The banana had a soft spot. One look at the outside peel gave it away. So Frodo received that part of the fruit, often the sweetest, as Ralph sliced the rest onto his Cheerios. And how about the blueberries? Weren’t some a little mushy? Frodo, drooling, would get those, too, and a few more thrown into his dog food bowl for good measure. Soon, Ralph would walk the Labrador retriever around the cloud-covered neighborhood, perhaps for three blocks. That Sunday, Frodo urinated from tree-to-tree. An impressive stream – clearly superior to Ralph’s. And the others? The other chilled, sour dog owners, tethered to their Chihuahuas, terriers, pitbull mixes, and rescue animals? Like Ralph, each held the short end of the leash.
David Sydney is a physician. He writes fiction both in and outside the EHR (Electronic Health Record).