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THE SMALL white grains of sand made her bare feet tickle with each step, the soft feeling putting her whole body at ease. The sound of subtle waves hitting the sandy shores hit her ears every few minutes as she continued walking, her sun-kissed skin glowing under the warm hues of light. She takes in the briny aroma of the lakes shore and smiles gently at the blissful state she was currently in.
Florida mornings were her favorite kind of mornings. They were just the right temperature, never too cold or too hot, always moderate. An earthly smell hung in the air as well as a soft mist from the slight drizzle of the night before. Having just moved from Virginia to the coast of Tampa, a lot can change. And in Grace's case, almost everything has changed. The atmosphere around her, the people, smells, even the sunlight seemed to be distinct. Being in Florida was so much different than Virginia, but in a good way.
Grace's thoughts were torn away when she felt silky soft fur rub against the bare skin of her calf, her in denim shorts along with a large blue tee shirt tucked into them. Grace looked down to see Sunny, her Australian Shepherd, grazing alongside her as they walked. Her tail wagging swiftly behind her small body, almost in synch with Grace's slow steps. Her pink tongue stuck out making her pant drastically, spit running from her mouth every few seconds in unquenched thirst.
"You thirsty girl?" Grace asked in a sweet tone, bending over to pet the fluffy coat covering Sunny. Her tail began to swing faster until her whole lower body was swaying back and forth in excitement. "Only a few more minutes till we get home, 'kay?"
Sunny let out a soft bark at the word home, her bright blue eyes gleaming. Grace kneeled down and kissed the top of Sunny's head, all while fixing the navy blue bandana wrapped around her neck so it sat perfectly centered. Grace then felt Sunny's wet nose rub against her cheek until loving licks were placed all over her face rapidly. Grace giggled at the ticklish feeling before standing up, knees now layered with sand as she wiped the pebbles away.
Grace then patted her leg as she began to walk again, Sunny immediately following after. Grace held her berkenstocks in both hands and no leash was present, her never having liked leashes. She found them almost controlling and predominant, and she hated the combination. Sunny followed her everywhere anyways, never not being at her side for more than a few minutes. She even stood outside the bathroom door when Grace showered, always wanting to be close to her owner. Grace adored it though, and never found it annoying in any way.
As they continued the walk, her eyes landed on a building up ahead, boats surrounding the marina of sorts as well as a drawn out dock which led from the sand and into the water. She could make out a few people walking around, and Grace patted her leg once more as a signal for Sunny to stay close. Grace kept a steady pace, her eyes taking in the rustic marina as they began to walk past it slowly. Though, just as they were about to completely pass it, a growling noise emitted from Sunny making Grace's eyebrows furrow. Before she could even glance down, Sunny was barking and running towards the marina without warning.
"Sunny!" Grace yelled all while quickly putting her shoes back on before chasing after her dog, her long legs keeping her at a steady distance behind the sprinting dog. Her long blonde locks fell against her face in disarray as she ran after Sunny, calling her name every few seconds hastily. In front of Sunny, Grace could make out a small animal running away in fright, it's tail held high above its frame. Then all too suddenly, Sunny comes to an abrupt stop in front of a boat, barks echoing throughout the enclosed area as she attempted to leap atop the boat.
When Grace caught up, her eyes settled upon a orange and white cat pacing on the ledge of the boat, it's back arched in fear but there was surprisingly no hissing coming from the animal. Grace rolled her eyes at her dog as she came to stand right beside Sunny, the wild blue eyes meeting Grace's hazel ones. Grace gave her a warning look making the barking cease altogether, though the panting came back into play but ten times worse.
"Really Sunny ..." Grace sighed, completely out of breathe, her chest heaving up and down beneath the baggy tee shirt as she bent over. Sunny jumped onto Grace, her front paws resting on her shoulders as she began to lick her face once more, a soft smile breaking free. "Your a little shit sometimes you know that, right?"
Grace then stood straight from her bent over posture, making Sunny drop back down to the ground. A meowing sounded from in front of her making her eyes snap to the noise. She took in the orange and white striped cat as it seemed to be purring at her, wanting Grace to touch it. Although, Grace was too stunned to comprehend it at first. Grace was surprised to see not two eyes, but just one. The right eye was enclosed completely leaving a rather large green eye to stare at her in curiosity.
"Hey there." Grace spoke quietly, as if not to startle the cat and she let her hand slowly inch closer towards the feline in caution. The cat eyed her hand before letting its nose sniff her fingers slowly, until it completely rubbed its whole head against her hand, urging Grace to pet it. Grace smiled, her hand caressing the fur of its head and down to the tail, the cats body following the action in a fluid motion. Her eyes then caught sight of the slightly hidden collar underneath the fur, and she grasped the nylon between her fingertips.
"Fred huh?" She spoke out loud, reading the single work, making the cat purr at its-his given name. "Let's get you back to your owner."
Grace picked up the cat, him surprisingly heavy making her realize he wasn't just all fur. A whine erupted from beneath Grace where Sunny sat with a titled head looking up at them, obviously jealous.
"Oh shush, Sunny. This is your fault." Grace spoke before walking away, Sunny on her heal instantly. Grace held Fred in her hands, and the cat seemed content, not moving or trying to break away at all. Though, he kept leaning into Grace as if begging to be petted. Grace walked into the open garage of the marina, looking for anyone to help her find out where Fred came from.
"You need something?" A mans voice spoke from her right, and Grace snapped her head in that direction. A bald, older man stood against a desk with his hands in a rag, cleaning them off. Sunny barked excitedly before rushing towards the stranger, waging her tail spastically. The man chuckled as he looked at her, him softly ruffling her fur before meeting Grace's eyes once more.
"Actually yes." Grace said, smiling warmly at the man which he immediately returned. He nodded as if signal for her to continue, which she did. "Well my dog was chasing after this cat, his names Fred, and I uh was wondering if you know who he belongs too?" The man looked down at the cat and let out a scoff of a laugh, his eyes fixated on the one eyed cat. Fred meowed at the sight of the man, and Grace knew that they knew each other.
"Yeah I do actually. The old feller belongs to Frank Adler, he's somewhere around here-might be on the dock fixing up a boat." Grace nodded about to head out when the man spoke up once more, "You can just leave him here if you'd like?"
"No it's okay, I was just heading back that way anyways." Grace told him before heading back into the heat of the sun, the soft fur of the cat heating up under her touch; Sunny's panting filling her ears once more as she followed after Grace quickly.
