I turned the corner, and there she was… sitting in a leaf pile at the end of her drive on McKinley Ave.
Mollie and I were out for some exercise… Mollie being our Keeshond. Sandy had given strict instructions to Mollie to take me for a walk… “keep him out for 30 minutes Mollie and then bring him back home.”
“Can I pee on any tree of my choosing?” I ask. I had a Grandmother, Mother, Sister, Wife & 2 Daughters… oh yes, and let’s not forget Mollie. And the way I figure it, the only advantage I have on the women is that I can pee anywhere I want.
Well… Mollie pretty much goes where she wants to, too. I think that’s why we like taking walks together.
Mollie saw her sitting in the leaf pile, too. And she immediately began to wag her tail in excitement… “oh! someone my size! at ground level”… is probably what Mollie had on her mind. And she pulled me over for a sniff, a wag and maybe a lick and a hop & a spin or two.
I had seen Annie in the neighborhood before; but this was going to be our first formal meeting.
She was wearing a navy fleece fuzzy vest over a lilac coloured sweater, she had a deep hunter green beret that covered most of her shoulder length auburn hair.
When we approached, she looked up and her dark eyes lit… she smiled, there was a slight gap in her two front teeth… (when she gets older that slight gap will drive guys nuts.)
Mollie sees the smile and immediately launches into a major wag… not merely the tail; but the whole hind quarter swings into action, a quick spin in the leaves, a hop and a quick bark. Annie laughs, and then Mollie gives her cheek a lick, and another.
Dogs love tears. Not the reason for the tears… just the tears themselves. I suspect that Annie had just had a bit of cry. It wasn’t cold enough for her eyes to simply tear. No, Mollie was drawn to a tear of sadness and hurt.
Now Annie is giggling under Mollie’s affectionate assault. I try to settle my Keeshond down; but she spins and hops… happy for the leaves and new friend. A couple more barks to emphasize her general good spirit… Annie tumbles back into the leaf pile, and Mollie pursues with more kisses, which of course brings on more giggles.
Mollie spins and hops in the pile, barks and throws a couple of back kicks in for good measure.
“Settle down Martha! I don’t think anyone is going to appreciate your efforts to scatter the pile of leaves into the street!”
“Martha? Is that her name?” Annie asks.
“Well… we call her Mollie; but when she misbehaves then it’s Miss Martha.”
“My name is Annie; and when I misbehave it’s ‘Miss Anne of Green Gables’. You have such a great dog! And look! It looks like she is wearing glasses!”
“Why, yes… her markings make it look she’s wearing specs.”
“What kind of dog is she?”
“A Keeshond. It’s a Dutch breed. They were used as companion dogs on canal barges.”
“She certainly has a fluffy coat.”
“She loves the cold weather… and she loves to play in the snow. Don’t you Lady Grey?”
“Lady Grey?”
“When she is acting like a ‘Princess’ I like to call her The Lady Grey.”
This brought out a new smile from Annie who called Mollie to her. “She looks like a grey bear! A smiling grey bear!” Mollie needed no extra encouragement… there was a steady wag to her tail with her front feet doing a dance in the leaves… more licks and kisses which in turned produced some giggles. “She sure likes to kiss alot!”
“Mollie is a happy dog… and Annie, it’s the strangest thing when I’m sad she seems to know it. I maybe sitting in my chair, thinking about things… thinking about something I may have said or did that may have hurt someone’s feelings… and it makes me sad. Maybe someone said or did something to hurt my feelings, and of course that makes me sad, too… Well, sure enough… there will be Mollie at my side, putting her nose under my hand to get my attention… she’ll give me a wag and quick kiss. It’s her way of saying ‘it’s alright… things will work out.'”
Mollie had settled some… pehaps distracted by a smell, she had a sniff around the pile…
“And I’ll tell you something Annie… Mollie is always right… things just seem to work out. And it’s impossible for me to be sad for long when I’ve had a wag and kiss from Mollie.”
“Well, Annie… it’s a pleasure making your acquaintance. I hope that Mollie and I get to see you soon… we live just over on Alston and we pass by here every now and then. Sometimes it’s over to Forrest… it’s Mollie’s call, I’m just along for the exercise.”
I waved goodbye. I decided not to tell her that I am also out to take a whiz on the Cameron’s maxi Rhododendron. I call back to her, “that’s a great looking beret Annie! You wear it well.”
She waved back, smiled her pretty smile…. and in an instant it was gone. She assembled her leaf blanket around her, and cast her eyes downward… perhaps to return to her sadness.
She remained still… a compostion in vulnerability and delicacy. Then she rebounded, perhaps a hurdle crossed, and she looked up an flashed that great gapped tooth smile and waved again.
“You have a very pretty smile, Annie! Don’t forget where you put it…”