Her Faithful Companion

When the doorbell of their new condo rang, Marion almost ran to answer it. “Oooh, Ferdie, dear, we have company already.  And we’ve only been here two days!” She patted her gray permed curls and bit her lips to revive her fading ruby red lipstick.  Her pale blue eyes, sunk deep in the fatty heights of her once finely-chiselled cheekbones snapped with anticipation.

“Now, Ferdie, you’re not allowed up on that couch. Off, boy!  Off and into the other room you go.” 

She swerved from her course to the door to grab Ferdie’s collar and pull him into the spare bedroom.  She closed the door on his retreating back before she fluffed her curls once again and veered to the front door more briskly than a stout woman of seventy-two might be expected to move.

“Hello, I’m Anna, your neighbor from down the hall.  I just came to welcome you and tell you that you’ll love living here,” the tall angular woman smiled deeply from warm gray eyes.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you,” Marion gushed. “I’m not very settled yet, so I won’t invite you in today.  I’m Marion, by the way.  And I’m sure I will like it here … but I would like it so much better if we could have pets.  I do so miss my Nellie and Tessa; beagles, you know, and such good company they were.  Beagles are the best faithful little companions and I’ve always said that every older person should have at least one for company.”

“Oh, I’m not really a dog person myself but I guess if you’re used to them… But you do have your husband for company, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, of course … but, well, you see, he and I are very different and we’ve only been married for three years.  Really, Nellie and Tessa were my best companions; there’s nothing like a beagle to keep you company. I took them everywhere, even to the French Riviera where I spend most of my winters. The saddest days of my lives were the days I lost them.  And they died within two months of each other and, well, to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing them.”

“It must be a great comfort to you to have your husband.  Why, you’re practically still newlyweds.” Anna began backing into the hallway.

“Oh, of course, being married is a new adventure for us both, although really I sometimes wonder if Fred didn’t just have his eye on, you know,” she lowered her voice conspiratorially with a quick backward glance into the condo, “my money.  It can be such a burden, trying to decide if a man is a fortune hunter or not.”

“Er, ah, yes, I suppose so.” Anna edged even further into the hallway. “Well, it’s been lovely meet—“

“Oh, I just have to tell you, this, and I will because I feel we’re going to be such good friends,” Marion didn’t see the unease in Anna’s eyes.  “I actually decided to marry Fred anyway because he’s got such beautiful big brown eyes, so much like my Tessa had.  I just couldn’t resist those eyes.  Of course, I made him sign a prenup, just to be sure.”

“Oh, very wise, I’m sure,” Anna murmured.  “I do believe I left, um, a pot boiling.  I’d better check …very nice meeting you.”  She turned abruptly and hastened down the hallway without a backward glance.

“Well, Ferdie,” Marion returned to the apartment and let him out of the spare room, “I don’t know if we’ll be such good friends with her after all.  She’s a very odd person, I’d say,” she crooned as she rubbed his ears. “Now don’t you look at me like that.  It’s only 4:30 and you know it’s not suppertime yet.  But you can have a little treat,” she snapped her fingers for him to follow her into the kitchen.  “Come, let’s go find a yummy treat for my good boy.”

Ferdie sighed deeply and scratched the spot on his neck where his bright red collar chafed the most.  He followed her into the kitchen as she cooed, “now, does my baby boy want a liver treat or a rawhide piece?”

“For God’s sake, Marion, you don’t really think you can get away with this, do you?”

“Ferdie! Bad dog! Don’t make Mommy mad or you won’t get any treats at all.”

“Marion, this is ridiculous. My name is Fred, not Ferdie.”

“Fred, I will say this only once more.  Remember the prenup; in exchange for your faithful companionship, when I die of natural causes or reach the age of 90, whichever comes first, you’ll inherit my entire fortune.  Now, be my faithful companion, or I’ll find myself another one!”

Ferdie sighed, whimpered, and lay down on the mat in the corner of the kitchen, the one with his name, FERDIE, embroidered in bone-shaped letters.  He curled his short, plump body up as best he could in the small space, tucked his nose into his doggie blanket, and tried to sleep.

“That’s my good boy.  Oooh, he’s such a good beagle-boy.  He’s going to get a treat, for sure.”   THE END

(What do you think of my silly little story? Would you like to see more such short, short stories occasionally? Don't worry; I'm not losing my sense of "normal" here on my country mile!  But I do like having fun with stories sometimes.  If you liked this, let me know.  You can comment directly on this blog by becoming a follower or by emailing me at jpwriter197@gmail.com)

Our Parents Were Right

In the past few weeks I've been composing articles for a column on mental health that I write weekly for our local newspaper.  The focus of the pieces has been how we can preserve our good mental health and avoid developing serious psychiatric conditions or stress and burnout.  I do a lot of research for each topic and I'm realizing I shouldn't be surprised at the information I've turned up for this series.

It turns out our parents were right.  I hope your parents gave you the kind of sensible and wise advice that mine have always given me.  When I was a teenager, I sometimes thought I knew how to take care of myself; now I recognize that I knew it so well because they had taught me those things when I was younger still.

My research shows that healthy sleeping habits, a balanced diet, regular exercise, alcohol in moderation, and no "recreational" drug use is the path to mental, emotional, and physical health.  It also suggests that to remain healthy, I should focus on thinking positively and practice my faith regularly.  A varied social life and some volunteer work are also more likely to optimize my wellbeing.

This is one of my favourite pictures of them, taken within a couple of weeks of their 55th anniversary.

Well, what do you know?  My parents either told me outright or modeled all of these in their own lifestyles while I was young!  A good part of my research findings were just what I call common sense.  And where did I get that from?  My mother and father, of course.

My Favourite Things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things."

We're all familiar with these famous lyrics from The Sound of Music.  I thought of them a week or so ago when our priest led a Holy Thursday meditation which made the observation that the things we treasure most are also the things that define us.  He went on to say that we limit ourselves by what we value, that we can be only as "big" as what we hold most dear.

The point, of course, is to treasure God and the things of heaven more than anything else so that our spirits will be big enough to enter heaven and find our comfort there when the time comes.  I'm working hard to value possessions and distractions less and spiritual things more.  As I get older, it's perhaps a little easier than it used to be.

Right now, I would have to say that among my favourite things are God's human and animal creatures, my relationships with family and friends, God's creation (especially trees), and my country mile.  That makes my spirit pretty big already, I hope, but obviously I also need to be able to let go  of these favourites and set my sights even higher.  Wouldn't I be delightfully surprised, though, to discover that heaven is actually a forest?

It's hard to believe that heaven's setting could be better than this, but this is, after all, merely an earthly scene and no longer as perfect as when God first created our world.

I suspect that the best way to achieve some detachment from the things of this world and to gain attachment to the things of the next is to follow the example of Jesus, perhaps as we see it modeled by our Pope, Francis.  I'm hoping to live more simply and be more aware of the impact my choices have on our world and on others.  Hopefully, not a bad way to celebrate the remainder of this Easter season.