Ben Stewart

The man dropped into a bentwood IKEA chair, crossed one leg over the other, and blew a raspberry. The oldest of his three children was outside, for now, and his wife had taken the twins to their two-year check-up. 

Quiet moments in his house are rare; him being there to enjoy them rarer still.

His thoughts drifted to his wife in the exam room with the twins, the air heavy with isopropyl and idle chatter. The rooms had black rubber baseboards, possibly there was a drain in the floor like a slaughterhouse. The man couldn’t remember but thought there was a drain. 

He steered his thoughts back to blissful nothing and let the empty house wrap him in silence. The chair bobbed to the beat of his heart; an almost imperceptible motion. Devoid of any expectation on his time, he unfurled himself in the chair and closed his eyes. 

Silence. Peace. 

A quiet whine, a flapping sneeze, and scarping toenails shattered the man’s moment of aloneness. 

The old dog plodded into view; no hurry remained in her body. Stiff-legged and panting, tail swinging and stopping, her energy was needed for walking, and none could be spared. 

The dog’s eyes were cloudy and wet, and her tongue curled over sparse teeth in a bully smile. The scraping sound ceased as she shuffled from hardwood to rug, and she poked her flaky nose in the opening of the man’s crossed legs. The man tightened, closing off the dog’s intrusion. 

 The dog had been the most important thing in his life, but then he fell in love, got married, his career advanced and demanded more attention, and then the kids came along. Now, in the rare time when there was peace, the dog needed something, and he hated her for it. Hated her for being a chore. Hated himself for thinking this way. 

The old girl sidled over and bumped his arm. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” The man said, flapping his elbow at the dog, but finding it hard not to smile. The dog shifted gray-white paws and closed her mouth then opened it, breath rolling off yellow molars in hot waves. She whined, more a whispered exhalation, and closed her mouth again. Her top lip was stuck behind her bottom teeth. 

The man smiled and fixed her lip. “Good girl.”