Dog's Legacy

Zhea~ Year 7823

Grandma shares her parrot’s secret with her granddaughter. 3pp. Short-Short. Rated G.

ASIN: B002HEX3UG File Size: 5 KB (Kindle Edition - July 12, 2009)

Dog's Legacy Kindle

Excerpt copyright Dannis Cole. All rights reserved.

The dog had blue eyes. I remember him as vividly as if he stood before me now, as if sight lingered with me.

I moved into the apartment. A dream apartment. Built in the time of old, large, wasteful, white-painted rooms. Hardwood floors. Shelves, everywhere shelves. Glass in the doors of the kitchen cabinets! When I saw the apartment, in the lowest floor of the building, I knew I could be happy there. That first day, my daughter Trina and I had a simple meal of black-eyed peas cold from the can. Utilities would be turned on later.

She did not like our cold meal. I took the leftovers--no garbage disposal in which to empty them in the white, flat sink--opened the back door. Jacque, my Amazon parrot, screamed.

“I’m not going anywhere, you fool,” I told him. Never learned to talk.

“Where are you going, Mommy? Can I come, too?” Trina feared my leaving. Jacque laughed with Trina’s five-year old laugh; she clung to my leg.

“Come with me,” I sighed. “See, we have a bit of grass back of the apartment.” Across the broken pavement of the shallow parking lot, between lot and the neighboring fence, waved scraggly grass. Overgrown. I planned to spread her leftovers in it and feed the undernourished shoots.

And, on the other side of the fence, I heard the rustle of him. Perhaps a Malamute. He stood, watching, licking his chops. My petite Trina feared dogs; even friendly ones knocked her down if they brushed against her.

“He won’t hurt you. He’s on the other side of the fence,” I told her.