Chartreuse by T. E. Ridener

wanna get up and go.  I’s like ‘Now, Betsy, it’s time ta go huntin’, but
Betsy just didn’t wanna go.”
        
Rowan blinked, wrapping his mind around the accent and words before it all
finally registered.
      
  “So, you want me to check on Betsy?”  He asked.
        
There was a deep chuckle from the man as he reached out and patted Rowan’s
shoulder, “Well I reckon that’s what I’m getting’ at, Boy. It’s what ya do fer
a livin’ ain’t it?”
        
“Yes, Sir,” Rowan replied with a nod. 
        
“Good then,” Lloyd mumbled.  “Well, I live out there off Butter Lane.  It ain’t
hard to find me. Just go to the end of the road and I’m right there. Ya can’t
miss me.”
        
“Butter Lane…”  Rowan said, trying to remember that.  It wasn’t hard-he just
wasn’t fully awake yet.
        
“Why yeah. Just go ‘bout five miles outta town and ya will find Butter Lane.  It
ain’t hard, Boy.  I reckon you’s got yerself one o’ those fancy GPS
thingiemuhbobs that will tell you right where to go, right?  Just use it. 
Though back in my day, we just had maps, ya know.”
    ----------------------
        
 Kasen was nervous.  He finally woke up around one, and he panicked for a
moment that he’d missed Rowan all together.  That didn’t seem to be the case at
all, thankfully.  He scrambled out of bed, took a shower, and then he had to
find something decent to wear.  He never really worried too much about his
attire, because he never did anything other than go to work, where no one saw
him, and then visit his mother occasionally-but this was different.  He wanted to look nice.
        
He finally found a solid blue button up, and he put that on along with a pair
of his best jeans.  And by best jeans, that meant a pair that wasn’t ripped at
the knees.  He was surprised he owned a pair that didn’t have holes in them. 
Then he put on his boots and grabbed for his denim jacket, putting it on before
he glanced down at Houston who was watching him curiously. 
        
“I’m sorry that I can’t take you to the park right now.  But I promise that’s
what we’re doing this evening.  Don’t worry,” He gave him a pat on the head
before he grabbed for his cellphone and his cigarettes, stuffing them into his
pocket before he headed out. 
        
It was probably quite pitiful to sit on the bench outside of his apartment for
well over thirty minutes, but he’d never been so anxious for anything in his
life.  He’d never had a reason to be anxious before.  It was when he saw
Rowan’s car pulling up, that a grin broke out over his face and he stood up. 
Rowan pulled up and then rolled his window down a bit. 
        
“Hey,” Rowan said with a smile.  “Sorry I’m a bit later than I expected to be. 
I had to go check on a dog before I could come over.”
        
“That’s okay,” Kasen insisted with a broad smile of his own.  “It’s not a
problem at all.”
        
Rowan glanced at him again, squinting one eye as the sun peeked out from behind
the clouds briefly, “So, you ready to get out of this town for a while?”
        
“You bet,” Kasen said excitedly.  He moved over to the other side of the car,
opening the passenger door before he got in.  He glanced over at Rowan again,
who was smiling back at him.  “So you had to see a dog today?”  He asked
curiously.
        
“Yeah,” Rowan replied.  “A vet’s job is never done,” Though he didn’t mind at
all.  It turned out however, that Betsy was pregnant.  She was just doing what
any female dog did her first time being pregnant.  She was being lazy.
        
They got onto the highway fairly quickly, and Rowan was going in the direction
of Enterprise, although that’s not where they were stopping today.  Instead,
Rowan had been looking up different things activities they could enjoy together,
and he thought it would be fun to take Kasen to see a