Blinded by the Light: Drabbles

Drabble Five: Sandy

The inspiration for this fic comes from Sandy, my friend Lucas' beloved Labrador and 'partner in crime,' as they have been found guilty of breaking lots of glasses and vases together over the course of the last nine years.

'Sandy? Saaandy, where are you?'

Roger was sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the living room, listening intensely to determine the location of the Labrador by the ticking sound her paws made on the wooden floor as she ran around the room. The guide dog was usually very serious in her task of safely leading Roger through the invisible obstacles of his day, but when they got home after a long day of work, it took no more than the sight of her favourite yellow and orange tennis ball to drop her serious attitude and instead be right at Roger's feet, panting and wagging her tail like an overexcited puppy. Brian always said that this was why they formed such a good pair – they could both be quiet, serious, and focussed when necessary, but once the front door fell shut behind them at the end of the day, both Roger and Sandy were outgoing and playful like only they could be.

This was exactly why now, after a long day of studio work, Roger found himself sitting on the floor and throwing Sandy's tennis ball around the living room, listening with a smile to the sound of her paws scratching over the wooden floor as she hurried after her favourite toy. At the sound of his voice, she suddenly stopped and turned around to walk back to her owner, the tennis ball clenched between her jaws.

'Good girl!' Roger said when he could sense her standing in front of her, reaching out a hand to pet the top of her head, after which he held his hand out below her mouth. 'Give me the ball, Sandy. Let go,' he said, feeling the dog bowing her head down and placing the ball right on front of his crossed legs with a soft thud. Roger picked it up and raised his hand behind his hear, knowing by experience – that was, by Brian having described the sight to him – how Sandy would stand utterly still whenever he did this, watching closely to see in which direction he was going to throw the ball. He tossed the ball across the room, a wide smile forming on his face when Sandy enthusiastically ran after it and caught it soon after. After some encouragement, she brought the ball back again so Roger could repeat the toss. Roger picked up the ball and threw it in the opposite direction this time, to keep the game interesting for Sandy.

'Come on, Sandy!' he encouraged his dog, but the smile on his face soon dropped and was exchanged for an expression close to terror when the ticking of Sandy's paws was suddenly overpowered by that of a loud clash, followed by the noise of something falling on the floor and shattering into what sounded like a million pieces. Roger froze in shock at the sudden and unexpected ear-shattering noise, unable to move a single muscle in his body for a handful of seconds. He had no idea what he had hit, but that he had hit something seemed more than obvious to him – and not only to him, it seemed.

'Roger, what was that?'

Roger felt all the colour draining out of his face at the sound of Brian's voice, calm as usual, but with an audible touch of alarm right now. His heart pounded against his chest at just the prospect of Brian finding out that he had thrown a tennis ball into a glass, a vase, a bowl, or whatever the breakable item had been. Roger knew he should've known better than to throw a ball inside their living room, especially now that he couldn't see any of his surroundings, and he feared Brian was going to be mad or disappointed in him for having done so anyway against better judgement.

'Nothing!' Roger quickly answered, hoping Brian, who was doing the dishes in the kitchen, wouldn't come check on him anywhere soon, so that he might get the chance to clean up the mess he had made. He knew it would be naive to just stuff away the remains of the glass, stone, or china and expect Brian to never find out about it; but the alternative of telling Brian about what he had done, didn't appeal to him either. He didn't get a lot of time to think about whether or not, and if, how, he should break the news to Brian; he heard Sandy walking closer to the place he assumed the chaos was at, sniffing at it in curiosity.