Reviving Bloom (6 page)

I watch him as he curl
s
up in the comforters then I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Watching myself in the mirror I notice the
dark circle
s
that
have
been staying under my eyes
a
r
e gone and even after working all day
I look
refreshed. Hmm!
Must be that nap I took in the bath earlier.

             
I crawl in between my covers and
I’m
prepared to fall asleep when I fe
el
the movement on the bed. Pike ha
s
jumped in beside me and
i
s making himself comfortable. He la
ys
his hea
d across the pillow next to me
and his blue eyes lock on m
ine
. I d
o
n’t have the energy to kick him out, at least that’s what I tell myself. So I thr
o
w my arm around him, rubbing my fingers through his soft coat. He lick
s
my nose making me giggle. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard that sound come out of my mouth. Moving my hand up to rub his muzzle I tell him, “Thanks boy I needed that. And you can stay with me tonight but tomorrow you’re back in the kitchen. I don’t want my bed smelling like dog.” Not that he smell
s
like a normal dog. He actually smell
s
like the forest after a rain storm has washed it clean.

For the first time in
a year
I sle
ep
without tossing and turning, without the dreams of
Dad
crashing. I
’m
out until the warm sun peeking through my curtains force
s
my eyes open. Pike
i
s still stretched out beside me with his head on the pillow and my arm around him. We ha
ve
n’
t moved an inch. Stretching my arms over my head I
sit
up and look at the clock,
9
a
.
m. Good
,
I’ll be ready before Billy gets here. Rubbing Pike behind the ears I whisper, “Come on boy it’s time to start our day.
How about I fix us
some breakfast?”

His eyes fl
y
open at the mention of food and he lick
s
my
face
. Gently pushing him back down and wiping off my cheek. “I’m not sure I can get use to these dog kisses. Gee
z
, you need a mint Pike.”

He h
a
ng
s his head like his feelings a
re hurt and I fe
el
horrible.
I’m not sure if he unde
rst
an
d
s
what I said or why I feel
the need to comfort him, but I do.
Grabbing his muzzle in my hands I turn him to face me putting my nose to his. “I was kidding Pike. You can give me doggie kisses anytime. But
if you’re going to be here awhile
we will be getting you a doggie tooth br
ush.”

Letting go of his face and hopping out of bed I look back at him. “Ok
ay
now let’s get some food. I’m starving.” He follow
s
my lead and leap
s
out too, then follow
s
me into the kitchen.

I’ve never had a dog before so there isn’t any dog food in the house, and I’m not sure what dogs can and cannot
eat. So looking in the fridge I
dial my friend Bonnie. Her
Dad
’s a vet and she
has a dog so she’
ll
know.
I hear the line pick up and then her cheerful voice, “Hey Beautiful!
I haven’t heard from you in awhile.
”

Her warmth always ma
k
e
s
me smile. She’s been my best friend since the third g
rade when she skipped
(yes she skipped then and occasionally still does)
over
and asked me to
play
M
y
L
ittle
P
onies with her. It’s been Bonnie & Bloom ever since. I like to say she brings the sun when it’s been cloudy. That’s why I’ve been avoiding
her
.
I
’m not
ready for the sun.
“Hey
Bon!”

“
Hey,
I’ve missed you girl.”
I can hear the relief in her voice that hearing from me brings.

“I’ve missed you too, Bon.
I
’ve called because I’ve
got a question for ya.”

“Hit me with it.”

“What do dogs eat other than dog food?”

“You got a dog?”

“No
…
well kind of temporarily. He got caught in one of
Dad
’
s old coon traps last night and I brought him
in
to clean his wounds and I let him stay with me. I thought I’d bring him in to your
Dad
’s office today so he can check out his paw.”

“That was sweet of ya.
I’m sure
Dad
w
ill
be glad to check him over. So are you keeping him? It might be good for you to have a p
et with ya out there to keep ya
company.”

“
I’m not sure. He probably has a family looking for him. So what can I feed Pike?”

“Pike? Did you name him or did he have a dog tag?”

“No tags. I just didn’t want to call him dog or boy and Pike seem
s
to fit. He responds to it so he must like the name. So what kind of food is ok
ay
?”
Bonnie
is
sweet but her thoughts wander a bit
,
h
ence hav
ing
to ask the same question three times before getting an answer.

