Thawing Sarge

Part 5: An End

Christmas sneaks up on us. Everything goes so smoothly that it just feels like life. 

Sarge blends into all the normal parts of my day now. There isn't much that scares him anymore. I feel pretty confident in his behavior. It took a lot of time and patience but he acts a lot like any other dog now. He likes to play and snuggle, hardly ever growls at anything anymore, and walks up to other dogs in the vet clinic with a curious sniff.

My brothers come home for Christmas in the third week of December. Liam and Noah are the first to arrive, together this time. Sarge and I greet them at the door, their eyes widening when they see Sarge standing calmly next to me.

"Wow, Scout. I knew you had a gift with animals but he seems completely different." Liam comments, crouching down to pet him. "Hey, Sarge, remember me?" He asks. I think about what Sarge was like the last time he saw him. 

He had his teeth bared, ears back, and was growling so ferociously that I was almost certain I wouldn't be able to get him comfortable around people. He had hid under my bed for days. I couldn't imagine him doing that now.

"Well, you were right. He's a good dog." I say to him. "All he needed was someone more patient than the military." I laugh at the end of my sentence.

Alex arrives shortly later and we all spend Christmas together. It's just like last year, except that this time, Sarge comes downstairs with me on Christmas morning. He plays with every piece of wrapping paper we throw on the ground, ripping them into several pieces in the process.

"You really did it." Liam says to my right as we watch Sarge bounce around like a puppy. "He's going to be able to find a great home because of you." He says, smiling at me.

He seems happy but my heart nearly stops in my chest. I had forgotten that he wasn't mine forever. The whole point of this was for him to pass the Navy's evaluation and find a good forever home. 

We've gotten so close over the last year that I'm not sure I could take saying goodbye to him. I want him with me but I'm about to be going into my last year of general education for school. I'm going to be so busy that I won't have the time to care for him the way he deserves. Then I'm going to start veterinary school and be even busier. 

He shouldn't have to be cooped up all the time because his owner has too much going on to take him on walks or play outside.

"Yeah." I mutter. "He's gonna be really happy." A smile forces its way onto my face as I try to ignore the sadness sitting on my chest like an elephant.

I savor my time with Sarge for the rest of December. We play in the snow and watch it fall from our window seat all cuddled up. He's so warm I've grown accustomed to having him as my personal source of body heat. 

Every little part of his nervous system that battle had formed ice around thawed away a while ago. Every once in a while he gets scared, I'll see that part of him freeze through his warm eyes, but I think he has the right to be occasionally put off by things. 

I definitely am. Maybe that's why I'm able to work with him. We actually work around each other a lot of the time. I sit with him through fireworks and he paces around the house with me when I'm anxiously studying for an exam.

The lucky thing is that he's naturally intuitive. He'll be able to click with anyone after an adjustment period.

On the morning Liam is set to leave with Sarge, I wake up and put him in the collar I got him for Christmas. We meet Liam by the front door where I hand him the matching leash connected to his collar. I kneel down in front of Sarge and hold his head in my hands, scratching behind his ears.

"You be good, okay?" I say. "Pinky promise?" I hold out my hand with my pinky up and wait for him to respond. He does so immediately, resting his paw atop my folded fingers. "Good boy." I stroke his head one more time before standing up and facing Liam. "You be good, too. I know you're smart but I still worry about you." I tell him before wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug.

"I will. I promise. I'll be back before you know it." He responds.

We say goodbye and then they walk out the door. Sarge looks back at me confused. I have to close the door. I can't look at him while he's looking at me like that. 

My legs feel weak underneath me, prompting me to sit on the staircase near the door. I rest my head on my folded arms atop my knees. I try not to cry but traitorous tears leak out of my eyes anyway. 

The rational part of me knows that he's going to be okay. The other part of me is worried about her best friend.

Is he my best friend? I mean, he's a dog. Shouldn't I be close with people? We spend all our time together but we kind of had to. We can't talk. Well, I actually talked to him pretty often. But he could never respond with anything other than gentle headbutts and quiet support and oh my god I'm an idiot.

He's my best friend. I just let my best friend walk out the door. I could never see him again. He could never see me again. What if his new owners don't let him sleep in their bed with them? What if he isn't as happy as he could be with me?

I jump to my feet and run out the door. I don't waste time putting on shoes. The snow seeps into my socks, freezing my feet. Liam's car is almost completely backed out of the driveway when I catch him. My hand slaps his window. He looks over at me questionably and I gesture for him to roll down the window.

"You have to bring him back." I say before his window is even completely down. "After he passes his test, you have to bring him back to me. I'll adopt him." I rush out. My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for him to reply.

"What?" He asks. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I love him and he loves me and we're best friends. We do everything together. I need you to bring him back to me. He's mine. I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think he would warm up to me the way that he did. But he did and I warmed up to him too. You were right. He's friendly and loyal and protective and just the best dog I've ever met. I want to keep him." I manage to say all in one breath, my chest heaving by the time I'm done talking.

Liam looks at me and then back at Sarge who I can see looking back at me from the back seat. "Okay." He says simply, a large smile on his face. "I'll bring him back to you. I promise."

"Okay, good. Okay." I take a step back from the car and inhale deeply. "Okay, so I'll see you guys again in a few days?" I ask.

"We'll see you then." He agrees, the smile still on his face now mirroring my own.

"Okay. Bye buddy!" I wave at Sarge in the back seat. "I'll see you soon. I promise."

With that, we say goodbye once again. I watch Liam drive away until his car leaves my sight. He's going to be okay. He'll pass the Navy's evaluation with flying colors. Then he'll come right back to live out his life happily with the person who knows him best. Me.

The End. 

11/29/24

Hiya!!

I'll be putting up an actual author's note right after this, bc I owe some credit to a couple of other people for this one, but I wanted to say a quick thank you to those who've made it to the end of this little story. 

Thank you. My intention with this short story was not to expand my audience but if it ends up attracting some different kinds of readers then I'll be ecstatic. 

I write everyday of my life so, if you enjoyed this one, there's a lot more where it came from! Go ahead and give me a follow to be notified when I start something new and check out my other works while you're there!

Thank you, again. 

-xoxo Caitrin-