I Called Him Specks: Part 1

disclaimer
Hello everyone and welcome back! It's story time! I've been working on this one for a couple weeks and it keeps snowballing, and I haven't had a chance to finish anything else yet. That's why I decided to go ahead and post the part that I'm ready to release. OK I've made you wait long enough.

I Called Him Specks

The sky was overcast, and the day was warm as I left the office. The receptionist, Bridgette, yelled to me before the door closed “I’ll see you in the morning, Paul!” I turned and waved to her, then walked my usual route home over the brittle, crumbling pavement of the sidewalk. I was happy for the weak breeze that broke the stillness of the late spring evening. I passed under the blossoms of familiar cherry trees with cute little iron fences surrounding their trunks.

As I approached the intersection at Orchard and Rose streets, I remembered I didn’t have an umbrella. Looking up at the silvery sky, hoping not to get caught in the rain, I beat myself up over not being properly prepared for a trek I made daily. I heard a noise behind me that sounded like footsteps. I was being followed, or at least somebody was walking behind me. The steps made a soft pattering sound, not two feet, it was the sound of four paws. I stopped, and so did my pursuer. I walked, and heard the steps again, definitely following me.

I turned to face my assailant, and he wagged his fluffy white speckled tail. I looked down and smiled at the cute little pup, then continued on my way down Orchard street. The dog trotted happily by my side, but I tried my best to ignore him. The rest of his fur was like his tail, bushy and white with dark brown spots of varying sizes. He was a tiny fellow who barely came as high as my knee. He must have had an owner nearby, because he wore a studded black leather collar and seemed well fed. The shaggy fur on his face came to a point a couple inches below his chin forming a distinct beard, but his most notable feature was the markings on his face. The dark brown spots on his fur seemed to bleed together around his eyes making it look like a perfect pair of little glasses that wizened the creature.

The jolly little pooch followed me the whole walk down the street. If anyone passed by, they’d have assumed he was my dog. He kept pace with me as I turned up the gravel driveway to my house. He sat on the front doorstep when I reached the door. I worried he wanted to come inside because I wasn’t ready to be a dog owner at the time. To my surprise, he stayed there and made no sign that he even wanted to go inside with me. He just sat there as though he intended to wait for me.

I opened the door and went inside, leaving him there. After a couple hours, my roommate, Chris came in from work. Chris was the worst roommate ever, and I tried to avoid him as much as possible. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about that little dog, so I told him about it and asked if he’d seen the dog out there.

“Yeah man. He’s asleep right there on the step! Man, I was going to ask you about that.” Chris said with an unreadable smile.

“Really?” I believed him, but still guarded my tone with skepticism because, it was Chris after all.

“Hahahahaaa! No! There’s no dog out there, you sounded like you wanted him to be there and I didn’t want to burst your bubble.” Chris chortled. “You should’ve seen your face!” He went into aggravating peels of laughter, overly pleased with himself as usual.

I walked to the door counting the days until Chris would move out. I didn’t think I’d get another roommate after him. I looked out into the front yard. There was no sign of my spotted little friend. I hoped he was safely back with his own master, and I proceeded not to worry anymore.

The next day, I started my morning walk to work and everything seemed as it always was. I followed the boxwood hedges that lined the edge of the driveway and divided my property from the neighbor’s. It was a cool and sunny morning, the kind of weather that brightened my spirits. I waved and said my traditional “Hello!” to Mrs. Patterson, who was watering her garden.

“Good morning, Paul!” She smiled at me and waved back before returning to her work.

 I blissfully turned the corner and was bewildered by what I saw. There he was. The second I turned around the corner of the hedge at the end of the drive, he was sitting there facing me. It was like he’d been waiting for me. I almost tripped over him, but he was quick and got out of the way in time. I recovered and kept going toward the office. I paid the dog no mind other than a brief glance and nod of recognition. I hadn’t gotten far when I saw that he was following me again.

I decided this was likely to be a regular thing, so I started calling him “Specks” not because of the mottled fur pattern, but the way it made him appear to wear little round spectacles. He followed me home that day too. I reached down and tried to pet him, but he darted away before I could. I tried a few more times with the same result. He didn’t seem scared of me, it was a rather playful way of dodging my hand. I eventually convinced myself he didn’t want me to pet him and gave up trying.

Specks followed me to and from work daily for months. I thought it was strange that I never saw his owner since I could tell by looking at him he was no stray. I got used to his company and even came to count on it. Before Specks, I didn't know how lonely my commute was. 

To Be Continued....

Thanks for reading! I'll publish the rest of it as soon as I feel it's ready to release. Until then!