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But
to think of a dog as a rival for his affections was not
an emotion she was proud of. Nevertheless she felt it.
She tried to make her breathing as shallow as possible
in the bedroom in order to stop breathing in the dog's
hot odour, but it didn't work.
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66 |
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Andre
promised to wash the dog every day.
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67 |
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Outside
of course, in the porch perhaps if it was raining.
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68 |
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To
seal that agreement, Hildegard agreed to have a spa
with Andre, the spa being their code word for love-making,
in this, the seventh year of their relationship. A rare
event. Andre lined up the blue, pink, yellow and white
creamy lotions and bubble baths, blew off the fine layer
of dust on their glass shoulders, while Hildegard bent
over to turn on the taps.
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69 |
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But
her hand stopped in mid-air.
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70 |
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There
were three short black dog hairs lying in the pink bathtub.
She sat on the side of the bath.
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71 |
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It
was incredible to think that, in spite of all her efforts
to establish a little dog-free hygiene in the house, Andree
had clearly bathed the dog in their consecrated love-making
area.
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72 |
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But
a relationship can't end, can it, because of a dog?
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|
73 |
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The
puppy grew, in a matter of days it seemed, into a large
black creature of indeterminate breed, which Andre failed
miserable to train (this was not her role--she was too
busy trying to ignore it.) She would come home to find
it sitting on the furniture, where it left black doggy
hairs, which Andre assured her she was imagining. There
was also that unique doggy smell, perhaps arising from
their diet of supermarket bargains, and not congenital
to the species (though she doubted this).
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74 |
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It
continued to sneak in to the bedroom and to surreptitiously
position itself on the bed, careful to go only on Andre's
side. Only the smell would give it away. (Andre still
swore she was imagining the smell).
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75 |
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Andre
fed the dog morsels from the breakfast table, assumed
it would come out with them on walks which she had previously
enjoyed with him exclusively.
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76 |
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In
the dark of the night, while Andre back was turned, as
usual, to her, the smell of the dog made her toss in her
sleep and dream of it sleeping in Andre's arms.
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77 |
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