~ Book ‘Em, Doggo ~
“No, no, no, just your muzzle, just use your muzzle like on the patio door and be quiet, I want to surprise Dad.”
I was anxious watching Pru trying to apply pressure at the proper angle to open the glass-door bookcase in the hall. Pack Mom was in the shower, and I wanted to surprise Dad after she left to go to the store.
After concentrated effort, Pru snorted in satisfaction as the door surrendered and the newly discovered world inside was within reach. So many scents and different textures.
I picked the nearest one and gently pulled it away from it’s shelf, but it was wedged in tight, and two others came out also and landed at my front paws on the floor. One of the books I didn’t mean to pull fell open, and its scent was much more interesting. Excitement built in my imagination, and my tail wagged a couple times, striking the glass in the open bookcase door.
Pru panicked when three books hit the floor. She trotted off, leaving me alone in the hallway. I heard the water shut off in the shower and quickly dragged the books, one at a time, to the middle of the floor of the guest bathroom.
My thinking was that Dad would probably wake soon with Mom getting ready in the main bathroom, and he would head to the guest bathroom first thing. Then, he would discover what I had laid out for him, and he would be excited and elated and gather up the pack while Mom was out shopping, and he’d read to us until she got back.
I didn’t have to wait very long for Dad to stir, yawn, stretch and raise up to see the light under the main bathroom door and hear Mom’s hair dryer roaring away. Right on cue, Dad swung his legs out, and just like I planned he trotted to the guest bathroom with a bit of urgency.
What happened next wasn’t part of my plan.
First was an odd thunk, followed by the prolonged sound of a struggle with the shower curtain and a final thump. Next came two questions directed at no one in particular.
“What the…?!!” And “Who on earth put these books…?”
While my hopes for a morning of the pack curling up around Dad while he read to us faded, Pru appeared behind me to insist her name would not be mentioned in assisting me in my grand plan.
Just as Mom came out of the bedroom, Dad came out of the bathroom with books under one arm and a shower curtain dragging behind him.
“Don’t ask,” was all Dad said.
Mom shrugged as she got her purse, keys, and kissed Dad goodbye.
Dad looked down at me. I demurely wagged a couple times.
Dropping the shower curtain, he returned the books to their shelf, then turned to look at me. “Let me pick the books from now on.”
He then got the key from the top shelf, closed the glass door… and locked it shut.
My heart sank.
He patted my head as he passed me to get coffee, now dragging the shower curtain behind him to fold and put up for now.
I felt pretty blue the rest of the morning. The day turned cooler after our noon snack and thick gray clouds brought the first scent of Fall to the back door. Dad had to give up working outside when heavy rain started, and we all collected together in the living room.
Even though I love the cooler weather, and I love to inspect every bag Mom brings back from shopping, it wasn’t enough to cheer me up.
You see, recently Dad read an article about reading to the pack, and he gave it a try one night in the bedroom. Tucker and Hazel fell asleep pretty quickly, but Pru and I cuddled up close and were swept away by the way Dad was reading to us. He would show us a picture once in a while and let Pru sniff certain ones, and if Dad stopped showing her the book, she would insist by pawing at it.
That night was one of my most favorites ever, and I just wanted to do it again.
After some time passed lounging around, I couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to disobey Dad and try to find an errant book laying around the house. I checked high and low but to no avail.
I knew enough not to pull any “portant” papers from Mom’s desk, but I was becoming desperate. Then, suddenly, I had an inspiration.
I knew where there are round books.
I headed down to the guest bathroom and freed one of them from the wall and proudly brought my prize directly to Dad.
He looked puzzled, so I carefully laid it on the couch to unroll a bit of it with my muzzle. I looked up at Dad, back to the pages of the round book, then back at Dad, then back down at the book.
Dad chuckled and gently picked book.
He looked down at the unrolled part and began, “Once upon a time there was a beautiful Golden named…”
“Wait Dad. Gosh, move over Pru. Dad’s reading to me… Go ahead, Dad.”
“Once upon a time there was a beautiful Golden named Keira…”
~ Keira Bear ~
