Mr. Dog

Mr. Dog
WC: 297

Marnie Sample could barely see three feet in front of her as she trudged along, suitcase in tow. The night fog had fallen like a theater curtain after the last bow; clouds touched the ground all around her.

The Trailways bus had broken down as darkness set in, forcing the passengers to find shelter for the night in the tiny village of Chesterton.

Unable to find accommodations, Marnie curled up in a discarded refrigerator carton in a dark alley. She used her overnight bag as a pillow, covered with her coat, and cried herself to sleep.

A big, brown dog licking her face was her wake-up call.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Dog!”

Mr. Dog followed Marnie to the spot where the bus driver had said to meet. The area was devoid of the Trailways bus and the other passengers.

“Looks like I missed my bus.” She ran her hand over his smooth coat. “Now what, Mr. Dog?”

The young woman had money, time, and nowhere she had to be. She had chosen her bus ticket randomly.

Marnie and her new companion walked down the main street. The quaint village appealed to her. It was off the beaten track; no one would find her there. She bought a newspaper and searched the ads.

“Well, Mr. Dog, here’s a room for rent. And this one allows dogs,” she said as she checked his neck. “Since you don’t have a collar, I’m assuming you’re footloose and fancy-free, like me.”

She fed him part of a cookie she found in her coat pocket. “Let’s go see this room.”

Marnie Sample would settle into a new life, with Mr. Dog as part of it.

“I am one lucky girl, Mr. Dog. One lucky girl.”

Mr. Dog licked Marnie Sample’s hand.