The gray, overcast, and snow-less Christmas morning had left me listless, especially after two or three virtually identical days preceding it. The gray seemed to get to Lola the Pup, who lolled nearby on the day bed watching me as I half-heartedly worked my arms and shoulders with the thick exercise bands.
Mont invited me to accompany him to his niece’s home for their traditional Christmas Day Chinese feast. While I was gratified to be invited, he had assumed incorrectly that I had no holiday plans.
Lola and I were headed to Robyn’s house in the early afternoon. Her daughter was working at the hospital, and her granddaughter Sara was spending the first part of her holiday with her other grandmother before seeing her boyfriend and his family. Lola and I would have to pass for today’s entertainment.
We arrive no sooner than Robyn presents Lola with a gift-wrapped, chicken-flavored rawhide bone. In our four years together, I have never given my dog such a bone, due to possible associated health hazards for the animal. Lola reacts excitedly, spinning, bounding, making small leaps, in a word, entertaining. If her tail had been the needle of a Geiger counter, she might have been signaling the discovery of the proverbial mother lode.
I surrender. Like the character of Micheal Corleone in The Godfather, holding up one finger for emphasis, I sternly announce, “This one time….” Lola gently picks up the piece of rawhide and saunters triumphantly outside to locate a spot where no one can take it from her.
Throughout the afternoon Lola will momentarily put down her rawhide bone if she spies an opportunity to snag a tasty morsel of human food. Robyn’s daughter accommodates Lola, who not only licks clean the bottom of Jill’s yogurt cup but gets a small sample of tuna fish in the bargain. For Lola, this might be her best Christmas ever!
***
In the comfort of her home, Robyn is whirlwind in constant motion. She barely sits to exchange gifts, bestow tender kisses, and nuzzles.
I’m content to loll on the couch, happily dozing, or half-watching a smattering of football and professional basketball games and pieces of a mindless new Netflix series called “Black Doves.” Meanwhile, among other activities, Robyn finishes preparing a delicious holiday dinner consisting of sirloin roast, “twice baked” potatoes, broccoli, salad, hot coffee, and dessert.
By dinner time, Jill had gone to work at the hospital. Now, it’s just the three of us — two people, one pup. Far better than I deserve. A happy holiday indeed.
