Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Turning back toward home at the Henderson’s I see Kathleen bent over a hole filling it with dirt and my thoughts flow madly from the vulgar part of my mind about hole filling. I momentarily wonder if her husband is home but think better of it and just keep going. She looks back at me and smiles knowing full well what I’m thinking. Maybe after I mow the lawn I’ll stop by and chat her up, if the garage is still empty. That’s usually the sign she wants some attention. Aha! I remember now, that’s why she looked to the garage earlier.

Coming up the drive I see that my niece and the neighbor kid have split and the front door is wide open. That can mean only one thing, Vladimir got loose again. As if in response to my psychic summons he comes tearing ass across the street from Jack’s yard chased by my niece. He’s a born runner, that Russian wolfhound, she’ll never catch him. I stop and watch as he zigs and zags thinking it all just a game, slowing down to let her get close and then running like the wind when she reaches for him. Nope, she’s never gonna catch him.

I make my way up the drive, back into the garage and just when I’m about to pour the fuel into the tank on the rider Vladimir flies through the door, and slides to a halt right next to me, his nails scraping the cement of the floor in his braking maneuver. I reach over and pat him on the head. I can tell he isn’t even winded yet and wants to play some more but my niece obviously gave up the chase. He nudges me with his snout and I swear he smiles before he bolts out to the back yard.

Ah what the hell, I’ll mow the lawn another day. I run out into the yard after him forgetting about the fuel, Kathleen, Jack and the world. For a few moments I pretend to just be a boy with a dog. I never had a dog when I was a kid.