46 comments

Fiction Funny

I rang the doorbell next door (Mrs. Foster’s house) and waited patiently listening for the footsteps. But, the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat. After a few seconds, the door opened and Mrs. Foster’s always smiling face appeared. She had her dog, Charlie on a leash. I cleared my throat, but she spoke first.

“Oh dear, I was so worried about Charlie. Neither I can take him to the yoga class along with me nor can leave him alone in the house.”

(She treated Charlie more like a child. She even called it him.)

Then she thrust the leash into my hand, took the coat and the bag that were hanging, gave me a lengthy instruction on likes and dislikes of the dog which I didn’t understand a word, locked the door, waved at me, and left. Everything happened so quickly that I didn’t have time even to understand what was happening and now I was left with a dog.

I came here to say Mrs. Foster goodbye. Yesterday, I got a promotion as the chief creative designer (I was a senior creative designer before) to the new branch of our company in the neighboring town and I have to be present by tomorrow. So today was the only day I had got to say all the goodbyes. Now what?

With the hope of saying goodbye to Mrs. Foster later, I left her house heading my way along with Charlie to Ava’s, my best friend. I had to make sure I was holding the leash tight because now and then Charlie would try to run after almost everything that moved. I wondered what might have been on that list of likes and dislikes Mrs. Foster told me because I wasn’t sure whether it was excited or angry.

On my way to Ava’s, I had to go past Lucas’s coffee shop “Coffee Express” which is the best coffee shop in the whole city. Lucas is one of my classmates and was gifted in cooking. I had a habit of visiting this coffee shop at least once a day to taste one of Lucas’s special coffees. So, I stopped by the shop and went inside to say goodbye. As usual, Lucas was at the counter.

“Hi, Lucas”

“Hi, Hannah. Having usual?”

“I came here to talk to you.”

“Then what about enjoying a coffee while talking?”

That didn’t sound half bad. (To be honest, that sounded great. Who knows when I will get to taste Lucas’s delicious coffees again?) So I went to my usual table, made Charlie sit beside me and waited till Lucas came back with a steaming coffee on a tray. He served me the coffee and sat in front of me. I was just about to open my mouth when Charlie started to bark at the postman who was leisurely enjoying a coffee only two tables next to ours. I held the leash with all my might, but the dog was stronger. It got the leash out of my grip and ran towards the postman making the table trip down. My cup of coffee fell with a crash.

I got to my feet and ran after the dog trying to take hold of it. Charlie jumped onto the postman’s table, tripped his coffee onto his shirt and was about to bite off his head (at least that was what it looked like) when I finally got hold of it and dragged it out of the coffee shop before making any more trouble. We had passed “Coffee Express” and two other shops, but Charlie was still looking back and barking. Thanks to Charlie, I couldn’t tell Lucas goodbye. (Keep that aside, now I can’t even face him.)

After passing some more shops and houses, Charlie became completely calm. Maybe it was tired after all the barking, running, and jumping. So, I bought Charlie and me two hotdogs from a hotdog cart which Charlie gulped in three bites. Then we headed off to Ava’s again.

When we finally reached our destination, before ringing the doorbell, I looked sternly at Charlie and said, “Any more trouble from you, you’ll be sorry for that."

I was about to ring the bell when my phone rang. It was Ava.

“Good afternoon, Ava! I’m…”

“Good afternoon, Hannah! You won’t believe what I just heard. Zoey is back in the town and wants to meet us.”

“Really?”

That was indeed great news. The three of us; Ava, Zoey and me, are friends since we were in grade one. But when the thought, I was about to leave the town struck me, my heart sank and I guess that was evident through my voice.

“Aren’t you happy, Hannah?”

“Of course I’m happy. When does Zoey want to meet us?”

“Today.”

“Today?”

“Yes. At Lucas’s “Coffee Express”. Can you come around 4 o’clock?”

At Lucas’s? That was the problem. How could I go back there after all the trouble I have caused?

“Today I’m a bit busy, so I don’t think I would be able to come.”

“Oh! If that’s the case, we’ll meet up on some other day. I’ll tell her. When is okay with you?”

“Ah…I’m not exactly sure. I’ll let you know.”

That was it and now I won’t be able to say goodbye to Ava and Zoey as well. I turned back. Today was the worst. Nothing went as planned. How can I leave without saying goodbye? I started to walk slowly towards my home. I could still say goodbye to Mrs. Foster.

