This is part of chapter ten, concerning an ex-girlfriend. Long story short... I had an intense six-month romance with 'Beverly' when Cody was about two years old.
I am ashamed to say that I neglected Cody while in the throes of romance. Beverly eventually broke my heart when she dumped me for an old boyfriend and I spiraled down into a deep depression. When I finally crawled up out of the black pit of doom and gloom months later, Cody was right there, patiently waiting. That's a lesson in unconditional love I will never forget.
A few years down the road I ran into Beverly. She confessed that her romance with 'Jim' was over. It had lasted less than ten months (and yes, I wanted to say 'I told you so'... but I didn't).
We fell into an easy conversation that afternoon. It felt like old times and I wondered if we could be friends again...
Beverly was living in a quaint old beach house on A1A. She bought it not long after we'd broken up and lived in the upstairs while she rented the downstairs out as an apartment. She said to drop by anytime, so one day when Cody and I were cruising around the beach I thought, what the heck. Let's stop by and say hello. Maybe we could renew our friendship. I also wondered if there might still be a spark between us.
We hadn't been in Beverly's apartment long when I noticed Cody standing at the screen door. He looked like he needed to go out to do his business, so I walked him down the stairs and around the yard, but he all he did was sniff the bushes. We went back upstairs and I sat down on the couch to talk to Beverly but he did the same thing again. He went back to the door and stood there staring at me.
"Cody, just lay down somewhere, ok?" I was really getting irritated. Cody walked back into the living room and gave me another glare.
"What is your problem, big guy? Just lay down and chill out for a while."
Cody looked at me... he looked at Beverly… then cocked his leg and peed on the corner of her couch! I was totally astounded! He had never ever done that inside of anyone's house!
I hollered 'No!', and he nonchalantly trotted back to the screen door, glanced my way, then peed on a pair of her shoes by the door mat. I grabbed some paper towels from the kitchen and tried to clean it up, apologizing for his behavior.
Beverly laughed – she caught Cody's 'statement' before I did. Yes, Cody remembered her very well. He remembered that everytime Beverly showed up, he was left alone. He also remembered that I went through a long, dark depression after she broke up with me... and that I wasn't worth a crap to him, or to anybody for half a year.
Cody's statement was plain as day. "Piss on this, Dad. Don't you dare do it again!"
Luckily, Beverly had a good sense of humor.
She smiled and said, "I think Cody's ready to go home now, Nick."
