Princess Comes Home Part III

Dog was hightailing it in the direction of the subdivision and all I could do was hightail it after her.

I jumped out of the car and began to run after her.

Ten seconds later I was overwhelmed by years of eating fast food and avoiding exercise like it was the plague.

Now, the forty pounds of excess around my middle and filling the jeans of my fat ass were taking their toll.

I had to stop in the middle of one of the subdivision’s streets and grasp my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

I could still hear Dog barking and after managing to massage a sharp pain in my side into bearable, I straightened and headed in the direction of the sound.

I found Dog on the porch of one of the houses still barking. Between bouts of howling she would launch her front paws against the door, bark several times and then return to the porch.

It took me several minutes, but I finally got her calmed down and though she fidgeted around my legs as I knocked on the door, at least she stopped barking.

I knocked again.

Nothing.

I knocked a little harder.

Again still nothing.

I left Dog on the porch and peered into the windows of the house. It was empty. From the looks of things it had been empty for quite some time. I returned to the porch and knelt down trying to calm Dog.

She grew still, and looked into my eyes. It was as if she knew what I was thinking. No one lived in this house anymore.

It seemed to me Dog must have forgotten and let her hopes get up and now she remembered this time was like all the other times she’d come to this front door and barked.

In the dog’s eyes I saw a huge sadness.

I continued to stroke her chest and her back and she licked my hand in gratitude. Then I stood and both Dog and I returned to the sidewalk to walk back to my car.

“Excuse me sir. Were you looking for the Stevens?”

I turned to see a rail thin woman with sandy brown hair beneath a floppy brim straw hat. She wore a floral design sleeveless blouse and tan shorts and her feet and crimson painted toe nails were nestled into a pair of flip flops.

When Dog heard the voice she spun around and bounded over to the woman, who immediately dropped the garden spade she was holding and knelt to pet the dog.

“Princess, where have you been young lady?” The woman crooned as she tussled the fur around the dog’s neck and grinned as it licked her on the side of the face.

“You know this dog?” I asked.

The woman nodded and stood, keeping her hand down so she could continue to pet the animal.

“Why yes I do. Princess was Doug Steven’s pride and joy. They went everywhere together. In fact, they were inseparable.”

“This Doug Steven. Is this where he and his wife lived? What happened to them?”

“Uh no mister uh…”

“James, Henry James.”

“No Mr. James, Doug was Billy and Sally Steven’s boy, their only child in fact. I remember when Bill and Sally gave Princess to Doug for his twelfth birthday. She was just a puppy. When Doug found out she was a girl he named her Princess. Told everybody she was a special breed. So special she was probably a princess in some far away magical kingdom. We all laughed, and laughed at that. But Princess she became, and Princess she was. Doug and Princess, Princess and Doug. They were such the pair.”

I was silent for a bit and let the woman enjoy the moment of the memory. She grew quiet as if the remembrance suddenly changed and I saw her expression grow sad.

That was the story I’d been looking for.

“So what happened?”

The woman looked at me, then picked up the garden spade. She gave Princess another gentile smile and patted the dog’s rump.

“Well, Doug went into the Marines after 9/11. It was a sad day for the Stevens house. Everyone, including Princess here went to the bus station the day Doug went off to basic training. Bill and Sally came over to the house after dropping Doug off. Sally told me Princess wouldn’t get in the car to come home. She said Princess sat at that bus station for the longest time even though she’d seen Doug get in one of the buses and drive off, she just sat there waiting for him to come back.”

“So I take it Doug never came back?”

The woman shook her head.

“No, not even in a casket. According to the government Doug went missing in action. Bill and Sally never saw their son again.”

“So what happened to Bill and Sally?” I asked and pointed to the empty house.

“Oh, Bill and Sally were killed in a car accident several years ago. Neither of them had any surviving relatives so,” the woman shrugged her shoulders, “you know. I think it’s called probate or something.”

I nodded.

“So Princess had no one to take care of her?”

“Well, I tried, but I’m not really much of a dog person if you know what I mean. I try to keep a food and water bowl for her on the back porch and a blanket or two, but for the most part Princess just comes and goes when she feels like it. She seems to have taken a liking to you. Are you a dog person?”

“I am indeed.”

I knew where this was going. I’d already figured out me and Princess were going to end up being bosom buddies for awhile. At least until I could figure out what to do next.

The thing about me and my stories is that when someone opens a door and shows me a clue, I’d be stupid not to pay attention.

“You say Doug joined the Marines right after 9/11. So he signed up in 2011?”

The woman nodded.

“And you said he was never reported as KIA?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Killed In Action.”

“Oh, no, according to what Billy and Sally always told me he was reported missing.”

READ PRINCESS COMES HOME —THE CONCLUSION

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