Not Again D'og!

“Not Again D’og!”

Rick and Miranda had a quaint cottage built specifically for their needs and love for the great outdoors. It was located 100 miles from their home in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Having a cottage on Lake Bluebell was a beach lovers dream. It was an 8-mile drive from the closest city, which enabled them to avoid a lot of traffic and congestion. From their abode, it was a 12-minute drive to the gorgeous white sandy beach.

The amenities were to die for. There was a large Olympic size pool that suited the young and old and there was a swimming dock. A wooden fishing pier was also in constant use. Sand dunes were visible from the water’s edge and from every point on Lake Bluebell. Every amenity offered them a respite from a long week of work for a quick getaway or for an extended vacation.

The location of their cottage offered a full view of the eastern end of the lake. There was a carousel and a Ferris wheel to be ridden during the sweltering heat or during a cool breeze at the end of the day. It was awesome for riders to be that high up when sky was black and the stars sparkled and radiated their beauty.

This weekend was long overdue. They both had hectic work schedules. She as an ER nurse, who is always dressed in scrubs and Rick as a lawyer coming off high profiled racketeering case. Their love language spoke volumes when they needed to get away.

They both loved the beach. No matter the day, time for Rick and Miranda were spent outdoors on the beach. With a home built specifically near the water they were as close to the sights and sounds of nature as they always wanted to be. Long walks with the dog was as much a part of their day as was the sand dollars and an occasional shell that washed ashore.

For Rick, walking and running on the beach was the best exercise possible. He loved the feel of piles of tickly sand under the soles of his feet. With each step, it dusted up the hairs on his toes. Walking on mounds of sand caused him to use more energy than walking on hard surfaces. His calves, quadriceps, glutes, back, arms, and feet, were all strengthened with every step he took. He loved every moment of his walks. For him, it was some of the best free exercise, EVER!

Although Miranda walked along with her husband, it was more exhausting to do so in the heat. She had to build up to getting used to this ritual. She watched Rick many days before she decided to join him for his daily beach walks. When she first started, her body ached mercilessly for two weeks in every nook and cranny. Her husband showed no mercy to her pleas to slow down. To lighten the pain and exhaustion of his walks, for a little while Miranda walked at her own pace until she was able to keep up with him. But somehow, somewhere, competitive Miranda did not like being left behind. She didn’t like being razzed by her husband’s antics because it was hard for her to keep up. She mustered up the energy to push herself a little hard to keep up with him. It was easier each time.

Rick insisted, after their walks, that they cool down outside as close to the water as possible. She would have settled for the quick drive back to the cottage to rest. However, they lounge lazily in their beach chairs. Miranda cradled a cold glass of water in her hands as if it were liquid gold. The coldness from the frost on the glass was a welcomed relief from the heat and humidity of the summer day. The sun’s glare on the water left spots in the pigments of her eyes; on the surface of the water; and on the clear drinking glass she held in her hands. The sun produced an array of colors and life in everything it touched. Nothing was omitted. Its beauty was a sun catchers dream.

It was horribly hot one particularly weekend. Clearly, Miranda was not feeling being outside in the heat after the long walk. Her legs hurt, she sweated, and an occasional hot flash exacerbated the heat, internally and externally. When the hot flash came, she’d swear, “Not again...” She closed her eyes, fanned with a book, paper plate, hand-fan or whatever was nearby to cool down. Sometimes she took ice cubes from her glass and put them her back, chest and arms to get some relief. The wind from the waves helped just a little bit.

They watched D’og, their Golden Lab, frolic in the distance as he chased the waves. Back and forth, that dog played in the water with a never-ending exhaustion. And the birds that dared to land at the water’s edge never stood a chance with their rambunctious dog nearby. He was raucous when he was outdoors, especially near the water. Miranda knew D’og, like Rick, loved every moment at their cottage and being on the beach.

To vanquish the heat, she decided not to grant the 3-h’s, the heat, humidity, and hot flash the power to dominate her thoughts and overshadow her ability to enjoy the moment. Miranda slid down comfortably in her multi-colored beach chair. After ten minutes, her eyes got heavy. Her shoulders drooped as she released every care in the world seated next to her beloved Rick.

