Rabid Recall: CH5-Barking Up Wrong Tree

Fifth prompt.
Incorporate the words glass, wood, metal, rock, feather in this chapter.
Remember to highlight the prompt words/phrases in bold, or ALL CAPITALS, or color.
due by October 25, 2009; 11:59PM WDC time.




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Rabid Recall

Chapter 5 - Barking Up the Wrong Tree

by Indelibleink

Shaun alternated nervous glances between the clock on the wall above the kitchen table, and quick peeks out the kitchen window and down the driveway. The acidic nature of his glass of orange juice wasn't helping his upset stomach any. It was now 4:45 pm on Monday, just two days after the family melt-down regarding Happy's future with the family. Shaun's mother had agreed to allow Happy to stay - conditionally - until they met with Lois Jenkins: The first condition was that any unacceptable aggressive behavior on Happy's part would result in  immediate "expulsion" from the family. The second: Happy was not allowed near Larry under any circumstances until Lois met with the two of them , and lastly: Lois's recommendation(s) after meeting with the two would be unconditionally binding. In other words, it had been agreed upon beforehand that whatever Mrs. Jenkins advised, after meeting with the Larry and Happy, would be the course of action taken, like it or not.

Eddie, while not at all pleased with the prospect of someone like Mrs. Jenkins deciding the fate of his son's dog, felt at the same time he was caught between a rock and a hard place: He wanted to please his son, but at the same time, he knew his wife had some valid points regarding Larry and Happy. Elizabeth and Eddie were on very shaky ground at the moment, and he felt anything he could do to facilitate the family becoming "one" again would be a "feather in his cap" in his wife's eyes.

Shaun, on the other hand, had become convinced that, for whatever reason, Larry "had it in" for Happy. For one thing, Larry couldn't explain why Happy yelped just prior to nipping Larry. Dogs just don't yelp without a reason, was Shaun's rationale, and Larry's defense of "I don't know why he yelped," wasn't holding much water in Shaun's mind. 

Elizabeth was practically as nervous as Shaun regarding the arrival of Mrs. Jenkins. Truth be told, she had no earthly idea if Mrs. Jenkins would really be of any benefit to the family. Having just started a fire in the living room fireplace to provide a (hopefully) cozy setting for Mrs. Jenkins's visit, Elizabeth slid the protective metal screen to the side and added a couple of more pieces of wood to the fire. Elizabeth looked skyward briefly and prayed that this would be the only fire that the family would be subjected to this evening. She nervously glanced up at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace, and then out the front window down the driveway. 4:51 PM. Eddie should have been home from work by now...


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word count: 446      cumulative: 5306