Rick was welcomed by a barking dog standing on two legs wagging its tail.
“How you doing, boy? Did you miss me?” He spoke to it in a childish voice. Rick walked to the kitchen and the dog followed behind him.
“You hungry ? Yes you are!”
The dog barked and Rick filled its food bowl. The dog sank its head into the bowl and Rick petted, scratched, and kissed the top of its head.
“Oh, you were hungry, huh?”
The door opened and Annabel walked in. Her hair was unkempt and in a ponytail. Her glasses were slipping off her nose, but her hands were full with two stuffed grocery bags. On one knee petting the dog, Rick watched her struggle to close the door.
“Did you get a chance to workout this morning?” Rick asked her.
“No.” She closed the door with her foot and walked to the small dining table to set the grocery bag down.
“You said you’d start and so far you haven’t.”
“Well, I’ve been busy with work.”
Rick got up and walked to the living room. The small duplex was filled with the sound of the dog’s chewing. Rick sat on the couch and turned the TV on. He tapped the empty couch next to him and called the dog over.
“What are you making for dinner?” He asked Annabel.
She shut the bathroom door behind her. Rick increased the volume on the TV and scratched the dog’s back.
“Who’s a good boy?”
The dog barked and hung its mouth open letting the drool drip onto the couch.
Juan Renteria is the youngest of six brothers and sisters. He’s a proud uncle. He graduated from James Lick High school, and is currently an English Major at San Jose State.
The Bolt Magazine 