Life is like a Hallmark movie

Fresh country air

Saturday. November 7th, 2020.

Castiel woke early the next morning. As soon as he opened his eyes he felt the dog's head lift from his leg. She slept by him all night again, only moving when he rolled over. He sat up and ruffled her ears.

"Good morning, Little Missy." He smiled at her as she wagged her tail wildly. "Are you hungry?"

She barked and looked towards the bedroom door.

"OK, let's go get some breakfast!" He turned to the edge of the bed, stretching as he stood up. He did a Sun Salutation and few other quick stretches as his little companion bounced around him, excited for food.

As Castiel headed down the stairs to the kitchen, he stopped by to peek in on Claire, then Jack, on the way. The dog kept pace just a heel step behind and to the side of him. Castiel had never really been a dog person, and had only had one dog when he and his brothers were very young, so he did not have much experience or knowledge, but one thing for sure, this girl was extremely well-trained, and of good temperament. He was sure that if she still had a family, they must be besides themselves with worry.

He had tried to get home early enough yesterday to pick her up and bring her to the vet to check for a chip, but was later than he wanted to be leaving the clinic. He checked the vet's Saturday office hours and found the mornings were reserved for farm calls, surgeries and emergencies. They could fit him in for the chip reading later that morning closer to noon. The office had three veterinarians. Castiel snorted thinking about a town that had three vets, and no doctors for the humans.

He opened the door for Little Missy, as he'd decided to call her until he found out otherwise, to run out and do her business. He left the door open wondering if she'd just run off or come back in. He really wanted to find her home if she still had one, but he was aware that people often came to the country to dump unwanted pets. He couldn't imagine doing that to such a sweet dog, but he'd seen the works of too many bad people while working in the trauma center of two major cities. Sometimes humans weren't very humane.

He turned to the kitchen and got out the eggs, fresh spinach, cheese, butter, an orange, some grapes, some fresh shaved deli ham and the fresh baked bread he loved. He didn't usually drink coffee with his breakfast, except on the weekend mornings. After he started his coffee, he grabbed his medium sized frying pan and put butter in the pan to heat. He broke several eggs in a mixing bowl, poured in a small amount of milk, scrambled it to a nice froth and poured it into the hot pan. He pinched several fingers full of shaved ham and tossed them in with the eggs. He quickly stirred the ham and eggs, before tossing in a handful of fresh spinach and finally, a handful of cheese. He gave it all one last stir before dumping the entire contents on a platter and putting a pot lid on top.

He placed the pan in the sink, and quickly put away the ingredients as he popped his bread in the toaster. He could hear footsteps and loud muffled giggling and screams from upstairs, telling him the kids were awake. He made his coffee, grabbed the organic fresh fruit spread he bought at a roadside stand, plated his eggs, toast, grapes and orange, and was about to sit for his breakfast when he saw Little Missy watching him intently. She licked her lips as he looked at her.

"Hello, young lady. I didn't even notice your return." Castiel placed his breakfast on the table, grabbed a bowl and scooped some of the breakfast eggs into the dog's bowl. He refreshed her water bowl, washed his hands and sat to eat.

He wasn't sure if dogs ate spinach, or any vegetables or plant products for that matter, but Little Missy went to town gobbling it down. He suspected the ham and eggs pulled her in and the spinach was just an unfortunate flavor she had to endure to finish the meal when he saw that she finished it all, but there were pieces of spinach left by the wayside.