This is the fifth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV before continuing.
“Why is there a woman sleeping in a car in your driveway?”
“‘Cause she’s stubborn.”
“So she’s a relative of yours?”
“My niece.”
I had been joking when I suggested she must be a relative. I hadn’t expected this answer.
“You’re letting your niece sleep outside?”
“She brought her dog with her.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“No, I mean you’re seriously going to let a family member in need sleep in her car because you don’t like dogs?”
“They’re dirty.”
“Farm dogs are, yes. But if it’s Charlie’s city dog, it’s no dirtier than you or I after a long day of herding cattle.”
“There has never been a dog in this house and there never will be.”
“Oh, get over yourself,” I said as I headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To do the civil thing.”
I had seen Charlie’s sleeping form as I walked by the car, but I hadn’t seen any sign of a dog. As I drew closer to the car, a little black mop appeared in the window of the front passenger side of the car and started yapping at me.
I laughed. When Phil had said Charlie had brought a dog, I thought he had meant a real dog. Whatever this thing was, it was not a real dog.
The barking woke Charlie, who jumped when she saw me, then hurried to straighten her hair and wipe the drool off her cheek.
I waited until she was as presentable as she was going to get before opening the passenger door, prompting the vicious beast who had been warning me off to jump into Charlie’s arms and bark at me from a safer distance.
“So this is the wild animal Phil refuses to have in the house,” I said.
Charlie rolled her eyes. “I know, can you believe it?”
“He does seem vicious.”
“She.”
“I beg your pardon. She is clearly a killer.” I put my hand out for her to sniff. She played coy for a minute before tentatively sniffing my fingers. Having decided I was OK, but also not food, she turned her attention back to Charlie, who slipped a dog biscuit into my outstretched hand.
“This should help,” she said.
Sure enough, the dog immediately homed in on the treat in my hand. As soon as it was gone, she started sniffing around for more.
Charlie shoved the box of biscuits into my other hand and said, “Can you take her? I have to pee so bad!”
To be continued…