A House on Eden

14. Max

The next evening I was drinking a glass of wine on the porch. The quiet sounds of evening surrounded me, soothed me. The early evening light was soft, muted and gave the garden a mysterious hue. I sighed contently, watching the fountain spray its water into the pond. The ceramic girl stood on a rock holding her basket, guiding her stream. She stood with her head bowed as if praying.

I looked across the fence at my neighbor's house. It was eight o' clock and Beth was at Hollins taking her class. The house was dark with only the porch light on. I saw no sign of Max.

Then a police cruiser pulled into my drive way and Bruce stepped out of the vehicle wearing his uniform. He smiled at me, looked around and stepped onto the porch. He stood leaning against the post, studying me with his eyes.

"Back to work so soon, Jessie," he smiled. "Didn't take you long. Sure did a nice job on the yard though."

"What do you want, Bruce?" I said.

"To have a little chat, just you and I," he smiled.

"There's nothing I want to discuss with you," I said.

"Oh," he said, "I disagree. You have a great deal to discuss, yes sir. Like when you're coming home."

"I'm not coming home," I said. "Not ever. You better get used to the idea."

"But we haven't talked about it," he said, "like a husband and a wife. Why don't we go inside and do that right now."

"I'm not going in with you," I said.

"The hell you are," he said and stepped forward. He grabbed my arm, twisted it and began pulling me toward the door. His grip was powerful, painful and effective.

I looked at the fence as I fought to stay outside, but he was gaining ground. "Max!" I screamed. "Now!"

Out of nowhere Max appeared in full run, coming toward us. His barking was deafening, his movements were fluid like water. When he got close I could see muscles rippling, preparing for the jump. Without hesitation and with complete calm, Bruce pulled out his service weapon and fired a bullet.

Max screamed. He fell to the ground like a stone, not moving. On the street porch lights turned on, front doors opened, folks walked out and stood on their lawns.

"Not such a big fella now," Bruce smiled, holstering his weapon. "Now look what you've made me do, Jess! You've made me draw my weapon and bring out the whole neighborhood to watch! We can't have that, can we? I guess it means were gonna have that conversation some other night then. I'm gonna bring you home, Jess, even if it means dragging you all the way back by your hair, yes sir."

He stepped into his cruiser, backed out of the drive way, and disappeared around the turn.

I rushed over to where Max had fallen to the ground. He was panting heavily, looking up at me with silent eyes.

"Oh Max," I whispered, "I'm so sorry. You're such a good boy." I stroked his side and watched my hand come away with blood.

"Max," I said softly, "we will go for help. It will be alright."

I had seen an animal hospital called Pet Vet on Electric Road. I had driven past it many times on my way to work. I flipped open my phone to find the number and called it.

"Pet Vet, may I help you?" A woman said softly.

"My dog has been shot," I said. "Can you help?"

"What kind of dog?" She asked.

"He's a German Shepherd," I said.

"Is he breathing?" She said.

"Yes," I said, "but he's bleeding badly from his side. I think the bullet is inside him."