Odd Couple

Romeo and Juliet.

Antony and Cleopatra.

Superman and Lois Lane.

Bogart and Bacall.

Ricky and Nena.

It might not have quite the same ring, but you should see the two of

them.  Nena, a chihuahua belonging to Luz’s niece, is a frequent overnight guest at Luz’s apartment, so Ricky and Nena have spent a lot of time together.  And, well, I guess it’s chemistry.

Though I love all dogs, Nena and I have never really hit it off.  In all

these years she hasn’t once let me pet her.  If I so much as move an inch in her direction, she skitters away, hides under the couch, and yaps bloody murder, as if I just tried to steal her purse.  She reminds

me of the feisty little old blind lady I once tried to help cross the street in New York who screeched at me for holding her arm too tight.

Ah, but Ricky . . . Ricky sees Nena in a completely different light.  To

Ricky, she’s the bee’s knees.  You can see it in the way he peers into her eyes.  It all started the first night Ricky stayed over at Luz’s apartment.  Nena was sleeping under the covers, and Ricky just couldn’t resist.  He leaped up onto the bed, and Luz tucked the two of them in together.  And that’s the way it’s been on sleep-overs ever since.

I watch the way they behave with each other.  Nena definitely calls the shots.  She’s testy, picky, high-strung, and high-maintenance.  A real pushy broad.  When she says jump, Ricky asks how high?

Personally, I don’t get what he sees in her.  But then again, she’s not my problem.