The light snow from the other day fell consistently and finally lined the earth with a soft, thin layer of white, crunchy goodness. My excitement for my winter fun grew, and I couldn’t help but peek outside occasionally to watch the progress. But I checked the weather forecast and saw how dramatically winter would rush in. The snow would continue to fall, but so would the temperature. By night fall, everything would be frozen, and we’ll be in a full on blizzard. Of everything I could have considered, given this was my first experience with inclement weather, my first panic inducing thought was about my stray friend. Clearly, he’s old and had probably been through many blizzards, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him sleeping on the frozen ground. And he’s old now! Maybe his body can’t handle these situations as well as before. I had to find him. I grabbed Shiloh, and we walked the entire neighborhood. We combed the shoreline, went to every corner, every bush, and overpass. He was nowhere to be found.
The first time we met was outside the dog park, so we looked around that area as well. We even waited around for a while, just in case, but he never showed up. Next we went to the harbor area. Surely that would be a better place for him to find food with the bars and restaurants around. I just knew I’d see his cheeky self run up to me like “hey, fancy seeing you here!” but I didn’t. The snowfall was still pretty light and the coverage still thin, and I had a few hours of daylight left. There was no need to panic. We simply had to keep looking.
I saw Laurant playing chess at the harbor. I didn’t want to speak to him, but it would be rude to walk past and not speak. I thought about skipping that area, but I was serious about my finding my doggie friend. I couldn’t leave any stone unturned. So I said hello.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
I can appreciate that I am the last person he expected or wanted to see, but last time I checked, my address said Brindleton Bay too. It’s a small town. We’re going to run into each other. Maybe I should move, though. I’m handling this better than him, but seeing him all the time does not help my situation. But that is a thought for another day.
I almost forgot Laurant knew the dog I was looking for. He was there when we met. I explained the weather situation, how desperate I was to find him, and how long I’d been looking. Laurant remembered how fond I was of him and wished me well and went back to his chess game. It kinda hurt. Not because I expected him to help me, but because that is exactly what he would have done back when we were in our fantastical friendship bubble. It’s not my fault, but I still feel like I hurt him too. Damn my feelings! Why do I have to care so much?
