statue. No feelings. No thoughts. No tears. Only cold and unmoving. She could hear the television noise and the sound of running water, as he brushed his teeth. A little while longer and he would have gone to bed. She would sleep out here on the sofa as she had done many times in the past.
Thirty minutes crept by. She felt it was safe to stretch her legs. If he was coming back, he would have done so by now. She stood cautiously not wanting to make too much noise and walked to the back door. Calling softly, she beckoned to her best friend.
"Baby, where are you? Patty…Pattycake, puppy,” Caitlyn whispered. She waited and didn’t hear anything. It was dark and she immediately began to worry. What if something had happed to her dog? What would she do? She would give her life without hesitation for what she considered her baby. The dog had steadfastly remained her friend over the years. She was always there when needed and never judged her wanting. Pattycake was her baby girl; her very heart – nothing could replace her.
She stepped out the back door into the blackness of the night. She had always marveled at the stillness of the early morning hours. It was about 3:00 a.m. and nothing moved. No birds sung. No dogs barked. No insect chirped. She walked across the concrete patio and across the lawn to the back of the garage. The wooden privacy fence surrounded the acre backyard and ended around the side of the house on each side.
She peered around the side of the house searching the darkness. Sitting in the irises was her dog. The little furry form tipped the scales at about seven pounds. She had gotten the dog from an AKC breeder who ran a puppy mill. The little thing had been starving and filled with worms when she got her. She remembered her vet telling her that a few more days in that kennel and the little runt would have died.
"My baby dog. Come to mommy,” she whispered as she picked up the little package. She knew that the animal was terrified from all of the yelling and screaming. For the little dog to walk in the grass was close to a miracle. Only when she was terrified or carried would she think of leaving the concrete patio or the comfort of the back porch.
"Someday we’ll leave baby. You just wait. Someday, we’ll just leave and then everything will be okay,” she crooned holding the dog in her arms and nuzzling the soft fur. She breathed in the warm doggy smell and hugged the trembling life close to her chest.
"We’ll leave and soon." He’s drunk and he can’t help it. Don’t hate him. It’s not his fault he’s bad. It’s the drugs and the booze. Maybe someday when he learns” Her wishes dropped off the edge of her lips like raindrops off a ledge and on to the ground only to be absorbed into the soil as if they’d never been there at all.
Tomorrow there would be silence for a while and then an apology. He would be sorry and beg her to forgive him. She would as she had time and time again, knowing it was a scene to be repeated time and time again like a summer re-run.
She could remember the first time that she saw her husband. He had been standing cattycorner to her at the corner of a bar. He stood there in a black t-shirt and a black cowboy hat. He looked handsome and rugged and dangerous. A shock of his dark hair hung over his forehead and he had a way of running his fingers through his bangs to shove them out of his face that gave her a glimpse of the muscles in his arm. A similarly dark thick mustache and beard framed his face. When he smiled his light blue eyes sparkled like ice and she was rewarded with a smile that promised that she was the only one in the bar. He leaned with both elbows on the bar, arms creating a pyramid and chin on top of his hands as if he were contemplating some deep dark question.
She and her sister were at a local restaurant and bar taking in the local
Thirty minutes crept by. She felt it was safe to stretch her legs. If he was coming back, he would have done so by now. She stood cautiously not wanting to make too much noise and walked to the back door. Calling softly, she beckoned to her best friend.
"Baby, where are you? Patty…Pattycake, puppy,” Caitlyn whispered. She waited and didn’t hear anything. It was dark and she immediately began to worry. What if something had happed to her dog? What would she do? She would give her life without hesitation for what she considered her baby. The dog had steadfastly remained her friend over the years. She was always there when needed and never judged her wanting. Pattycake was her baby girl; her very heart – nothing could replace her.
She stepped out the back door into the blackness of the night. She had always marveled at the stillness of the early morning hours. It was about 3:00 a.m. and nothing moved. No birds sung. No dogs barked. No insect chirped. She walked across the concrete patio and across the lawn to the back of the garage. The wooden privacy fence surrounded the acre backyard and ended around the side of the house on each side.
She peered around the side of the house searching the darkness. Sitting in the irises was her dog. The little furry form tipped the scales at about seven pounds. She had gotten the dog from an AKC breeder who ran a puppy mill. The little thing had been starving and filled with worms when she got her. She remembered her vet telling her that a few more days in that kennel and the little runt would have died.
"My baby dog. Come to mommy,” she whispered as she picked up the little package. She knew that the animal was terrified from all of the yelling and screaming. For the little dog to walk in the grass was close to a miracle. Only when she was terrified or carried would she think of leaving the concrete patio or the comfort of the back porch.
"Someday we’ll leave baby. You just wait. Someday, we’ll just leave and then everything will be okay,” she crooned holding the dog in her arms and nuzzling the soft fur. She breathed in the warm doggy smell and hugged the trembling life close to her chest.
"We’ll leave and soon." He’s drunk and he can’t help it. Don’t hate him. It’s not his fault he’s bad. It’s the drugs and the booze. Maybe someday when he learns” Her wishes dropped off the edge of her lips like raindrops off a ledge and on to the ground only to be absorbed into the soil as if they’d never been there at all.
Tomorrow there would be silence for a while and then an apology. He would be sorry and beg her to forgive him. She would as she had time and time again, knowing it was a scene to be repeated time and time again like a summer re-run.
She could remember the first time that she saw her husband. He had been standing cattycorner to her at the corner of a bar. He stood there in a black t-shirt and a black cowboy hat. He looked handsome and rugged and dangerous. A shock of his dark hair hung over his forehead and he had a way of running his fingers through his bangs to shove them out of his face that gave her a glimpse of the muscles in his arm. A similarly dark thick mustache and beard framed his face. When he smiled his light blue eyes sparkled like ice and she was rewarded with a smile that promised that she was the only one in the bar. He leaned with both elbows on the bar, arms creating a pyramid and chin on top of his hands as if he were contemplating some deep dark question.
She and her sister were at a local restaurant and bar taking in the local
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