A Face without a Reflection by Bowen Linda Lee

Author:Bowen, Linda Lee [Bowen, Linda Lee]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2018-04-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

THE PROBLEM WITH OTTERHOUNDS

Mother had been up for hours by the time I stumbled downstairs for breakfast.

“Good morning,” she said, absorbed in something she was reading.

“Hey,” I mumbled, not fully awake. “Where’s Spirit?”

“Outside,” she said, gesturing with her hand.

“You put him outside?” I cried out and bolted toward the door.

“Calm down!” she yelled. “He’s on the leash.”

The screen door slammed behind me as I ran into the yard with my heart suddenly in my throat. Having paid no attention to my mother’s words of assurance, I was surprised to find Spirit resting peacefully under the maple tree.

“Spirit!” I shouted, shattering his contentedness.

He sprung to his feet at the sound of my voice and instinctively ran toward me. The leash yanked him backward, which prompted a blood-curdling yelp. The sound was like an alarm going off in my brain, alerting me to the danger that lie ahead. At that moment, I thought he needed to be rescued and believed that I alone could save him. I sprinted across the yard to the tree, where I fell to my knees as Spirit pressed his dirty paws against my pajama top and happily licked my face.

“It’s okay, Spirit! It’s okay,” I repeated soberly, as if I’d just delivered him from a terrible fate.

Mother had been standing behind me as the drama unfolded. I didn’t have to turn around to know she had her hands planted firmly on her hips as she shook her head in disbelief.

“See?” she said, as though nothing traumatic had just happened. “I told you he was fine.”

It was beyond me how she could think that what she did was fine, and I buried my face in Spirit’s fur before giving her a scowling look.

“No thanks to you,” I said to myself, as I clung to my tethered Spirit.

“So,” she said, sitting cross-legged on the grass, “breakfast first, a quick shower, then a walk by the lake. How does that sound?”

I was still mad at her for something she hadn’t done and not fully over my irrational snit, so I decided to ignore her. Spirit abandoned my lap for hers as soon as she was on the ground, and I wanted to give them both a very nasty look.

“Sit!” she commanded.

To my surprise, he sat. She praised him for being a good dog and gently rubbed behind his ear, which calmed him down immediately. Soon he was lying next to her with his head on her leg. I couldn’t believe it. She was the one who tied him to a tree while I was the one who saved him. His head should be on my lap, not hers.

“Humph,” I grunted a bit more loudly than I’d intended. I was sure Mother heard me, but she pretended she didn’t.

“So, what do you think?” she asked again. “Breakfast, a quick shower, and a walk to the lake? It’s a perfect day for it.”

“What were you reading?” I asked, although I wasn’t really interested.

“Oh, it’s a book I found on rare dog breeds.

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