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Jane could barely believe how far she’d come, both literally and conceptually. As she sat at the top of a Colorado mountain with her dog Banjo, she contemplated all that she has experienced in her 31 years.  Banjo, a Blue Healer/Border Collie mix has been her constant companion for 5 years now.  Jane met Banjo at the shelter where she volunteered. Banjo came in muddy, dirty, skinny and too melancholy for a dog mix of two energetic breeds. Banjo had been neglected and forgotten about; left behind in a back yard to fend for herself. A story that is, unfortunately, too familiar to Jane after working at the shelter for 6 years.  Jane knew she had to have this dog and once she brought Banjo home, the two have been inseparable.  Banjo seems to have forgotten about her painful past, her eyes are bright, her face of half black and half spotted gray are a tell-tale sign of the two breeds. Her ears are perky and always listening.  Banjo seems to have an old soul that has seen too many things in the world, yet she is playful and energetic, always keeping an eye on Jane and herding her around the house or yard or wherever the two decide to hike. Today is no different; the two have hiked over 10 miles with Banjo constantly at Jane’s side or moving ahead to scope out the next turn. 

Now, as they sit at the mountains edge enjoying some snacks and water, Jane is brought back in time to revisit her life and ponder her future.  Jane was the eldest of two children. Her parents married at a very young age, barely adults and certainly not ready for kids.  Jane’s younger sister died in a freak playground accident at the age of five. At seven years old, Jane was left an only child, with her parents feeling too sad, too guilty, and a little bitter towards Jane, who was supposed to be watching Pearl.  Jane often wondered about the choice of names her parents chose.  Surely, Pearl would have been teased with her old-fashioned name if she had lived. Jane almost became oblivious to the “plain Jane” comments all through high school.  Pearl was playing with some older kids on the swings when Jane decided to go sit under the tree and write in her diary. She always loved writing, which resulted in her being a bit of a loner.  As Pearl and the older kids moved to the teeter-totter, Jane could her them screaming and giggling.  Suddenly the screaming wasn’t filled with joy, it was pure fear.  The two older girls had been jumping on one side of the teeter-totter while Jane remained on the other, which resulted in her flying up in the air, giggling.  As the girls got braver, Pearl went higher into the air, until she flipped upside down, landing on the ground in a position her body wasn’t meant to be.  That was how Jane, sometimes, woke up in the night remembering her sister.  Her parents first reaction, and words, to Jane were “You were supposed to be watching her, what were you doing?”  After that, Jane felt guilty any time she wanted to pick up her journal, so she eventually set it down and left writing altogether.

After Jane graduated high school, she chose a career in IT, figuring computer work would allow her to be alone, make a decent living, and travel on her own.  She had a few friends in school, but mostly kept to herself, hence the name “plain Jane”. She avoided parties, dances, floats, and any other school activity for fear of rejection.  Her parents mostly ignored her, doing their own thing which usually involved the bowling alley and beer.  Her IT career landed her a job in a large Tech company, allowing her to travel to the various sites the company owned in the states.  It was during a trip to Montana, that Jane met Brad.  Brad was not particularly handsome, but he had a clean look about him. He was in great physical shape, he worked on the hardware part of computers while Jane did the code writing. The two hit it off immediately and have been in contact and dating the past 6 months.  Jane felt dangerously close to defining her feelings as love, but the fear it evoked in her made her a little uneasy.

Jane had dated a few men over that years but none she wanted to hang around with very long.  In her early twenties, she partied a bit too hard and had too many mornings where she woke up wondering what she did the night before. One of those mornings was in a place she was unfamiliar with and a man she hadn’t known.  It was that morning that she realized she was on a dangerous path and needed to change direction soon before she ended up hardened like her parents.  That day, she vowed to take care of her body, learn all she could about computers, go back to journaling and writing, and stop blaming herself for her sister’s death. She started working as a volunteer at the Humane Society shortly after that fateful morning. She volunteered in all the areas, but the dogs were her favorite.  She started writing for the Humane Society Newsletter, featuring the adoptable animals. Between her IT job, her volunteering, and her writing, she was fulfilled. She didn’t feel like anything was missing in her life until that trip to Montana for work. 

Brad was different than anyone she had dated in the past.  He immediately fell for Banjo, who accompanied Jane on her work trip, like every other trip she took. Most men didn’t understand her relationship with Banjo. Some seemed like they didn’t like the idea of a dog around. Banjo was a very good judge of character; one day, a man came over to pick Jane up for a first date. He kind of patted Banjo on the head and did a hand wipe on his jeans like she was a dirty thing.  That evoked a small growl from Banjo, which she had never done before. Jane knew immediately that this guy wasn’t someone she would have anything in common with, so she told him she decided to stay home, thanked him for coming over, but it was time for him to leave.  There were several variations of the same theme with other dates, so she just figured she would be an old maid who kept animals. Not so bad in her book.

