A Nice Walk

The other day me and my partner went out for a walk. We like to take pretty long walks in the early afternoon if I don’t have work that day. Just after the hottest point in the day, where if we’re lucky, the wind is blowing creating a nice breeze. This day, we were in fact lucky, and I got to feel the wind giving me relief from the heat as it came and went. There were barely any clouds in the sky, leaving it so vividly blue it felt like I could lose myself in it. 

When I walk with my partner, I generally keep him off leash as much as possible, and let him pick the directions that we go. He knows the area around where we live really well, knows to stay off the roads, but also to not stray too far into people’s yards or into fields. So he decided from my house to take a left, and we went left, then he wanted to go right, so we went right.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a phone addict. A lot of the time when we walk, I have my phone in one hand, watching a group chat or scrolling through twitter. But not today. Today there was just something in the air, and I couldn’t help but watch my partner as he weaved back and forth ahead of me, stopping to sniff a sign here, or pee under a tree there. The way that he interacted with the world was just so different than I did. Not that I don’t like walking, but to him it was so much more meaningful. Like the world around him was telling a story in a language I could only guess at. 

Every now and then when he got to a turn, he would stop and look back at me, making sure that I was still following him. He would turn and lock eyes, his tongue sticking just a little out of his mouth as he panted. And then, he’d turn back again and start walking once more, taking us further and further away from home on our little adventure. The area I live is fairly rural, and we quickly started passing by larger and larger lots, and the houses started turning into farms filled with all kinds of plants. Every now and then we’d even spot some cows or horses farther back towards the field. 

Eventually, we reached a sign pointing down a long driveway advertising some kind of farmers market. There were a good number of cars all parked along a grass patch, as well as a bunch of tents all set up. It seemed like it was just someone’s backyard based on the nearby house, but the sign said that it was open and my partner clearly wanted to check it out, so I clipped the leash on him and we headed down the driveway. To my delight, it was indeed a little market, with a bunch of locals coming together to sell produce, different goods they’d made, or drinks to the attendees.

We walked by the stalls one by one, stopping frequently as people asked if they could say hi to my partner. He’s fairly fluffy and loves attention, so he was more than happy to let people come and give him some scritches. There was even another dog there that he traded sniffs with before deciding he was more interested in all the stalls with yummy smelling food in them. That was what I was interested in. There were plenty of samples to be had, some my partner indulged in as well at the vendor’s insistence. I’ve been doing my best to be vegan as much as possible, but I ended up giving in a little to pick up some locally made cheese and hot sauce. There was also a stall selling sandwiches so I ended up getting one of those as well, my partner getting about half once all the ingredients I wasn’t sure about were picked off. We ended off at the farmer’s market with some warmed apple cider, and we headed back down the driveway and onto the road.

My partner tends to always know the way back home, no matter how many twists and turns we make. And so when we got about halfway there and he took a sudden turn to the right I knew that he wasn’t interested in going back quite yet. I was a little tired, but I was still enjoying the day, so I wasn’t complaining. The path he took led more into town, and the fields quickly grew into shops, the side of the road changing into sidewalk. I had unclipped him from the leash once we left the market, but I put him back on again, just to be safe, especially as we started to pass more other dogs too.

We stopped at a streetlight that had just turned red as we got there, and I crouched down, giving him some pets and a treat. I had a feeling I knew where we were going at this point. It was one of his favorite spots.  And as the light turned green and I stood up and walked, him quickly rushing ahead to the length of the leash, I could see him getting more excited. A few more blocks and we were there. 

There’s a restaurant that we like going to sometimes, especially if it’s me, my boyfriend and my partner. They have this really awesome outdoor patio with these oversized chairs that are extremely comfy for lounging in. They almost look like something you’d see on the beach at a resort, even though they don’t fit the theme of the restaurant otherwise at all. One time while we were there with the three of us, my partner hopped into one of the seats, and the waitress at our table found it so funny how he just immediately got comfy and asked if she could take a picture, which we said was totally fine. I jokingly said “So long as he can keep sitting there!” And she said that it was probably fine, and so from that moment on he no longer sat on the floor under the table and instead just had a seat.

I took a seat and he hopped up on the chair next to me, settling in quickly, before he perked up as the server came by and said hello to him. He asked what I wanted and I ordered a greek salad and some fries, as well as a glass of white wine. They brought out the wine first, along with a bowl of water for my partner. He hopped off his seat to lap it up, before retaking his seat. He hasn’t quite figured out drinking from a bowl on the table. At least, not on a way that doesn’t cover everything in water and drool. After another few minutes, the food came out. I took a bite of the salad and it was fresh and crisp, and then I fed my partner a fry. 

The real reason that this restaurant is one of his favorite places is because he’s a real regular at this point, with how much we go. The servers know that we feed him lots of stuff from our plates, and so sometimes if other customers leave food on their plates, they’ll come by and ask if they can give it to him. So long as it’s something okay for dogs, I usually say yes. They hold out the plate and my partner gobbles it up, and then they give him a scratch behind the ears and move on. It’s easy to see why he likes this so much. He eats like a king, gets lots of pets, and everyone loves him. He doesn’t even need to pay for his food. 

I eat my salad and he eats some leftovers, although the restaurant is pretty slow in the middle of the day on a weekday, and so probably not as much as he’d like to have gotten. Once I’m done with my wine, I pay for my food, making small talk about the uncharacteristically warm weather recently. Then, I stand up and whistle, and my partner crawls off his chair. On the ground again, he stretches and yawns, before following me, which likely means that it’s time to head home. He definitely knows the way from here, making a beeline for the most direct way to get back. It’s not too far, even with the occasional pee or sniff break. 

I can see my house in the distance growing closer and closer, and my eyes drift back to my partner again. Even though his leash is once again unclipped he’s staying much closer to me now, walking alongside. It’s been a much longer walk than either of us were really intending it to be. We’d been out for a couple hours now, the sun significantly lower in the sky than it was when we first left. I stop outside the driveway, kneeling down to to look at him. I look into his big, soft eyes and it makes my heart skip a beat. I tell him that I love him. I love him so much. I loved going on a walk with him. I gave his head a small kiss, and then I stood up, we walked up the steps, and I opened the door. He walked in, and I followed, closing the door behind us.

It was just a walk. We go on walks all the time. But for me, something about that walk was really special. Maybe it’s just the time of year, but I think it’s so important to appreciate the little things with our loved ones. It doesn’t always need to be about having big moments together, sometimes it’s nice to just go on a walk with someone you love, and give yourself the chance to enjoy their company. I love my partner more than anything. I want to be able to go on walks with him like that forever. But unfortunately, that isn’t the reality that we have. So I wanted to write this article as a perfect encapsulation of one time where things were just nice. And hopefully when I’m old and he’s long gone, I’ll be able to look back and remember that moment and it’ll bring me... Contentment? Nostalgia? I don’t know. Something. 

Treasure those close to you, never forget to tell them that you love them, even if they don’t speak the same language as you. Because one day they won't be around to hear it, and no matter how much you said it then, you’ll wish you could do it one more time. 


Article written by Tarro (October 2025)

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