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Bonnie didn’t know where to look. The cars were flying past and she couldn’t see Brian anywhere. She hated this. Brian had called it carting and for two days he had spoken of nothing else but going carting. And Bonnie had found the way he spoke about it exciting.

And it was exciting. But not in the good way.

The cars were already turning around the one corner again, and Bonnie found herself shaking on her legs.

They made a lot of noise and smelled bad. How could that ever be fun? She barked in frustration. She was on the job, but how could she be on the job when Brian was purposefully nowhere in sight? For a moment, she wondered if she should go follow the cars, but they were so fast and Bonnie wasn’t sure she could keep up with them. Still, it was worth a try.

Cocking her head, Bonnie looked up and down the barricade, trying to determine how to get past it.

Deciding that the best way was to walk to the end and then maybe go underneath it, Bonnie softly padded away from her spot.

Startled, the young dog jumped back when the cars flew by her again. Taunting and clamoring, the small vehicles sneered as they crept through the corner again. Barking in dismay, Bonnie scrambled underneath the barricade, and then she felt the asphalt beneath her paws. She took a few careful steps. The annoying sounds of the cars were gone and she wasn’t exactly sure where they were now. Sniffing the air, and the ground, she followed the trail left by the motor oil.

After a few moments, she rounded the same corner as the cars had done a couple of minutes before. She saw people talking and laughing, standing besides the small cars and a shiver of relief coursed through her spine.

“No Bonnie, no no no, get out of the way!” She suddenly heard Brian’s voice resound over the track. “Damnit, I forgot to tie her up,” He said, shoving his helmet in AJ’s hands and running towards his dog.

Bonnie barked happily at him, glad she had finally found him. When they came together, Brian didn’t pet her head like he normally would when they had been apart for some time. Instead, he grabbed her neck and dragged her to the side of the road, into the grass.

Bonnie cowered, her tail between her legs and whined at his harsh administrations. “Don’t do that, Bonnie. It’s dangerous. They could run you over.”

Bonnie cocked her head at him, not understanding, but relieved that his tone wasn’t as angry as his urgent handling had been. “Sorry Bon, I shoulda put you on the leash, huh?” He smiled at her, finally reaching out a hand to scratch behind her ears. Some cars drove past again and Bonnie barked angrily at them.

“It’s alright Bon, it’s actually fun,” Brian said, standing up. “Right AJ?”

AJ nodded frantically, throwing the helmet back at Brian as he came walking towards them. “Don’t suppose we should put a dog in one of those though,” he laughed. Bonnie wagged her tail as he gave her a bite of his sandwich. AJ was fantastic. He always had treats and he always knew the exact spots to scratch. Bonnie loved him almost as much as her owner. Maybe even the same amount.

“Y’all having the party of your lives in the middle of the race track,” Nick came strolling over. He too, had a helmet in his head. And Bonnie had seen the helmets on the cars as well. Maybe they had something to do with it.

“The barricades aren’t for nothing, you know,” AJ smiled.

“You should let Bonnie know,” Brian said. Bonnie wagged her tail at the mention of her name and AJ threw her another piece of his sandwich. This attention certainly made up for the scary, loud, stinking cars that were still flying past every now and then.

“Don’t over feed my dog,” Brian grumbled, but his face was still smiling, “She has a job, you know.”

“She does,” AJ nodded, smiling down at Bonnie, “And she should get paid in food.”

“She gets more than enough from my wife,” Brian replied, “There’s like six bags of dog treats in the cupboards, and only a small portion of those are Tyke’s.”

Bonnie looked around frantically, trying to see if she could see the little Chihuahua anywhere. He usually hid from her, now knowing full well that she was in charge.

But she couldn’t hear, or smell him right now, so Brian’s mention must have been a false alarm. AJs hand came down on her head again as he patted the fur behind her ears. “That so? Are you going to be a fat, lazy dog, Bonnie?”

Brian laughed, and Bonnie saw Nick smiling as well. The two of them didn’t usually laugh or smile, so Bonnie was happy that she could be the cause of their joy.

They walked towards the barricades again, and this time, Bonnie was allowed to come with them. They were talking loudly and laughing and Bonnie trudged next to them as they entered the building. It was nice and warm in there and the shrill noises of the cars were finally diminished. It also smelled like food inside and Bonnie’s mouth started to water when she caught the scent of fries and warm bread. And Bonnie relished in the smell. And they bought the food, and they laughed and they talked and they petted Bonnie and played with her when she was off work. And they scratched her ears and played with the ball and fed her their fries.

And later, much much later; when Bonnie was cold and wet and hungry and alone and Brian wouldn’t wake up no matter what she did; she would remember this fine afternoon of fries and ball games. She would remember the fun she had, and the harsh times that had come since. She would yearn for the smell of fries and the sound of their laughter. And she would try to remember where it all went wrong.