For some reason, I wasn’t feeling really well today. Not bad, just not well, you know? That’s pretty unusual because I’m so very seldom sick. Even when everyone else is getting the flu, I somehow don’t get sick. I think it’s because I eat so many fresh vegetables and fruits. It’s easy, especially if you have your own garden. I make sure Nils stays healthy, too, so when either one of us is out of sorts, it’s very unusual.

But, as I said, I wasn’t feeling really well today. I can tell right away when Nils doesn’t feel well; he lets me know. Men can be such babies sometimes. He, on the other hand, can figure out when I’m not well, but it takes him a lot longer to figure it out. For someone who can see and capture the most minute detail in his paintings, he has a tough time seeing little clues in those he really cares about. Weird, but my girlfriends all say that their men have the same problem.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Nils noticed that I was a bit listless. “Naomi,” he said, “what’s wrong? You don’t really seem yourself today.”

I just sat there, feeling glum. “I don’t know,” I replied. “Maybe my period’s getting ready to start. My tummy aches and I feel like I’m getting a headache.”

“Hmm,” said Nils. “I’ve heard that we might be in for some weather tonight or tomorrow. Maybe that’s why your head is hurting.”

“Maybe,” I said, not really feeling very chipper. “Maybe it’s something else. I don’t know.”

Just then, Amber came up and laid her head on my lap, her eyes looking at me as only a dog’s eyes can look at a person. I stretched out my hand and scratched her behind her ears, starting her tail to wagging. Thomas jumped up beside me, bumping my other hand with his head, asking for his share of pets. He started purring as soon as I touched him.

“Isn’t it amazing how animals can sense our moods?” asked Nils. “They always seem to want to make us feel better. How are they doing on you?”

I shrugged my shoulders. Thomas stopped purring, stood up by putting one paw on my chest and the other batting gently at my face. Amber just sat there looking sad, turning those golden puppy eyes on me, her tail wagging.

“I don’t know,” I said. I leaned back in the chair. Thomas lost his balance and landed on my tummy. That certainly did not feel too good, but then he started to curl up in my lap. Amber raised herself so that her front paws were on the chair, her head in my lap right next to where Thomas was trying to curl himself. Thomas looked at her with disgust and stomped off, using her hind legs to push off my stomach. Ugh!

“You want to lie down?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to bring you some tea or something?”

“I don’t know.” I was getting a little exasperated. “I don’t know anything right now. All I know is that I’m not feeling very good.”

He looked at me, concern on his face. I can’t really get mad at him; he’s just thinking about me. “Maybe you need to get out of the house for a little bit,” he said. “I know that when I’m starting to get a headache, the cooler air helps clear my head.”

“OK,” I said. “You’ve convinced me. Amber needs a walk, so maybe I can kill two birds with one stone!”

“That’s the spirit!” Nils said. “Make sure you bundle up, though. It’s kind of cloudy and it looks cold out there.”

‘I can dress myself,’ I thought. What I said was: “Yes, Mommy!” I know. Pretty snarky, but that’s the way I was feeling. I put on my new red flannel shirt-jacket and buttoned it up to my chin. I almost felt like a hunter in it. My grandpa had a shirt like this and he’d use it to go hunting every fall. I also put on my cute fringy boots, too. Amber didn’t need any jacket; she has her fur coat, and she’s always up for a walk.

When I left the house, I had to decide just what route I was going to take. Did I want to take a long walk around Fuller Woods or take the shortcut through the woods? If I take the shorter route, Amber might be very distracted by the rabbits and squirrels, but if I take the longer route, I’d have to let Amber take her time on the trees and fire hydrants and she might be trying to chase the cars and trucks on the roadway. Decisions, decisions!

I just kind of wandered and my wandering made my decision for me. Amber and I ended up taking the longer way around the woods, alongside the residential section. Unlike some sections of town, our path was concrete sidewalks rather than just the roadway. That can be dangerous, but some sections of town don’t want to pay for sidewalks, I guess.

We’d only gone a short distance when I started to get really warm, so I undid the top button on my shirt. The sun came out for a little while and that seemed to crank up the humidity and I undid another button. Just then, Amber sighted a squirrel and tried to go after it.

“No, Amber,” I said as sternly as I could. “We’re not chasing squirrels today!” She looked back at me, wagging her tail as if to say ‘Whatever you want, Mom!’ Of course, I know that the next squirrel she sees will get her straining at the lead and I’ll have to restrain her again, but it was nice to think that she understood me.

She trotted over to a small pile of leaves and squatted, taking a pee. While I waited until she was done, I undid another button on my shirt. I really was feeling warm. Was I getting a fever? I closed my eyes briefly to see if I could feel any grittiness there, a sure indication to me of a fever, but I didn’t feel it. Maybe it was just getting warmer.

Amber finished just as a red pickup truck drove past. It looked just like the one I thought of buying a couple months ago and Amber barked at it. She also strained at her lead like she wanted to chase it.

I jerked her back. “Just what would you do with that truck if you caught it?” I asked her. She looked at me and then trotted off again, nothing really wrong in her world! She sniffed a red fire hydrant, then squirted a little pee on it. She trotted over to a nearby tree and did the same thing again. We weren’t going to get anywhere at this rate!

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s keep moving.” Amber took the lead and wasn’t too distracted for the rest of our walk. She did come over beside me as we walked past a yard with barking dog. I don’t think she likes so much noise because she crowded my left leg with the other dog on my right. “Don’t worry about that dog,” I said. “He’s just jealous that you get to go outside your yard for a walk!” Amber turned her head to the barking mutt as we went by, then trotted ahead of me again.

By this time, we were on the way back, but I was still feeling warm. I was down to my last couple of buttons and I undid them, too. I pulled up the sleeves a little. With the shirt totally unbuttoned, I was feeling a little cooler and the breeze felt nice, too.

Amber stopped pulling at the lead and I was able to really look at the trees. On the far side of the road, the woods were looking a little desolate, most of the leaves gone from their branches. On this side of the road, the maples were either yellow or red and the red was almost the color of blood. In my mood, that just made me more depressed. Clouds came back in, covering the sun, giving everything a grey cast. It was getting late and, with the lack of sunshine, the humidity just felt dank and cold. I didn’t button the shirt back up, just pulled it tighter around me as we made the last couple of blocks to home. Rain started dropping just as I opened the door.

As soon as Amber got in the house and off the lead, she went to her bed. Thomas was on it, so Amber just laid down in front of it and started snoozing. I took off my jacket and went into the kitchen where Nils was stirring some cream into a coffee cup.

“Want anything?” he asked.

“Maybe some tea.”

“Coming right up. How was the walk? Did it clear your head at all?”

I looked at him. “I don’t know,” I said, kind of mumbling. “Amber wanted to chase some squirrels. They were so busy looking for acorns they didn’t seem to notice her.”

“Are you OK?” he asked as he put the mug of tea in front of me.

“I don’t know,” I said. “A broken record, I know, I know,” I said, holding up a hand to keep him from saying anything. “It started out very warm, but then clouds came in and everything just looked grey. The woods have lost most of their leaves, and the maples will probably lose their red and gold leaves with the rain.”

“Yeah,” said Nils, “the leaves are pretty right now, especially when the sun is shining. Of course, the yards look nice carpeted in red and yellow leaves. The red leaves remind me of vulvas, you know?”