Paws pattered across the carpet as the curly-tailed pup wandered the apartment. Nixi had woken up to the radio’s voices which were likely the reason she hadn’t actually heard Brandon leave earlier. Normally, she’d have been up and tagging along to see what the plan for the day was, but she’d slept right through it today.
So now that pup was alone, but still wasn’t quite sure that was the true situation. It would take a full inspection to determine if that was the situation. Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and sofa room were all empty though. And the office was too. No sign of her friend, and the pup let out a sigh.
Nixi huffed in the cool room. The sun wasn’t peeking through, but there was a light from the cloudy sky softly illuminating everything. Just enough to see but soft enough to ensure the room was colder and a little lonelier than usual.
This made being alone even more uncomfortable. Even her bird friends had left, probably picking up food-stuffs at the park. Nixi thought of the park, the grassy fun and the infinite smells that could not be counted. Other dogs to play with was always nice too.
The thoughts briefly took the loneliness away, but quickly left when Nixi’s mind returned to the mundane reality of “right now.” It was a shame she couldn’t just go on her own, hang out for a while so she could have some fun while her pal was away. She could even go and get some new toys for them to play with when Brandon got back. But she wasn’t allowed to do these things on her own.
Nixi hopped up on the sofa’s arm, giving her a wide view of the room. This was just to check things out, sort of get an overview of what she could do with her time alone. Play? Sleep? Run around in circles? Find things? What could she find though? Hadn’t she been looking for something lately? What was it?
And then she remembered. There had been something she was missing. It had been moved the other day when other people had come over to hang out and eat pup-corn with her and her friends. The squeaky-snake, a squiggly and ragged toy that had been hanging around at the bottom of her toy box forever, had suddenly become a popular plaything recently.
But now it had gone missing again. Nixi thought about the last time she saw it, but the first time was when Jewel had pulled it from the box. They’d played a tugging game with it, and then it was abandoned next to the coffee table.
Nixi checked there, but the snake wasn’t found. After the table, Brandon had picked it up and tossed it onto the sofa. So that was the next place Nixi checked. There was still nothing but a bunch of fluffy cushions. There was a ball though, which was cool for a moment of sniffs.
Then Nixi remembered that Jewel had grabbed it again and had swung it around, whipping things as she raced up and down the hall. Nixi checked the hall, but there weren’t many places for anything to hide. Just carpet and wall, neither of which held any clues.
The next recollection was the kitchen, where it had been abandoned when food was announced. It should be somewhere around the table. But it wasn’t there either. The kitchen was still somewhat cluttered, a few things out of place like chairs and strange decorations hanging around.
And then the memory came upon her like a tidal wave. Yes! That’s where it was hiding. Brandon had picked it up and hung it where his hats were. Nixi rushed out of the kitchen and right for the front door. There it was, high up and out of sight…well, a puppy dog’s sight. And as it turned out, it was also well out of Nixi’s reach as well. It would be a super high jump just to nibble the tail of her toy.
Jump. Jump. Jump? Nothing was working. Nixi was left grounded to the floor, staring up at her toy, trying to figure out how to get up there.
Then her answer arrived. Keys jingled from beyond the door, signaling that her pal had come home. And just in time too. Brandon popped in and was instantly put to work. “Great timing,” Nixi barked, “Now grab my toy and your leash so we can go play in the park.”
Author:
Jason Duron is a short story writer and author of several fiction stories. Curious and lovable as dogs can be, the Adventures of Rocky, Nixi and Dante give you a chance to see daily life from a “dog’s eye view” and share in their thoughts. Please enjoy, and we hope that you’ll feel free to comment and give us insight into your dog’s very own adventures.