We; Charlie and me, walked past many shops and houses and were passing by the town’s mall when I saw the last person I wished to see; Emma, coming out of the mall with her grumpy cat. I had this idea of turning back and walk in the opposite direction, but I just kept moving forward. Emma and her cat were a matching duo: both were mean, grumpy, and annoying. I tried my best to act as if I didn’t see her, but Charlie dared; instead, he started to growl at them; especially at the cat which was making weird noises. I fastened my grip on the leash. The growls became louder and in a time of a blink, the cat had jumped out of Emma’s hand, hissed at Charlie, and ran away.

Now, Charlie was struggling to run after the cat and I was struggling more to keep the grip. I felt the leash lighten, and Charlie was running after the cat. I too started to run after them, and Emma was running after me. I could hear her shouting, “Stop!” now and then and after some time her voice faded away, but the cat and the dog were still running and were about ten meters ahead of me. I saw them running into the park, so I followed.

But, by the time I entered the park, they were nowhere to be seen. I searched every corner of the park; in the hedges, under the benches, up the trees; the only place I didn’t look was the sky above the park. Finally, exhausted and worried I sat down on a bench. What am I going to do now? How am I going to tell Mrs. Foster that I lost her beloved dog? I looked up at the sky and closed my eyes. Today was the worst. But I need not worry because I’m leaving tomorrow and I won’t meet them again (at least for some time). But how can I leave like this? I destroyed Lucas’s shop, lied to Ava, lost Charlie, and above all I couldn’t say goodbye.

I felt as if I was about to cry when something heavy touched my knee. I looked down at my knee to find an innocent face with big eyes looking at me. “Oh, Charlie! Where have you been?” Charlie waged its tail and barked joyfully. Then we left the park heading to Mrs. Foster’s (she must be back at home by now). I rang the doorbell. Mrs. Foster opened the door and Charlie jumped into her.

“Oh, Charlie, my boy! Did you miss me?

Hello, Hannah dear! Did he trouble you?”

“Ah…he is a bit of a trouble maker, but after all, he is a good boy.”

“Come inside dear. We’ll have some tea. I just baked biscuits.”

So, I went in and sat on a comfortable cushioned chair next to the fireplace. While I was waiting in Mrs. Foster’s living room, my phone rang. The call was from the company I worked in. The speaker asked me whether I can accept the position as the chief creative designer of the branch here because the present chief creative designer wants to take a transfer to the new branch due to a private reason. Why would I deny the offer when that was what I needed? So, I accepted it. Now I no longer need to leave the town or my family, friends and neighbors. I don’t have to worry about saying goodbye and can even make everything alright back again.

After a few minutes, Mrs. Foster came back with a steaming cup of tea and a plate full of homemade delicious-looking biscuits with Charlie at her heels.

“With all the rushing I couldn’t even ask why you came here.”

“That’s okay Mrs. Foster. That was nothing important.”

I said it more to myself and looked at Charlie who was now sitting beside Mrs. Foster, looking at me, its tongue hanging out of his mouth and wiggling its tail. I thought I saw Charlie winking at me, but I guess that was just my imagination.

April 16, 2021 14:33

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

46 comments

T.H. Sherlock
08:48 Apr 24, 2021

Aww, What a cute story! Funny and heart-warming. My dog is a bit of a handful too so I can definitely relate to some of these incidents! A bit presumptuous of Mrs Foster huh? But I thought your character reacted well to the inconvenience. A few bits of constructive feedback from me... One of my teachers (I can’t even remember which one) told me years ago that I should always avoid the word ‘got’ in my essays as there’s always another word that’s better to use in its place. Strangely it’s something that’s stayed with me ever since, althoug...

Reply

01:27 Apr 26, 2021

Thank you so much for reading the story and giving a lovely feedback :). I'll keep the things you've said in mind so that I can use them in future writings. I too had the feeling that got is not a really nice word to have in a sentence. ❤

Reply

T.H. Sherlock
18:50 Apr 26, 2021

I’m so glad it was helpful! Apparently there’s always a better word you can replace it with but it’s so hard to think of sometimes! I look forward to reading more of your work soon.

Reply

13:24 Apr 28, 2021

:)❤❤❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Cole Lane
02:30 Apr 17, 2021

Really sweet story, this would be a great movie with all the calamity in the coffee shop! I love a happy ending too!

Reply

03:30 Apr 17, 2021

Thank you so much for the nice compliment!! I'm really happy you loved the story :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Ruth Smith
19:09 Apr 16, 2021

Great story! I loved how it all turned out in the end.

