Petra took Leon to a boarding kennel whenever Miro stayed at her place for the weekend. The dog knew its yard and staff, but each trip required time, money, and his offended stare through the car window. Miro had said he was very allergic to dogs. Petra asked no further questions. She washed the furniture covers, opened the windows, and only then prepared dinner for two.
At lunch with his parents, a small shaggy dog jumped onto his lap. Miro scratched behind its ears and continued talking about work. Petra put down her fork. She asked how he could tolerate a dog so close. His mother answered before he did: "It always sits on him like that." The rest of lunch passed with many questions about traffic. Petra did not want to argue in front of people she had only just met.
In the car he first tried explaining that his allergy only occurred around certain dogs. Petra said he should not, then, have presented it as a rule applying to every dog and every visit. He was silent, then admitted there was no allergy. He was frightened of large dogs. Leon seemed enormous to him, although he mostly slept with a paw over his muzzle. A dog had knocked him over as a boy, and he had avoided close encounters ever since.
Petra did not say that her dog was good and therefore there was nothing to fear. She said he could have talked about his fear. Miro frowned. "You would have laughed at a grown man being scared of your pet." That angered her more than the clumsy lie. He had judged her in advance, then handed her all the work of protecting his pride. She showed him how much she had spent on boarding that month.
He offered to pay, then said he would try getting used to Leon. She did not accept that second suggestion as the only possible next step. She did not want her apartment turned into a testing ground for courage. They could spend the next weekends at his place, where they had not gone because he thought it insufficiently tidy. "So my problem was easier than your vacuum cleaner too," she said, more tired than witty.
Their first meeting at Miro's was brief. Petra left Leon at home only as long as he usually stayed alone. Miro prepared dinner and repaid her for two unnecessary weekends of boarding. They made no sweeping agreement about the future. When her reminder for the dog's walk sounded, she stood up. This time she did not say she was sorry to leave. He did not suggest that she stay a little longer.