"Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we are loved and can love."
- Marvin J. Ashton
She knew that he would be rather closed off upon his return from the vet, but even then had not expected to see how high his barriers had risen. Still though, given his bubbly personality, it was likely only a temporary situation.
He had made clear how much he loathed having to let a human observe and poke and prod him, but Lady, ignoring his proclamation: "Ain't nothing wrong with me," would have none of it. Nor would Jim Dear and Darling, who had both very much shuffled him into an old towel and towed him off against his will. Tramp was rewarded with a small treat for actually having gone through with the whole process, while everyone else was awarded with sour looks from the dog all day long. Jim Dear in particular seemed to take the brunt of his attitude, not being allowed to approach the small little fortress they had assembled, without receiving a few warning growls.
Darling knew it best to give the mutt time to recover, spending much of her afternoon on the patio with a sleepy Junior. A book, warm cup of tea and soft slice of cake complimented her comfortable state.
In the past, Lady might have preferred to spend most of her time with Jim Dear as he sat by the fireplace, or Darling as she sang and knitted the time away. Other days she would have sought out Jock and Trusty to speak of mundane things. But with a new guest in the house and all four of her friends and family busy, it only made sense to instead seek the company of The Tramp.
Luckily, she was able to crawl onto the pillows and blankets where he resided, without eliciting any protest. In fact, he accepted her with a warm nuzzle and motioned for her to make herself comfortable.
"I'm actually not too tired Pidge'."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, shifting closer to her. "All that fellow did was look into my eyes, ears and mouth. Said I had the best looking teeth of any mutt he's ever seen."
"I told you that all would go well."
"All was going well, until he poked me with a tiny tooth of his own, it hurt like hell fire," Tramp shuddered from the thought, but ultimately settled back down. "Say, you've probably been to the vet plenty of times, they ever poke you before?"
Lady regarded him with a careful glance, "Once. When I was much younger. Although I can't quite place whether it hurt or not. You said he looked into your eyes and ears?"
"Yup. With a tiny light and all."
"Funny, once he looked into my mouth. I believe that was the time I fell ill from the strange foods Jim Dear and Darling used to feed me."
Silence settled between their warm bodies for several moments, before Tramp made his mind known, "You've got very strange owners, you know that Pidge'?"
"How so?"
"Well, aside from the fact that they use to stuff you full with coffee and donuts," he chuckled at his own joke, "what other well-off folk from Snob Avenue do you know that would take in a dirty, grimy, flea covered animal like myself?"
Lady didn't like at all the words he used to describe himself, they were far off from the way she had always thought he viewed himself. She hesitated in her answer, not wanting to say anything that could further ruin his self esteem,"Jim Dear and Darling are two lovely people."
"Uh huh."
"And they would go above and beyond in helping anyone whoever found themselves in trouble."
"Right."
She swallowed thickly, sensing that she was not quite getting her point across, "And there was never any chance, not even a one in one million chance that they would ever have left you to fend for yourself in the pound after they discovered what you had done for Junior."
Silence. Again.
It was odd really, the careful backdrop of their gentle breathing so harshly offset by the tension that seemed to mysteriously be building in the air. In the moment, she noticed for the first time that he smelled like chamomile, in particular the one that could be found in the center of the park. It was a scent that always made her-
"It's a darn good thing that we ran into each other then, isn't it Pidge'?"
Lady sighed in relief, feeling any tension immediately melt away, "Yes. Yes it is."
She nuzzled him again, relishing at the contact as he leaned into her touch.
"Wonder where I would have gone if not for these two owners of yours'. Jim Dear and Darling. Or if not for those two friends of yours'. Jock and Trusty," he laid his head between both paws. "Ah well, no matter in thinking about the past, I've only the future to look ahead to."
"And what lies in your future?" Lady asked with a small smile.
"Hmm, that's a good question. Maybe once your two owners decide I'm fit enough, I'll head back out to the railroad."
"The railroad?"
"But then again, I was getting tired of that place," Tramp shut his eyes as if to think. "The bins behind Joe and Tony's place then?" he suggested to himself.
"Joe and Tony's place?"
"Nah," he quickly shook his head. "I love them, they love me, but I wouldn't want to be a burden." His eyes snapped open and as he glanced over to Lady, a deliberately dry chuckle escaped his lips. "Quite frankly Pigeon, I'm not too sure what lies in my future. Maybe I will just head out beyond those distant hills anyway, not much more waiting for me here unless you want to count those rascals in the pound drumming up my ears."
"Beyond those distant hills?"
Lady cleared her throat to snap herself out of her thoughts and then spoke quickly, "Well, there'll be plenty of time to figure that out, in the meantime you have the comfort of home right here. You are comfortable aren't you?"
"Course I'm comfortable Pidge'. And with you here I'm just about the most comfortable guest in the whole wide world."
"Guest..."
Hey, thanks for reading!
This was just a little idea I had last year and it took that year to actually build up the courage to write it.
Sorry for the relatively short length, this being the setup, I have plans for future chapters to be longer. Also, apologies if there are any glaring technical issues, as I posted this from mobile.
Until next time! -