July 15th 1992
This last weekend, Dad went on a weekend trip with his friend. It was some type of reunion he couldn't stop talking about. He asked me to watch over Eddie while he was gone. With Maris' allergies and low tolerance for any small animal behavior, it meant I was to stay the weekend over at my father's apartment. Eddie watched me scour and mop the kitchen, bleach the bathroom, vacuum the apartment and reorganize the kitchen cupboards according to dish size and probability of usage. I took the little fellow on walks, we ate our meals together, and I scratched his tummy once. He is a very good listener. He watched me with great anticipation throughout the afternoon as I explained the complexities of my relationship with Maris to him. Come to think of it, he is the only listener who survived this conversation without having to hold back a snicker or pretend to cough with a half laugh. I thanked Eddie by giving him a hug… and then marched into the bathroom to wash my hands and face.