Where There is Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

A Last Little Taste

Epilogue

"Dude, quit sharing your ice cream with the dog."

"He likes it." Shawn spooned another lump of melting vanilla towards Latte, who sloppily lapped the spoon, Shawn's hand, and the softened clump that gooped from the utensil and dribbled down Shawn's knee. Clean up duty complete, the dog sat back again - bolt upright and ears at maximum perk. Other than gleaming brown eyes, the only movement was a lightning fast lick of his tongue across his black snout. Beady canine attention stayed fixed on chilly sweetness as Shawn kicked himself back and forth in his chair - soft squeak with every pivot of casters across the hardwood.

Gus wrinkled his nose as Shawn held out the bowl and let the bear faced beast polish off the last few bites of frozen dessert. Six months of hard work had changed the animal from a happy but somewhat exuberant pup into a well trained and intelligent service animal. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for its handler; Gus shuddered as a string of drool sagged from the dog's jowl - swinging with every movement of its head, but never falling free. That same drool had been found on the floor, chairs, the handle of the refrigerator, and the sleeve of Gus' jacket. Shawn always shrugged it off and asserted that their dog was a giver. "Their" dog. Though, Gus had been co-conspirator in acquiring the the thing so he didn't have a lot of ground to stand on to push back on that declaration of ownership. And Shawn, certainly, had been part of his responsibility since childhood - his and Henry's. Well if the dog was part his, it was part Henry's too - so maybe old man Spencer could grab a rag and start mopping next time one of those gluey strings spattered across the plasma.

Still, for the first time in well over a year, Shawn seemed truly happy. For that, Gus could allow himself to share space with the creature - and had even patted the thing a few times.

A double rap on the door had the dog at alert - ears up and head swiveled. However, he didn't bark. When Gus headed towards the door, Latte remained at Shawn's side.

A peek through the window spotted a delivery person; a young woman in a FEDEX cap. She smiled as the door opened; a large envelope in hand. "Are you..." she squinted and looked down at the address again, "Dandy Brentworth Gillingham?"

"Call me Gus." He grinned back - hoping his cheek wasn't twitching.

Somewhere behind him, with a thud and wild scrabble of claws that no doubt was tearing hell into the floors, rapidly thundered towards him. FEDEX girl's smile wobbled towards slight alarm as a massive fur head shoved beneath Gus's arm - immediately followed by an equally wild haired fellow making 'gimme' hands towards the slim package.

"Is that it? Is it here!? Dude!" Envelope snatched, Shawn and canine scrambled back inside while Gus remained at the door; grin going on painful.

"Uh... thank you for stopping by."

FEDEX tipped her head. "That is what they pay us for. Enjoy your... uh... yeah."

Eeling back inside, Gus smacked his head against the doorframe and pondered how many points of cool he'd lost in that little interaction. Behind him, the tear of paper and huffing whines were intercut with tapping feet tattooing the floor. Whether Shawn, his dog, or both, it was hard to say.