"Arf!"
That would be the high pitched excitement of Kaiser. You know when you get a dog really excited and then stop moving and they play along for a couple Seconds but then bark and walk in a little circle right back to you? That's exactly how Kaiser acts when I come in.
He is the most beautiful husky I have laid eyes on! A little on the thin side but so energetic! He lights up my entire day.
"Hey Kaiser, buddy! I'm so happy to see you! Yes I am!"
I tried to say it in a cutesy way, but my voice cracked.
"Its time for a walk! Are you excited?!"
I unlocked his cage and took a step back to kneel down and give him a chance to say his wet sloppy hellos.
"Yeah, I knew you would be! Go get your leash, boy!"
Nathan has been training all of the animals so that we wouldn't have to put them down after a certain period of time.
He has given them so much worth and I couldn't appreciate it more! Imagining my life without Kaiser seems impossible.
Contrary, I do hope he finds a home. A shelter is no place for a dog with so much connection to offer.
Upon him returning with his leash, I latched it on and headed out the door.
"Nathan! I'm heading out with Kaiser! Wish him luck! Be back soon!"
I shouted and closed the door behind me.
Letting Kaiser guide the way as usual, he sniffed his way through the busy streets to an ally blocked off by a gate.
"Kaiser, we can't go in there. You might find it impressive that in addition to our apposable thumb advantage, we are also literate. And that sign there, happens to say, 'NO TRESPASSING.' "
I giggled and tugged on his leash to lead him back to the shelter.
He stuck his nose in the gate and started to whimper.
"What's up, boy?" I knelt beside him as he scratched at the gate for a moment. Then he let out a hard huff and then turned away as if he never noticed anything.
*What a strange attention span you have, Kaiser.* I giggled to myself and let my day proceed.
* * * * *
"Nathan! We're back!" I hollered.
"Well hey pals! How was the walk today?"
He flashed a big smile as he took the leash from my hands and directed Kaiser to his cage.
"It was nothing short of expectation. Different path most days! Although, we didn't seem to have any luck with match making today."
He poked a few fingers into Kaiser cage.
"Well we will just have to try harder tomorrow now won't we, boy?"
Redirecting his attention from the animals, he assisted me to the food pantry.
What was cool about our cages is they were embedded in the walls with a doggie door in the back of their cage to guide them to a rather small play area where they could all play together. On the outside was a metal door for us to pour their food into was seemed like a miniature trough. Water is administered by hand.
As dusk began to settle, I finished excersising the animals and gave Nathan my shift notice. As much as I enjoy the company of my furry friends, I wanted to get home and start putting my next step together:college.
With my father always traveling on business, my mother always doing who knows what, and Toby hanging out with friends all of the time, I really didn't have much to do. Nothing was provoking my thoughts anymore. I needed to be refreshed; to be back in a learning environment.
I began my tread home and anticipated safety measures. I don't mean to be stereotypical but walking at night gives me the chills.
I can't wait for more to happen in my life. Where are all of the people? ...Now that I think of it, why haven't I talked to any of my friends? I need to make a few calls!
I pull my phone out of my pocket and start flipping through my contacts waiting for a name to grab my full attention. I don't really know who specifically I want to call so I'll just see if anyone sounds interesting.
Rick...no
Kayla...nah
Serenity...eh
Oh! How about you!
I decided to call my friend Elena. She is the closest friend I have but we haven't spoke in so long! I remember in middle school when we would take her CD player into her front yard, tie up our shirts half way, and dance all crazy to whatever came on! Those were good times.
*Riiiiiiiing. Riiiiing.*
*click*
E: "Hello?"
"Hey Elena! It's Nevaeh!"
E: "WHOA! Nevaeh?! It's been too long! Howe you been?!"
"Super bored! I actually got a job at an animal shelter so that is always soothing, but I haven't done anything relatively exciting.Haha. How about you???"
E: "I've been really well! I've been taking some classes in Forensics and I'm beginning to think it's not quite for me but I will still finish out my year!"
"That sounds wonderful! Do you know what you will register for next year?"
E: "No, I might just take next year off until I find a new interest!"
"Well hey, you could come visit me? I'm not in school yet but I want to so maybe we can have some adventures for a year and go to college together?"
E: "Oh that sounds delightful! We will need more stories to tell when we are each others maids of honor one day!"
I giggled.
"That's a promise! But let's take it slow on wedding plans for now!" I lauged.
Hearing her laugh on the other end was so warm. I felt like I could smile all night long after I hang up the phone. I've missed her soooo much!
"Alright well I'm about to walk through my front door and head to bed. It was so great to talk to you again! Call me tomorrow?"
E: "yeah! Thanks for calling! I will call you around 2.:)"
"Alright, talk to you then! Bye."
*click*
As I took my phone away from my ear and looked at my phone, I took a few moments to admire her contact photo. It was a picture of her in 5th grade with a feather in her ear that we made together in art class. If I remember right, we used a Bobby pin as the middle piece of the feather, which she used to clean wax out her ear many times. I laughed to myself in the memories we had together.
I made my way up the spiral staircase. Stepping into my room gave me this rush of excitement as I ran to my cherry oak haven and jumped up on the bed. The drapes brushed against my face as I broke through and curled up into my blankets. With the biggest smile on my face, I hid myself under the covers and let my happiness drift me into my dreams.
A few hours into my slumber, I was awoke by my phone ringing. Wiping the crusts from my eyes, I turned over to my night stand. I squinted to see who it was but the brightness of my phone caught me by surprise and I dropped my phone.
The vibrations made it easy to find.
I picked my phone back up and answered it.
"Hello?" I said rather scratchy.
"Hey sleepy head!"
"Elena?"
"The one and only!"
"Why did you call me?" I giggled as I flopped back onto my pillow.
"I said I would call you at 2...."
I put the phone on my chest as I busted out laughing. After a few seconds I recollected myself and brought my phone back up to my ear.
"I thought you meant 2 PM!" I laughed again.
"You implied wrong!
We spent the next two hours catching up and having some laughs.
The mischievous (i.e. Elena) and the unsuspecting (i.e. me). That's how our friendship seemed to work. She was always up to some sort of surprise and I was always the one surprised!
I've missed this. This feeling of tranquility. Of not having to worry and just let things happen.
Looking back at the clock, it was 4:17am. I set the alarm on my phone to wake up again at 8:30 and dozed off again.
The best. Sleep. Ive. Ever. Had.