Brad was different. They met at work and started talking around the coffee pot. They talked for 30 minutes before realizing how much time had passed. When Jane excused herself to get back to work, Brad asked if they could meet for happy hour or dinner.  Jane explained that her dog, Banjo, had come with her and that she needed to go take Banjo for a walk and feed her after work, but could meet him later.  Brad offered to accompany her and even suggested they make it a picnic, allowing Banjo to come along since she had been alone all day.  Jane was stunned at Brad’s understanding and offer. Brad met Banjo and the two hit it off immediately. Banjo wagged her tail, walked in circles around Brad and herded him to her leash.  “I guess she wants you to come along on our walk” Jane said. 

As Brad and Jane got to know each other, they discovered similar backgrounds. Brad’s parents divorced and used him as a weapon against each other, so much so, that he became an object rather than their child. They were so angry with each other and consumed by their hatred, they forgot about Brad being in the middle. This led to him escaping to music. Brad taught himself guitar and learned music from several genres. His guitar was more of a friend to him than anyone else. Between work and his music, he didn’t feel like anything was missing from life. Brad loved animals and lost his 11-year-old mutt of a dog 8 months ago.  He was heartbroken by Lucy’s death and decided to take a break from a pet and focus on work and music.

That first “date” lasted for 4 hours, under the tree, eating, drinking wine, playing with Banjo, and listening to Brad play his guitar. Once Jane learned that it was in his car, she begged him to get it and share some of his music.  Once he started playing, it was magical. Even Banjo seemed relaxed by the strumming of the strings.  What really topped off the date was learning that Brad lived just 30 minutes away from Jane’s Chicago condo.  They had both chosen the city to be close to culture and get lost in the sea of humanity. 

 After their work trip in Montana, they decided to keep in touch and continue getting to know each other. Six months later, here Jane sat thinking about their last conversation the week prior.  Brad let the “L” word slip after they finished dinner and told Jane that he wanted her to consider making their relationship permanent, as in marriage. Jane could barely speak; her hands were shaking as she set her glass of Champagne down. She knew she needed to say something, but her mouth suddenly felt like it was filled with a mixture of cotton and glue.  She felt herself beginning to hyperventilate and got up from the table to start dishes.  She filled the sink and turned around to see Brad looking deflated. She knew it took enormous courage for him to have this conversation. She knew his past, his doubts about marriage, his fear of hurting someone or being hurt and becoming like his parents. Every fear that Brad had echoed Jane’s own.  Jane went over to the table and apologized to Brad for not being very responsive, but she needed time to digest this.  She had already planned her trip to Colorado and had already planned on Brad joining her.  Brad suggested she take Banjo and go hike the mountains on her own to figure this out.  He even offered to keep Banjo if she needed to be alone.  In the end, Jane took Banjo and told Brad she would think about what he was asking.  Even though Jane could see Brads disappointment, he didn’t let on he was angry or upset with her. He told her she was the best thing that had happened to her, and even if she decided to walk away, he would support her decision and would be a gentleman about it.

As Jane looked over the wonderous landscape of the peaks and valleys, she missed having someone other than Banjo to enjoy it with.  Banjo seemed to be enjoying the scenery too, but she seemed a bit agitated, not her serene self.  She paced a bit and seemed to want to get Jane back on the path, down the mountain.  “What is it girl?” Banjo just kind of whined a bit and looked at Jane. “Do you miss Brad?”  To that, Banjo barked and wagged her tail.  “Banjo, Brad wants to be a part of our lives forever, that means the three of us would be a team for the rest of your days. It will no longer be the two of us, can you handle that?”  Banjo seemed to listen to every word Jane said and perked her ears, her dog-smile seemed to get bigger, and her tail seemed to wag faster.  Jane had already known, deep inside, what she wanted to do. She knew it before she hiked the trail, she knew it before she left for Colorado, and she knew it that night in her kitchen.  She just needed to let it sit for awhile and allow herself to trust in someone other than herself.  She loved Brad. She loved everything about him; she loved his music, his gentle ways, his love of Banjo, his understanding of her need to have alone time, his support of her writing, and his mutual love of hiking.  They seemed like they were meant to be together. She knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She wouldn’t be able to wait until she got back to Chicago to tell him. She wanted to call him right away; she could barely wait to get down the mountain and into cell tower range. “Come on Banjo, we have to get down the mountain and call Brad.”  Banjo jumped up, gave Jane a nudge to get going and ran in front of her barely able to stop running. As Banjo kept turning around to see Jane, it was if she was telling her to hurry up. Banjo was going to have a second partner. Jane was going to start her new life filled with mutual trust, love, laughter, and who knows, maybe another dog or a child.