“Get out of here Tom! Why don’t you just get out of here!
And take that dog with you. Take him for a walk—a long walk. You need it! You both are getting a little pudgy. The girls are coming over and I need some quiet!”
“The girls are coming over! The girls are always coming over. The girls are coming for bridge. The girls are coming for tea. The girls are a gaggle of geese, as far as I can see!”
I got the leash out of the closet and called the dog.
“ Come on Piggy, Let’s get out of here. We can wander over to the park and watch the kids at the playground.”
“Maybe I can go get a haircut. I don’t like these curly locks. I wonder how she’d like it if I got a crew cut. How about that Piggy?”
“Would you like a crew cut too? That would really show her wouldn’t it!”
We wandered over to the playground and watched the toddlers sliding down the slide into the mud. It looked like fun. Not something we could do though. We’re too old. I stuck my hands into my jeans pocket and watched enviously. A light drizzle made the day colder and definitely damper.
“No Piggy! No Piggy! Get down! Mr. Pie’ger’ come back here right now!
“No! No! Stop rolling in the mud! Clara gets angry when I get dirty! And you’ve torn my shirt.”
Not that that’s much of a loss! I hate plaid shirts. Cripes sake my grandfather wore plaid shirts. Now-a days real men don’t wear plaid! “
The rain started falling harder. I was definitely wet now and so was Mr. Pie’ger.
“Maybe I’ll just tie you up here and go into the bookstore. No one would ever know. I could spend time and read some magazines. You wouldn’t care would you Piggy? Good Dog!
I could see the girls leave the apartment building so I figured it was finally safe.
“I guess we can go home now. We can sneak in with our shoes off and without Clara noticing the shirt. I’ll even give you a bath. No one will ever know.”
“For Cripes sake doesn’t she understand! I’m only five years old!
