me a painting, which I do like and I still have till this day, but it wasn’t long after that when I started to notice a few more oddities. The first sign was that Doc defecated in and around his shoes on several occasions. Wow, dogs know bad karma when they see it. Secondly, I noticed some money missing from my wallet. Just to be sure, I made certain that I left a twenty dollar bill in my purse before bedtime and sure enough the next morning it was gone. I was totally conned by a con artist. I was so mortified and embarrassed. I told him that I knew he had been stealing from me and I never saw him again.
My Mom gave me the best advice, take the painting and run darling so I did just that!
Until Next Time, Teddie