“If you have some leftover chicken he’
ll
probably eat that. They also like apples and peanut butter. But if you’re coming to
Dad
’s office
you should
pick up a bag of dog food. You don’t want him getting use to table scraps.”

Grabbing a bowl of leftover chicken from the fridge
I t
ell
her
,
“
I’ll do that.
Thanks Bon.”

“Anytime
Blu
. Do you want to meet up at
Dad
s
and have lunch while he’s checking out your dog?”
I can tell she’s nervous I’ll turn her down. I’ve been doing that to everyone lately, but today feels like the perfect day to see my best friend.

“That sounds great.
What time do you want to meet
?”

“How does noon sound? I’ll stop and pick-up a couple burgers.
”
Bonnie’s so happy, all because I’ve agreed to see her. She’ll probably have a joker sized smile plastered to her face all day. I can even see her jumping up and down, doing her victory dance.

“Sounds perfect to me. Don’t forget the fries and grab a burger for Pike too, please.
”
I bite my lip to keep myself from laughing at the image of Bonnie doing her victory dance.

“I can do that.”

“Bon?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been M.I.A.”
I hate bringing down the good mood we’ve had going on, but I owe my friend an apology.

“
Blu
, you have nothing to be sorry about. I knew you’d call when you were ready. Love ya chickadee.”
I can hear the tremble in her voice.

“Love you too.”
I end the call before we both end up bawling
.

“How does chicken sound?”
I ask turning my attention back to Pike.

I warm up his left
over chicken and then ma
k
e myself some scrambled eggs and toast. Pike devour
s
his leftovers
before
the toast pop
s
up, so I g
i
ve him a slice of it as well. I
’m
nibbling on mine when I hear the knock on the door. I
have to
calm Pike who become
s very alert and then I head
to the door to let Billy inside. Pike follow
s
me, or should I say le
a
d
s
the way. He must have been trained as a guard dog because he growl
s
at Billy until I reassure him he
’
s safe.

Stepping inside Billy ask
s
, “When did you get a dog? Or should I say horse, that
beast
is huge.”

“Found him caught in one of
Dad
’s old coon traps last night. He is pretty large isn’t he? No need to worry though he’s like a big cuddly teddy bear.”

“By th
e way he was just growling at me
I wouldn’t say he’s too cuddly. But I do think it’s a
good idea for you to have a dog. He’ll keep you company and seems like a good guard too.”

“
I’ve lived here all my life and no-one has messed with this place. Plus, I never said I’m keeping him. Like I told Bonnie he probably has a family looking for him. I should probably hang up some flyers or post his picture on my Facebook. Maybe someone will recognize him.”

“Just because no-one has doesn’t mean they won’t. If the wrong person realizes it’s just you out here they might try something. Don’t let your guard down doll. But I think you should keep the dog.” He watche
s
Pike who
i
s pressed against my leg with his gaze locked on Billy
. “
H
e’s taken to you quick.”

“I won’t let my guard down and you know I have
Dad
’
s old hand gun if some
fool does try something
,
”
I remind him.

“Good to hear. Just make sure you remember to take the safety off. It does
n’t shoot when it’s on
,
”
h
e says
with a grin. Billy kn
o
w
s
I
’m
a g
reat
shot, he and
Dad
taught me to shoot when I was a kid, but that d
oes
n’t change the fact that he like
s
to tease me.

“Oh give me a break old man
.
I’m a better shot than you.”
I push his shoulder teasingly
.

“Well you did learn from the best. This old man is hungry. Do you have any breakfast left?”
he asks rubbing his shoulder, as if I could really hurt him.

Heading towards the kitchen I call, “come on I’ll find you something to eat.”

I whip him up some scrambled eggs and toast and then s
i
t at the table with him drinking my apple juice. Pike
i
s once again curled up beside my feet and I
’m
rubbing my toes through the fur on his side. Billy
’s
not
normally a quiet man but when
you put food
in front of him you g
e
t quiet time. Though it d
oes
n’
t take
him
long to finish because the man
d
oesn
’t eat he inhale
s
his
food
. Sitting his fork down and wiping his mouth he ask
s
, “So are you ready for me to start doll?”