Blinded by the Light...

He was trying to sleep in but it was too bright. The light kept flashing in his face. He opened his eye just a crack and saw her. She was standing by the window very slowly opening the blinds. She saw him looking at her and her face broke open in to a wide grin. "Oh! You're awake!"

"Seriously?"

She gave him her best cheesy grin and bounded over to the bed jumping on the mattress next to him. "Would you believe I was closing the blinds?"

"No."

"Would you believe I was just standing next to the window minding my own business?"

"No."

"Would you believe I have been awake for HOURS waiting for you to wake up and couldn't take it anymore?"

"Hours?"

"Well it seemed like hours. Let's go with hours for sure."

He laughed, "Okay, hours."

"If we get cleaned up and then go to breakfast we will be ready right when they open."

"When who opens?"

"You know who!"

"Oh, were you planning on doing that today? I thought maybe we would..." WHAP! The pillow hit his face before he could finish. "Oh really? Is that how we are going to play this?"

He sat up and grabbed a pillow of his own and the fight was on. The pillow fight turned in to a wrestling match which then turned in to ... well they were a little later getting out of bed than her original plan. 

.......

"That one! Oh can we see that one?"

The shelter attendant smiled and handed her the smallest puppy in the pen. The attendant knew that they were going home with a dog today. This was no "just looking" trip. So she would gladly hand them puppies for as long as it took.

"Hey, hon?"

She turned around still snuggling the little dog. "Yeah?"

"How about this guy?"

She handed the puppy back to the shelter worker and walked over to the kennel he was standing near. Inside was the goofiest looking dog she had ever seen. One ear up, one flopped over, a huge black spot on his face that covered one ear and eye and that was sort of in the shape of a certain Disney character. The dog was sitting quietly watching them both. Tail wagging and, she would swear this was true in any court of law, a huge grin on its face. 

"He's a year old, so not technically a puppy, but it says he's already house trained so that would be nice."

She looked at the dog sitting patiently and back at her husband. "You already love him don't you?"

"I'm pretty sure his name is Mickey."

She laughed and looked back one last time at the pen of little fuzz balls, oh well, maybe their next dog would be a puppy. "Wasn't Mickey your dog when you were growing up? Yes, I'm pretty sure that means you already love him." She caught the shelter worker's attention, "Can we take him out for a visit?"

........

They were in the park with Mickey playing fetch. He was the best at fetch. They were both pretty sure he played because he thought they loved it. He would sit and wait for the ball to be thrown, watching it sail through the sky and then as it started on its downward arc he would take off at full speed always getting there just in time to catch it out of the air. He was amazing! They had been so lucky to get this dog. They had been so lucky in so many things really.

Mickey came back with the ball and dropped it in his lap. "How about some lunch now?" He reached out and ruffled Mickey's ears then turned to unpack the picnic basket. She was sitting on the edge of the blanket watching him. "A man and his dog."

He smiled. "A man and his family."

She shifted the baby she was feeding to her other breast and sighed, "It's a beautiful day. It couldn't get any better."

He tilted his head to the sun and smiled. The light flashing in his face. 

......

They tried again. Prying open first one eye and then the other. The pen size flash light blinking in his eyes. "Pupils are nonreactive. Unable to revive heart or lung function. Time of death... 8:09 PM." The doctor stepped away from the hospital bed. "Have we found any next of kin information?"

One of the medical assistants stepped forward, "His wife died in child birth just last year and the baby didn't make it. He was all alone."