My Family

Hi Indie Inkers! This week my challenge came from Amy who blogs over at: Transplanted Thoughts  - Amy's prompt for me was: "Please include in your story: a church, the Grand Canyon, a broken phonograph, a man named Greg and a dog."

I played around a little with that list because I'm a bit mischievous. I hope she doesn't mind ...

I challenged Mr Webb; he weaved something beautiful for us to read at: Innocents and Accidents, Hints and Allegations.

I had to resist the need to scratch an itch. I'd been indoors for a while and none of the windows were open. Heat hit my body like an army of ants defending their territory.

There wasn't much to do apart from sit and listen to the world outside, the world I wasn't inviting myself to just yet. I could hear from where I was, that the ceremony nearby was coming to an end and I’d be the centre of attention again, if only for a little while.

I blinked the sunlight out of my eyes and moved over to a window shadowed by a nearby tree overlooking a lavish, well groomed garden. Canopies had been erected in the large open area bordered by complex arrangements of flower beds boasting all the colours of the rainbow. I liked flower beds, they felt welcoming, especially on a beautiful day like this; made special by what was currently taking place.

Across and beyond the garden stood a very old and inviting building; with tall black doors closing off its contents, out of respect.  The only clue to what went on in there was conveyed to me as I panned my eyes towards the clock underneath a large golden bell. The stone work on the outside reminded me of a periodical I'd seen once on TV. The narrator used words like rustic and unique, I couldn't help dwell on the imagery.

The big and little hands of the clock met each other on the number 3 and at the same time the bell tolled sweetly. The large doors burst open as the happy couple trotted out, faces glowing, eyes; radiating love with every glance at each other. Totally at ease in each other’s company they were followed by a large crowd throwing rose petals, rice, and confetti after them. The beautiful sound of the bell seemed to mingle with the cheers, the joyful crying, the spray of confetti. It was a sight immortalised in an unforgettable moment.

I lost count of all the happy faces, all the wishes of congratulations, all the tears of joy.

“He looks happy over there doesn’t he?” Tom asked, smiling and pointing at me with one hand, shielding Susie with the other from random pieces of wedding paraphernalia.

The crowd gently surged at them, happy for such a union on such a lovely day.

Susie smiled, following Tom’s eyes towards where I was standing, excited to see them looking so happy, so perfect together.

Susie got to me first and gave me a massive hug as Tom cupped my face gently over her shoulder. It was great to be with them again, I wasn’t really at home with large numbers of people so not being inside to hear the ‘I do’s’ only bothered me marginally. Now, it was official, I really felt like part of a family.

It hadn’t always been like this. Happiness had to come find me, and for a while, it felt like sadness and misfortune were my yin and yang.

My worst childhood memory was when my mother, my real one, abandoned me. I ended up in the system for far too long before being taken in by a family. It was nice; but brief, then without warning I ended up back where I’d started, abandoned and alone. I remember, not long after experiencing that, seeing a picture in a magazine of a dog sitting in front of a phonograph. The dog looked sad – at least that’s how I saw it. I was able to relate immediately. I also wondered if that dog could hear anything coming out of that old looking contraption. Knowing my luck, if I was in the picture, the damn thing would have been messed-up-beyond-all-repair.

It was Susie who came to my rescue. She had no children of her own and took me in without hesitation and I loved her for that.

I never put a foot wrong. We did everything together nearly all the time. I am also part of the reason why she is alive and able to be married today.

During a hiking trip through the Grand Canyon, Julie decided she wanted to scale a, near vertical rock face. I wasn’t happy with the idea, but Julie - the kick-ass adventurer - wanted to conquer the canyon and I regretted her decision as soon as I saw her fall. Somehow her cam had come loose - which is near impossible! Plus Julie wasn’t a novice climber. Bits of rock fell where I stood before I heard Susie’s panicked intake of breath as she fell right beside me. It all happened so fast - one second she was living out an adrenalin fuelled fantasy and the next, fighting to stay alive.

We were the only ones out there for miles. It took several seconds for me to realise I was her only chance at survival, so I ran. I ran for what felt like miles trying to remember which direction we’d hiked in from so I could find our car, but I was too worked up to concentrate.

In the distance there was a plume of smoke billowing up as though a vehicle had driven away recently. I honed in on it and ran as fast as I could in that direction, only catching up because the driver stopped to retrieve something from the back seat.

When I got to the jeep I was stressed, flustered and unable to convey the gravity of the situation with words. The man I’d found seemed to understand my ramblings and drove me back, four wheels making light work of the rough terrain Susie and I couldn’t cross with our rental.

We saved Susie that day. She’d lost a lot of blood from a deep gash in her head and if it wasn’t for his quick thinking in the face of my inability to communicate properly, Susie wouldn’t have made it. His name was Tom.

Susie touched the top of my head soothingly; Tom, my cheek. I allowed my eyes to respond to the warmth of their hands by closing them. I wanted to cut off any unnecessary senses so I could imprint this memory into my mind. The noise of the crowd and commotion fell away and for a moment it felt like the three of us were captured in a camera lens, a button-click.

I was glad that Tom and Susie chose to take me on their honeymoon. I’m not sure how I would have coped being away from them for so long.

That night when I was sure they were asleep; I crept in and curled up at the foot of their bed.

My ear was itchy so I scratch it with one of my paws before getting up and padding over to my bowl, the letters G.R.E.G inscribed on the side. Susie had left a treat for me that I gobbled down before hopping on the bed covering their legs like I always do; sure in the knowledge they’ll sleep better for it.