Six Symbols

Chapter 6. For all purposes and intentions

It was that moment in the morning, when a person is just waking, when everything seems to be as it always was, the moment when a widower like Jacob could easily forget that he was alone in the bed he shared with Ruth for so many years, the moment he felt the alarm clock would go off to tell him it was the moment to start his morning routine, to raise, take a bath and go to work. That feeling started dissolving as he realized once again that he was an old retired college professor living alone with his dog. As he opened his eyes he found what he had already expected, Cobalt his black lab sitting next to the bed, staring insistently at him, and as every morning he discovered that he had decided to wake him up too early.

- Cobalt, boy, it is too early, let me sleep for another 30 minutes.

Cobalt continued the staring contest, and wagged his tail, as he used to do when he knew he was being acknowledged, Jacob tried turning his back on the pleading dog, but the loud sigh from his four legged partner made it impossible for him to remain in bed.

- All right, you win, let me get ready and we'll go for a walk. - Jacob said as he got up and put on his slippers, he was wearing gray striped pajamas. - I'll be back soon.

Cobalt did not need any explanation but talking to him was Jacob's way of feeling he still had someone to talk to, he was so very alone that before he got Cobalt he would spend a whole day without having to pronounce a word, and at some point he would talk just to make sure he still could. It would be nice to say that Cobalt was a gift from a close relative, or that it had been with him since his wife was alive, but the truth was that he had bought a dog to have something useful to do with his free time, that and to get strangers to speak to him, which had worked ok, most of the kids in the neighborhood knew and liked Cobalt, and they would talk to Jacob before and after they played with the dog. Some of the parents will also talk to him because of that, overall having this friend had made him less lonely in more than one way.

Jacob put on some clothes in the bathroom while Cobalt waited sitting outside, impatiently staring at the closed door. Jacob could not see him, but he knew he was there, he could feel his stare trough the door, nonetheless he took his time, he was the kind of man who does not like to step outside of his house without looking smart, he finally opened the door and the pup stood up and started following him, continually wagging his tail.

They walked to the door, next to it was the leash, cobalt sat, because he knew that otherwise Jacob would not move, however you could see that he wanted very badly to go out, Jacob locked the leach in it's place in the collar and opened the door, Cobalt followed him very excited to get his morning walk, in the handle there was a green, bone shaped, plastic container full of bags, he knew he would have to use a couple of them, but he hoped it was later and not sooner.

As the stepped outside he saw the kids waiting for the school bus, and he knew that Cobalt would be happy to approach his friends and so would he, Jacob enjoyed the company of people, and particularly of kids, he never got any sons or grandsons, he wanted to, and so did Ruth, but they were never able to, and they never tried to adopt. They started walking towards the kids.

- Look is Mr. Ibraham and Cobalt - said a brown haired boy with a little overweight, the other kids had already seen the pair walking towards them.

- Hi Josh, Cobalt wanted to say bye - Jacob said talking first to the kid that had announced their approach - he woke me up early and could not wait to come here.

- I wish I could stay home - said a blond small kid, while he leaned to pet Cobalt who had already lowered his head to allow all the kids to touch him.

- Well I wish I could sleep late but we can't always get what we want. I'd like to go to work, but college has no use for an old man like me anymore.