(This is part 2 of the story begun on yesterday’s post).
The Day of the Dog started as any other day. Charlie got up, get himself dressed, donning his big coat, and he walked outside to the sidewalk to do his daily walk. Out at the park, the kids were playing, as per usual on a Saturday morning.
“Hi, Charlie!” One of them yelled at the top of his voice, pausing briefly from running on the basketball court with his friends.
“Well, Howdy Neighbor!” Charlie replied, just as cheerful as if he was talking to Someone Special, and not little Stevie from down the street. Stevie liked this about Charlie. He could always count on him to say hi back.
At that instant, a big red dog ran across the basketball court, seemingly from out of nowhere. The other kids paused dribbling and passing the basketball to watch it run by. It ran with a gangly gait, a noble grin that only dogs are capable of on its face, its tongue hanging sloppily out of its mouth. It leapt off the curb and into the street, angling toward Charlie looking frozen on the sidewalk outside his front door.
Charlie held up his hands in a defensive posture, as if expecting a full-on collision with the excited dog. Instead, the over-sized canine ran past Charlie, up to his door step, and knocked the front door screen open, racing into Charlie’s house.
“Well, I’ll be!” Announced Charlie, turning to watch the dog disappear into his house. To Stevie, Charlie looked as mezmerized as he felt. Both of them seemed to need a moment to catch their breath.
When he finally did catch his breath, Charlie turned and practically galloped into the house after the dog. This would not do, a giant dog racing around in his house causing trouble.
No sooner had Charlie entered the front door when the dog, apparently satisfied with his house call, ran past Charlie and back out the front door. “Wait!” screamed Charlie. “Come back!” The dog wasted no time running down the sidewalk, and was half a block away before Charlie made a split-moment decision to follow it.
“Come back!” he shouted, his heart suddenly racing, a strange sense of excitement coursing through him.