It didn't take long for Christopher to notice the lack of Emilia's presence. His attention was drawn to this later that week when he saw Bernadette walking Bark Twain in the evening. Initially, he attributed Emilia's absence to her academic commitments, but he couldn't believe she'd leave Bark Twain in someone else's care so quickly. It simply didn't align with the image of Emilia he had come to know.
"Good evening, sir." Bernadette bowed her head as she walked down the stairs with a dog.
"Good evening. May I?" Christopher offered as he took the leash from Bernadette, he felt a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"Are you certain, sir? He is not very well trained." Bernadette looked concerned but Christopher seemed to have his mind set.
"I am quite aware. Thank you." The dog, Bark Twain, wasn't exactly well-behaved, and the stench from him hadn't improved despite numerous baths. Nevertheless, Christopher was resolute in taking responsibility for the mischievous canine.
He quickly turned around and started walking with a dog down the road, towards the meadow where he once found Emilia laying down as she was admiring the blueness of the sky. He thought about her so much in recent days. His mind was continuously connecting everything to Emilia.
The most ordinary things somehow connected to her smile, her laughter, and her intelligent eyes. And now, they shared the responsibility of this unruly creature, a strange but invisible milestone in their relationship.
He was glad that after all, he had Emilia for his wife. Some days he was confident that he could spend a lifetime with her.
"God, what did she see in you?" Christopher asked rhetorically with a chuckle as he let Bark Twain off the leash.
In their shared journey with Bark Twain, Christopher's initial enthusiasm quickly waned when the dog broke free and darted into the meadow, a muddy mess from an earlier rain.
Christopher waited a few minutes, watching the dog go berserk, before he even attempted to catch him.
"Bark! Come here!" He shouted behind the dog. Christopher's attempt to catch him only resulted in further chaos as mud seeped into his shoes, dampening his spirits. Calling out to the dog, he struggled through the muck as Bark Twain seemingly defied gravity with his boundless energy. "You menace of a dog! Come here!" To his surprise, Bark turned around and ran towards him at a full speed. It was too late for him to react when the dog unexpectedly jumped at him with a force comparable to a cannon. Christopher found himself sprawled on the ground, covered in mud, and met with slobbery canine kisses, making him gag due to the stench escaping the dog's mouth.
Somehow, miraculously, Christopher managed to clip the leash back on the dog's collar, containing his enthusiastic escapades.
Grumbling, he stood up and went back home with the dog running between his legs and continuously tangling him up in the leash.
"How did Emilia manage with you?" Christopher said out of breath as he reached the manor.
"Oh my god, sir!" Bernadette exclaimed at his sight, her concern quite evident, as she was leaving the building ready to retreat for the night. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." Christopher brushed it off, determined to make the best of the situation although he hardly believed his words as the mud was squeaking in his shoes. "That beast needs some training though."
"Honestly, I do not know what Emilia sees in it." Bernadette shook her head.
"Neither do I." Christopher agreed. "Although, if she loves it, I can't dispute it."
"That's very kind of you, sir."
"Whatever makes her happy. Also, I will walk him in the evenings if Emilia cannot. Do not worry about him."
"Are you certain?"
"Very. I need to work out how to train him though."
"A few snacks seem to do the trick. At least that's what Emilia has said. But I think she has a special ability to keep him at bay."
"Yet another thing to add to the list of what she's good at. She will never cease to astonish me."
Bernadette smile as she saw something new in Christopher's eyes.
"Would you like me to wash him?"
"I'm okay. Go ahead." He urged her.
Inside, though, things quickly turned chaotic as Bark Twain turned the neat floors into a muddy war zone. The swamp monster, a comparison very well drawn, ran inside spreading the mud all across the muddy floor, but he didn't stop there. He jumped onto the beige sofa leaving plenty of paw prints around. Then Bark rushed up the stairs, leaving a clear trail on the floor, running into Emilia's room. Christopher run in behind the dog without the second thought, but he stopped in the tracks once inside. Bark settled down on the rug, at the end of Emilia's bed.
Emilia's room was barely touched since before she moved in, with merely a stack of books, a very few personal items, and a bonsai tree on her desk. A sweet lingering smell of coconut and vanilla reminded Christopher of her more vividly, enticing him further.
Christopher seized the opportunity and grabbed the dog by the collar, with some grumbling and swearing, leading him to his room where he pushed him into a bathtub.
Once somewhat cleaned, Bark jumped out of the bath, running straight onto Christopher's bed, leaving a large wed patch across the sheets.
Although Christopher tried to remove the beast, half-heartedly at best, the dog remained in the spot.
Christopher let out an exasperated sigh before he left the dog where he was and started cleaning up the house. It took much longer than he hoped before he truly gave up on trying to wash off the paw prints off the sofa. He did notify Patrick to get the professional cleaners in the next day before he went back to clean himself.
Feeling defeated after a long bath, Christopher decided to retire for the night. Once in pyjamas, he crawled into bed where the dog was comfortably claiming two thirds of the space.
Christopher didn't fight him any more, he squeezed himself beside Bark Twain and tried to read, the dogs warmth providing him with comfort.
His mind still wandered to Emilia, and how sparse her belongings were in her room, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.