Reply

03:43 Apr 17, 2021

Thank you so much :)❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Alex Sultan
09:52 Jul 03, 2021

I liked the ending to this story, it turns out nicely. I also think you have pretty good sentence structure. I like how speed things up and down depending on what's happening, especially the first couple paragraphs. I enjoyed this story :)

Reply

12:50 Jul 23, 2021

I'm happy you enjoyed the story. 😊 Thank you for the nice comment.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Chacko Stephen
05:52 May 17, 2021

Aww, that was so cute <3 The beginning itself was pretty good since it's always fun to watch busy ones ignoring the very need of what the others are here for. And getting trapped with a dog, that's worse than a baby XD And then all those incidents, it just got better and better. Lovely little story. Loved it!

Reply

06:33 May 19, 2021

Thank you so much for reading the story and specially for the lovely compliment 😊❤️

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Khair Harun
11:51 May 15, 2021

You could spin a suspense in this story. The character could have been leaving for space or a dangerous task ahead.

Reply

06:48 May 19, 2021

Thank you for reading the story!! I too thought of that, but I finally came to the conclusion it would be better to keep the plot as simple as possible :-) Anyway I'll keep your suggestion in my mind so that I can use it in my future stories!!!

Reply

Khair Harun
12:03 May 19, 2021

God bless. May your path towards success be clear.

Reply

18:30 Jul 02, 2021

God bless you!! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Anes Nia
20:39 May 12, 2021

Such a lovely story, enjoyable and heartwarming.

Reply

20:08 May 14, 2021

Thank you so much for reading the story as well as the nice compliment!! ❤️

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Nyx :)
20:59 May 09, 2021

I liked all the little jokes you made! very good!

Reply

04:27 May 11, 2021

I'm really happy you like it! ❤ Thank you so much!!

Reply

Nyx :)
15:46 May 11, 2021

Your welcome!

Reply

20:12 May 14, 2021

:-D❤️

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
04:57 May 07, 2021

It was a funny and sweet story. I enjoyed reading it very much!!

Reply

18:21 May 07, 2021

Thank you very much for reading the story and leaving a nice comment!! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed reading it ❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Cathryn V
14:19 Apr 24, 2021

Lovely and well told tale. Thank you!

Reply

01:13 Apr 26, 2021

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Amarah Friedman
16:48 Apr 22, 2021

I love the concept of this piece! Your protagonist has a sad but relatable problem, and it creates compelling conflict for the rest of the story. I enjoyed reading it :)

Reply

16:26 Apr 23, 2021

Thank you so much for reading the story and specially for not forgetting to leave a compliment ❤ I'm really happy you enjoyed it :)

Reply

Amarah Friedman
19:45 Apr 23, 2021

Anytime! :D

Reply

05:05 Apr 24, 2021

❤❤❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Ravi Srivastava
05:40 Apr 21, 2021

Sweet little story! Makes the reader happy.

Reply

13:14 Apr 21, 2021

Thank you so much!! ❤❤ I'm really happy to hear that :-)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
J Sagar
11:17 Apr 20, 2021

Great story!

Reply

02:24 Apr 21, 2021

Thank you :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Kathleen `Woods
05:47 Apr 17, 2021

okay, I wanna know what breed of dog Charlie is, but I'll assume that because he's an agent of chaos he refused to be described.

Reply

04:21 Apr 20, 2021

Charlie is a Jack Russell Terrier. He would have rather run away after a bird than getting described ;)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Johan Rosenblad
03:39 Apr 17, 2021

Funny and cute little story.

Reply

03:58 Apr 17, 2021

Thank you so much!! ❤

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Somegenius Kid
03:31 Apr 17, 2021

I love the story!!

Reply

03:57 Apr 17, 2021

I'm glad you loved the story :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
22:20 Apr 16, 2021

Cute story ;)

Reply

03:33 Apr 17, 2021

Thank you so much!!!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Arwen Dove
22:00 Apr 16, 2021

Love it!

Reply

03:41 Apr 17, 2021

Thank you for reading the story! I'm happy you loved it!!

Reply

Arwen Dove
21:37 Apr 17, 2021

:)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
13:32 Dec 03, 2021

Sometimes issues will take care of themselves. This is a true example of 'it will all work out." "Never can say Good-bye." Loved it.

Reply

Show 0 replies
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.