The Sylver Platter: Becoming by J.B. Fitzgerald

Author:J.B. Fitzgerald [Fitzgerald, J.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bluestocking Bay Publishing

Chapter Twenty

Present Day

The day she vanished, I got out of bed, tended to morning ablutions and my overall presentation, and consumed my usual breakfast. I was running early for work, so I planted myself on the sofa, facing sideways, my legs outstretched over the middle cushion. I sifted through email and skimmed the headlines; I even checked the weather, though, for what purpose this time of year, I really couldn’t say. Morning showers with a chance of afternoon showers and, in the evening, possible showers, followed by rain after midnight, the rain distinction hinting that the day’s earlier collective showers might be composed of cotton crew socks or jalapeños.

February the fifth was the kind of Wednesday that would soon make my dreaded Tuesdays seem, by several city blocks, less dreadful.

Seven o’clock. Moondogger still hadn’t come to greet me. I’d have to wake her or risk the wrath of my employer when public transit departed without us because my dog’s backyard relief and subsequent sustenance had been unnecessarily delayed. I deposited my laptop on the coffee table, guided my feet back into kitten-heeled boots of aubergine, and smoothed out the tea-length floral skirt I’d paired with purple tights. Striding down the hall, I rapped lightly on Celia’s door in case she and Daniel had overslept. Celia had less than an hour to get to the post office for her shift, and, without a little encouragement, she maintained an intimate relationship with tardiness. That she had been out late every night for weeks--maintaining an intimate relationship of another kind--did nothing to improve her punctuality.

“Moonbug!” I called, turning left toward my room. Not a sound. “Moonbug?”

My pace quickened. I rounded the corner to discover my dog no longer sprawled at the foot of my bed. Leaning against the jamb, I took a deep breath to calm the frantic beating of my heart. Moondogger was not all right. She was a thousand times better, the very picture of tranquility, or, as Celia would say, that dog was one blissed-out beagle. She had nestled herself deep into my pillows, the corners of her mouth curved so sweetly, it was not possible to lament the intrusion or the faint hints of drool I’d be scrubbing from pillowcases later.

“Come on, baby. Time to go potty.”

She opened one eye a sliver, closing it as soon as she spied me beside the bed. Both right limbs lifted upward, as did her smile.

“Yes, I’ll get your tummy, but then we have to go.” Settling for a quick belly rub and a smooch to the head, Moondogger glided to the floor and followed me back down the hall. On the way through, I gave Celia’s door another knock. “Celia, honey, you’re going to be late.”

By the time my dog had finished her breakfast, and I had grabbed my coat, purse, portfolio, the leash, and had pocketed my keys, Celia had still not emerged from her room.

“I’ll be right back, lovey,” I said, leaving my workday necessities and one harnessed dog waiting by the iron table in the entryway.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.