A Dog Named Slugger by Brill Leigh

Author:Brill, Leigh [Brill, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography, Science
ISBN: 9781611730388
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Published: 2010-04-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Changes

The autumn of 1995 marked great changes in my life. Having married in an intimate ceremony at the end of that summer, Pranav and I now happily settled into our first home together. Our one-bedroom apartment was so small that the eighty-five-pound canine member of our family suddenly seemed more like a wooly mammoth—a shedding wooly mammoth.

We joked that the situation helped us get better acquainted with each other and with the heavy old Electrolux we’d inherited from Pranav’s bachelor days.

The two of us split our household chores, and one Saturday when it was my turn to wrestle with the vacuum, I grumbled, “I hate this awkward-ass machine!”

“What?” Pranav called from the next room.

“This stupid vacuum is a clunky donkey!” I yelled above its maddening monotone screech. The moniker stuck like the tiny hairs that coated our environment, and after that my husband offered to take on “double clunky donkey duty” to de-fur our carpets and furniture.

In spite of all his good-natured attempts to make light of the problem, I sensed that Pranav was really bothered by it. In addition to vacuuming, he often patted long strips of masking tape along the edges of our upholstery. He’d smooth each piece on meticulously and then yank it off with a vengeance. Although the ritual seemed to offer some stress relief, I wasn’t convinced it made much of a dent in the fur.

My spouse eventually came to the same conclusion. One evening he returned from work later than normal. He kissed me, then did his usual “good-to-see-you-again-too” jig with Slugger. Once the two of them had finished cavorting around the living room, Pranav announced, “I stopped off at the store on the way home and picked up something I think you’re going to like!”

He knew I’d never outgrown a love of surprises, and I immediately launched into question mode, “What is it? Something fun? When do I get it?”

“Hang on and I’ll bring it in.” Pranav hustled out the front door, leaving me to ponder the possibilities. I hoped his gift might be romantic or edible. Perhaps, like a good box of chocolates, it would be both!

But when my husband returned a few minutes later, he was carrying something far larger than even the biggest Whitman’s Sampler. He panted as he set an enormous cardboard box on the floor.

I gasped. “What the . . . ?”

Sharing my curiosity, Slugger trotted up to the box and began sniffing around its corners. Pranav swatted him playfully. “Glad you’re intrigued, since you inspired the purchase.”

I peered more closely at the words and images that adorned the cardboard container. “Hah, you clever man. The clunky donkey can be retired at last!” I exclaimed.

Its successor was far from an ordinary vacuum. It was a red canister shop-vac with a powerful motor, a host of attachments, and a sturdy hose that looked as if it could inhale all the loose dog hair within a 50-mile radius.

Pranav grinned as he pulled it from its box. “Yeah, I figured we needed an upgrade.

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