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April 19, 2005

meanwhile, out on the moors,

Tuesday afternoon, an endless commute. Traffic and rain, and then no rain but still the traffic, and finally home. 25 miles or so, an hour and a half. O, discordia.

"Hi, I'm home," I say, and Spike and Jack run to meet me. Spike only comes because he wants to try to sneak out the door before I have a chance to close it. Herself hops down the stairs. Moo drags his carcass up to the living room like it weighs three thousand pounds and throws it down on the couch, exhausted from the trek. What's for dinner?

The inevitable thrust and parry: Yes, there will be dinner; no, not until I get back from the gym. What are we having? I consider my options. Chicken? Macaroni and cheese? ugh. ...Hamburgers and french fries? That's easy, and bad for everybody.

Okay, says Moo, and herself says I Don't Want a Hamburger; I'll Just Eat French Fries.
Oh, whatever.

I go into the kitchen to look at the mail. She follows me for some How Was Your Day conversation.
"I saw Kelsey again this afternoon. She looked at me," she says.
"Oh? And did she talk to you?"
"No."
"Good," I say, "we hate her anyway."
I stop. Did I just say that out loud? I need to get to the gym.

"We didn't have recess today," she says. She sits down at the kitchen table.
"You didn't? Why not?"
I'm reading a letter from a federal investigator. Apparently our neighbor is a person of interest.
"Killer dogs," she says, matter of fact.
I look up from the letter. "Killer..."
"Killer dogs. You know, the black ones. The ones without collars."
Oh, those killer dogs.
"I saw them, mom."
In spite of myself, I look out the window. White blossoms from the pear tree drift like snow onto the lawn. In the back of my mind, something howls. Something without a collar.

Posted by JudyLa at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)