Her thoughts were centered on the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. It was like magic. With her eyes closed, she imagined and felt her feet pressed down in the wet sand and the sand wedging its way into her toenails. She smelled the salt from the water and felt the water’s mist on her face. She imagined finding and using a piece of driftwood, drawing a heart with cupid’s arrow in it and writing Miranda loves Rick. It warmed her heart to write their names in the wet sand even as it faded with the approach and return of each wave to the ocean. She sure loved Rick and the life they shared.

As they relaxed and enjoyed a few moments of chillin after a long walk, she realized that D’og stopped barking. The quiet awakened her. Miranda opened her eyes. She looked at Rick first. He was reared back in his chair, relaxed, asleep. His light snoring meant he was oblivious that D’og stopped barking. She looked around for her dog. He was nowhere in sight.

She stood up. Shielded her eyes with her hands from the bright afternoon sun. There were other dogs playing in and near the water’s edge. D’og was nowhere.

“D’og,” she called. No response. She reached over and nudged Rick. He struggled out of his sleep.

“What’s up honey,” he said.

“I don’t see D’og. I have called for him. He is not responding.”

“No worries. We will find him.”

“Ok, I’m sure. But you know what happened the last time, last summer when he went missing.” They both laughed.

Rick yelled, “D’og! Dude, where are you?

He was amused as he was concerned. He knew his dog couldn’t be far. He scanned the homes and beachgoers that were nearby. Nothing. But then. . .

Both Rick and Miranda watched a silhouette approach. The woman's arms were crossed. Her red fingernails contrasted sharply with her white dress. The tall very slender woman stopped in front of them. She had a couple of emotions written on her face. There was the I’m amused look and the I can’t believe this happened again.

Rick gasped. Miranda craned her neck as she and her husband looked at the figure that walked toward them. She bowed her head and whispered to her husband, "Oh my God, Not again D’og." Miranda and Rick were embarrassed, yet amused at the antics of their Golden Lab, D’og.

Anna stopped in front of them. She had this crooked smile on her face. She wanted to laugh but she stifled it as long as she could.

“Y’all know why I am here.”

Miranda and Rick Cramer played as dumb as a doorknob.

“Huh? What? We don’t know what you speak of. We are looking for D’og. He was just here playing in the water. He was chasing birds.”

“Yeah, uh huh, that is what he was doing. We were sitting here and see what had happened was, we fell asleep. At some point D’og stopped barking, which woke me up. I called for him. D’og hasn’t answered,” Miranda said.

“That’s right, that’s right, he hasn’t answered us.”

“Come with me,” Anna said.

Compliant, Rick and Miranda Cramer followed Anna to her home that was located on the water. It was pale yellow with white shutters. It was a huge beach home, two levels and much bigger than their quaint little cottage. There was a small wooden semi enclosed shower area just off to the side of Anna’s home.

Much to their surprise, there was D’og Cramer mounted and handling his business with Anna’s dog, Joy, also a Golden Lab. The two doe-eyed dogs looked at their parents, who stood in utter belief that their dogs had found each other again. Anna found D’og and Joy in the shower stall. They looked like two busted teenagers.

Rick clapped as he walked toward his dog, “D’og, come D’og, come,” he said.

D’og did not let Joy go. He kept at it.

He heard his dad when he called for him. However, he stayed mounted onto Joy ignoring the commands of his dad and the watchful eyes of Miranda and Anna. Joy didn’t come to her mom either when Anna called for her.

This time last year, D’og and Joy found each other. When he disappeared that time after playing on the beach, he and Joy were found just like this. They became the proud parents of a litter of six beautiful puppies. Once born and weened off their mother, the dogs were taken to the vet for health checkups and shots. After they were given the green light, the puppies were given to families that had homes on the beach too. For Rick, Miranda and Anna there was no shortage of families that wanted the dogs.

Here D’og was again pleasuring himself with Joy. No doubt producing another litter of puppies. They all smiled and said out loud, “Not again D’og!”

Sherry A. Tillman

writeonsherry@gmail.com

1116 Dutton Way,

Capitol Heights, MD 20743

240-547-8571 – Cell