“Michael, it’s time. Id recommend you see a doctor. Best have your heart checked.”
“And whats wrong with my heart?”
“I get the sense you haven’t got one at all!”
Chuck could never fathom why the door to the block of flats, through which theyd come and gone so many times after their walks, was now locked. He sat before the battered brown door, tail curled beneath him.
“Perhaps Ive got it mistaken?” he wondered. “No,” he scolded himself with certainty. The scents told him plainlyyes, this was the one.
“I just need to wait a bit longer, my master will remember hed driven me out somewhere in the car and left me in the woods for a laugh. Its just a game! Well, Ive found my way home, so here Ill stay till he remembers!”
The snow began to fall thickly. Chucks paws ached with the chill, his small body trembling despite his shaggy coat.
“Better not think about the hunger. Theyll spot me soon, rejoice when they do, and toss me a great big juicy bone”
Shivering, the little dog nosed at the snowbank and ate mouthfuls of snow. It melted on his tongue, easing his thirst a little, but the cold seemed to bite even deeper.
“Soon, Ill be let inside, snuggle up by the stove. Bone first, then a bowl of broth. After that, perhaps a grumble at all of themthough I know its just training, a game for my sake.”
“Ive been searching these streets, trying to find our building for several nights. Last night, I squeezed through an open door just for warmth. Morning came with the caretakers boot nudging my side. I whined, powerless to snap back.”
“Strange, these people. When Im with master on the lead, they nod and smile at us on the street. Alone, their eyes turned cold, even hateful, and that boot My side still aches.”
Chuck stared and waited, unmoving, for hours. No one came or went. At last, he whimpered softly, already dreaming of warmth and a full belly.
“Just a bit longer. Thats all.”
The blizzard grew fierce. His legs numb now, Chuck curled tightly and slowly drifted from awareness. Hed done his duty, tried his bestit had been hard, but hed found the right door. “Good lad,” he thought. “Time to sleep”
Victor Middleton lived alone in his flat. His daily affairs were always the same: watch a bit of telly, brew a pot of tea, watch again, more tea, a nap, and yet more tea.
There was nothing else needing doing. In truth, for the last decade, this had been his routine. “Once upon a time,” he mused, “life was different.”
Hed once been a train driver, ferrying people from the edge of town to the bustling heart of London. He was part of the citys lifeblood, essential, valued.
“Never mind,” he reassured himself, “springs round the bend. Ill set seedlings soon, and the allotment wont tend itself. Almost made it through another winter.”
On his way to brew another cup, he found the tea caddy empty. The box was there, but not a pinch of tea left.
“Bother it all, out of tea. Ill have to go to the shop,” he thought, almost cheerfully. He swiftly bundled into his coat and stepped into the corridor.
The landing light had gone againburnt out, or stolen, he couldnt tell. “Must change it when I get back,” he reminded himself.
Throwing open the front door and taking a stride forward, Victor nearly stumbled over something buried in a drift of snow.
“For heavens sake!” he muttered. It was a dog, near invisible under the snow. The snow on its back hadnt melted.
“Chuck!” Victor recognised the neighbours terrier straight away.
“Chuck, old lad, what in Gods name happened to you?” He knelt, hastily brushing off the snow. The dog didnt stir. Victor grabbed his mobile and tried ringing Chucks ownersno answer. He rang another neighbour. This time, someone picked up.
“Its your neighbourdo you know where number Sixty-Fours gone? Their dog’s nearly frozen out here!”
“Theyve moved out,” came the reply. “Heard they separated. The flats for sale now.”
“Good Lord. Thanks all the same.”
Victor shrugged off his winter coat and bundled it around the dog. He carefully scooped Chuck up and carried him inside, laying him beside the radiator.
“Come on, Chuck, breathe!”
Rushing to the nearest door, he knocked. Nina, his kind neighbour, answered.
“Victor, whats the matter?”
“Nina, please, ring for the nearest vet and get us a cab, would you?”
“Hello, Helen?its your neighbour, Victor Middleton. Nina gave me your number.”
“Oh, yes, Victor, what is it?”
“Its about Chuck.”
“You want Michaelthat dog was always his idea, never wanted the silly thing myself.”
“Were at the vets”
“Victor, he couldnt even manage to keep us fed; now look, he buys a dog.”
“Years Ive kept the family goingasked him to sort the dog, couldnt even do that! Good day!”
He rang Michael at last. “Michael, its Victor, your old neighbour. Chucks come home!”
“You must be confused, our Chuck got lost in the woods.”
“Im certain its him!”
“Cant be.”
“Well this isnt how these creatures should be treated.”
“I dont follow?”
“You do. Im glad such neighbours are behind me now.”
A few months on, Chuck had settled into his new home. The tips of his ears were gone, and two of his paws still ached in cold weather, but it was bearable.
Chuck now knew it hadnt been a game at allor rather, it was a game played by adults, with rules he couldnt fathom, a game in which hed been meant to simply give up. Only for real.
But he knew he had a new master now. Three daily walks. The old man wasnt young, and Chuck saw to it that he got some exercise while out, racing up and down the paths.
“Funny folk, humans,” Chuck mused. “Those others smiled, yet nearly had me dead. This one grumbles at every step, but hes kind and caring when it matters. A biter for the last lot, a companion for this one!”
One day, Michael himself came knocking.
“Victor, its me, Michael. Ive moved in with someone elseshes got a child, and the girl wants a dog. Id like to take Chuck back, if you dont mind. Sorry about all of this. What do I owe you for the vet?”
“I dont understand you, Michael.”
“Its just I didnt have much, I”
“Its not about what you earn Chuck got lost in the woods.”
“Victor, hes right there beside you.”
“Thats Norris, not Chuck. Chuck is gone.”
“Chuck, come!”
But the dog stayed on his blanket, showing his teeth and nothing more.
“Michael, truly, its time. Go see the doctor, maybe have your heart looked at.”
“And whats wrong with my heart?”
“Looks to me as though you havent got one!”
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