A/N: Hey guys, I know some of you don't like the short little chapters like the one before this, but they're important and I wouldn't include them in the storyline if I didn't think I needed them. So chill out.
Brucely
My Man has been gone for a while.
For a long time, it was my Woman who was gone, but then she came back. My Man had been sad, but I think he had known she was coming back, and when she had, my Man and my Woman were happy again, like we were before she left.
This time, I don't think my Woman knows that he's going to come back. He always comes back. My Man was the one who found me in the wet and brought me home. It's the least I can do to wait for him.
But he's been gone an awfully long time, and my Woman is sadder than he ever was when she was gone. I think she thinks it's too quiet, because some days she turns on the loud picture box and just lets it play until she sleeps. She leaves sometimes like they've always done before, coming back smelling like other people and sweat and sometimes blood, which makes me worried, but it's usually not hers. Instead of smiling when she came back, like they used to, her eyes are red and she just lays down. I sleep with her on the couch, because she won't sleep in their bed.
I can understand that. It smells a lot like him, so I avoid it, too.
Where is he? He's never been gone this long before. My Woman is getting worse; she's barely eating, and now she's sick. She's spent a long time in the bathroom.
A key turns the lock, but it's not my Man who walks in – it's his friend, who always rubs my ears and gives me treats. He's probably here for my Woman, though, so I take him to the bathroom. He stands in the doorway, looking at something my Woman's holding, before falling down next to her and hugging her. She starts to cry, so I go and lean into her, too.
When my Man's gone, it's my job to keep my Woman happy. Even though I haven't been doing such a good job lately, I've been trying, and I'll do better.
My Man's been gone an awfully long time. He needs to come home.