Gregg

Gregg is CJ’s partner for a time, but their relationship is shaped by a contradiction: he offers gestures of intimacy and plans for being together while remaining entangled in a situation he has told CJ is ending. His visits first revive her hopes and then expose how little certainty his promises provide. The relationship ends when Gregg says it is not working for him and CJ orders him to leave.

Identity and Introduction

Gregg first appears at CJ’s home as a man she greets affectionately. He is stocky and bald, and Max recognizes him through a distinctive smell of something burned, peanuts, and a pungent spice. When Gregg puts his fingers near the dog’s face, Max growls and shows his teeth; CJ identifies him as her new dog’s presence to Gregg, while Gregg reacts with surprise at the animal.

The encounter establishes an intimacy that Max can observe but not fully interpret. CJ and Gregg hold each other closely and go down the hall together. Max follows but cannot get onto the bed. When they return, CJ laughs and asks whether Max had fun with Duke, then suggests opening wine. The domestic ease of the visit sits alongside the uncertainty that soon surfaces: Gregg tells her he cannot stay.

Affection and an Unresolved Situation

CJ presses Gregg for an explanation, asking whether the situation he had said was ending is the reason he must leave. Gregg calls it complicated. CJ responds that she understood, from his assurances that he would never lie to her, that the situation was almost over. Its exact nature is not disclosed, but the exchange makes clear that Gregg’s earlier account had led CJ to expect a different outcome.

Max registers the argument through its effect on CJ: she is angry, Duke lowers his head in fear, and Max becomes rigid and alert. The narration identifies Gregg as the person making CJ angry. Max’s protective reaction frames the disagreement not as an abstract dispute about timing but as a visible change in the atmosphere of the home. Gregg ends the exchange by saying he has to go, without resolving CJ’s complaint.

On another visit, CJ’s preparations become a cue for Max. When she puts on the nice-smelling shoes and spends time on her hair, he expects Gregg to arrive. Max runs to the door barking, and Sneakers flees; recognizing Gregg’s smell outside, he continues barking even as CJ picks him up and tells him to be nice. Gregg touches his face to CJ’s while she holds Max away, then remarks on the dog’s continuing unfriendliness. The greeting is affectionate between the adults, but Max’s repeated growling and barking mark his distrust of Gregg as a recurring feature of their encounters.

Promises and Breakup

Gregg tells CJ that he has a surprise: they are going away upstate for three days, starting immediately. CJ claps her hands and asks when; his answer is that they are leaving now. The offer gives the relationship a sudden prospect of shared time, and CJ’s delighted response contrasts with the earlier conversation in which Gregg could not stay. The evidence establishes the promise and her excitement, but not what happens on the trip.

In a later confrontation, Gregg looks around CJ’s small New York apartment while she asks whether he had said there were only a few more months to wait. He runs a hand through his hair and says that the relationship is not working for him. He points to the apartment’s inconvenience, describing the place as tiny even by New York standards. The practical complaint does not resolve the earlier uncertainty about his situation; instead, it becomes the reason he offers for withdrawing from the relationship.

Max understands that Gregg is making CJ hurt and angry and lunges at him, snarling and aiming for his ankles. Gregg dodges and threatens to kick the dog if he tries again. CJ scoops Max up and holds him tightly as he struggles to get down. She then tells Gregg to leave and not come back. Gregg answers with contempt, saying there is little chance of his returning, and leaves.

Consequences and Narrative Role

After Gregg goes, CJ sits at the table and cries. Max whimpers; she picks him up, tries to make him lie in her lap, and he attempts to lick her face. The final exchange gives the breakup a concrete aftermath in the home: the argument is over, but CJ’s distress remains, and Max responds by staying physically close to her.

Gregg’s role is defined by the gap between intimacy and reliability. He arrives as someone CJ greets warmly, participates in close domestic moments, and announces an immediate getaway; yet his explanations leave the central situation unresolved, and he ultimately cites inconvenience as a reason the relationship cannot continue. The dog’s perspective makes that fracture legible through repeated changes in the household—CJ’s anticipation, her anger, Max’s alertness, and her grief after Gregg leaves—without supplying details about Gregg’s undisclosed circumstances.