V: The V in Vigilant

in the afterglow, you know? Once we start actuallyplanning the ceremony, I’ll ask.”
The hand holding his spoon shook justthinking about it. True, he’d told Vic it would be something small,something private, but he couldn’t stop envisioning himself at thealtar, hands clasped to keep them from trembling, as he watched Vicapproach to the classic sounds of The Wedding March.
There was time enough to plan. But at leastRoxie was so excited, she didn’t have time to be a bitch. When Mattleft a little after five to walk to the doggy daycare, Roxie gavehim a huge smile. “I’ll be like two minutes,” she assured him.“Your dog won’t like, barf or crap in my car, will she?”
Matt shook his head. “Roxie, trust me. She’swell-behaved.”
As he ducked out the front door of the gym,he silently added, Mostly.
Sadie was pleased to see him, as usual. Inthe parking lot, she stopped, confused, as she looked for Matt’sblack Jaguar, but a tug on her lead and she fell into step besidehim. “Come on, girl. No hot rod ride today. We’re going to have toslum it in Roxie’s hatchback.”
Once she realized they were walking, Sadieraced ahead, pulling Matt along with an exuberance that made himlaugh. Outside the gym, Roxie clutched her large purse in bothhands, nervously eying the approaching dog. “God, she’s huge.” Sheflinched when Sadie sniffed her boots.
Sadie had never met Roxie before. Matt triedto hold her back, but the dog snuffled up Roxie’s legs then, toolate, Matt saw what would happen next. Sadie nosed her way overRoxie’s knees and higher, up under the layers of crinoline on herpetticoat. “Hey!” Roxie yelled, slapping the front of her skirtdown. “I thought you said it was a girl dog!”
Matt laughed as he pulled Sadie back. “Maybeshe’s a lesbian. She’s just getting to know you, Rox.”
“I usually need a few drinks in me before Ilet someone know me that well,” Roxie shot back.
Turning on her heel, she stormed across theparking lot, heading for the small hatchback she owned. Matt didn’tknow what color the car had started as, but at some point Roxie hadspray-painted the whole thing black. Then, in a fit of creativeinspiration, she and several of her artsy college friends hadsplashed various shades of pearlescent paint over the entirevehicle. The result was hideous, in Matt’s opinion. He wondered ifhe could duck down far enough in the passenger seat to avoid beingseen in such a pile of crap.
Roxie unlocked the hatch. As the door rose,Sadie leapt into the cluttered space inside and immediately beganrooting through the papers strewn around. Matt saw unopened junkmail, old bills, and torn magazines in the mix. “You need to cleanthis out.”
“You need to shut up,” Roxie fired back. “Youwant a ride or not?”
So much for being nice. Matt had known itwould wear off sooner or later.
As she unlocked the driver’s side door, Roxieasked, “So what, I’m taking you to your apartment?”
“Actually…” Matt glanced at his watch as hewaited for her to unlock the passenger side door. It was almost5:30, and Vic wouldn’t be home for another few hours. The day wasnice, the sun shining, yesterday’s clouds dispersed—usually afterwork on a day like this, Matt would take Sadie to the park. She wastoo big to be cooped up in the apartment all the time.
Thinking quickly, Matt figured it’d takemaybe twenty minutes to get from the gym to Byrd Park over in theLakeside area. Thirty with traffic, if they took the interstate,and it’d be on Roxie’s way home—she lived downtown but alwayshopped on I-64 to avoid the slowdowns this time of day between theWest End and the heart of the city. Lakeside was the last exitbefore hers, and there he could grab a bite to eat at Roy’s, alocally owned burger stand that would allow him to eat on the curbwith Sadie. Hell, he’d get her a burger, as well, maybe two. Thenthey could walk a few blocks over to the pet store, take a lookaround there, before heading back to the park. After an hour or sosplashing through streams or digging up undergrowth, Matt couldmeet Vic at the bus stop before he made his final swing through thearea. The bus should be fairly empty by then, and Vic would bepleased to see them, Matt knew. Then Vic could take them home.
Climbing into the front seat, Matt asked,“How about you just drop us off at the dog park? It’s sort of onyour way home, isn’t it?”
* * * *
Fortunately for Vic, no one noticed thesunglasses or, if they did, they were smart enough not to mentionthem. Most drivers wore shades anyway—the sun had a nasty habit oflingering just above the buildings during the afternoon commute,blinding everyone who headed straight into it. The windows on thecity buses were heavily tinted, too, which helped; fares insidecould see out but no one outside could see in unless they stood upreal close to the bus. Normally the tint shielded the worst of theglare off the other vehicles on the road. Today, combined withMatt’s Ray Bans, it kept Vic sane.
The only person who commented on thesunglasses was Roger, who pointed at his own face when he boardedthe bus around seven that night. “Still wearing the shades, Vic?”he asked. “What, you got a migraine or something?”
With a noncommittal shrug, Vic admitted,“Something like that.”
With the cooler weather, the sun had begun toset sooner, and by the time Vic’s shift was half-over, he noticedthe quantity of sunlight change. His eyes felt it first—the musclesaround them relaxed for the first time all day, and he stoppedsquinting to see. By rush hour, a soft dusk had fallen, whichsoothed Vic further. Normally, as night closed in, he felt thedarkness press against the bus around him like a hungry animal,held back only by the blue running lights that illuminated theinterior when in service. But tonight, as night fell, the darknessseemed to open up to Vic, expanding his field of vision, bringinginto focus a world once obscured by the sun. As the night deepened,his eyesight improved, but the blue lights inside the bus kept thesunglasses firmly in place. They weren’t bright