Fresh Air and A Friend
The rain had barely stopped, clouds hanging heavy in the afternoon. On the porch, Dez and Emelina sat bundled in sweaters and blankets, their hands wrapped around steaming mugs of tea. Cook had made scones, but left them in a warmer in the dining room. Dez closed her eyes, tipped her head back and breathed deeply. “So good.” Emelina had let her attention wander to the gardens that Samuel had tended so faithfully. “Hmm. What’s good, Dez? Cook always makes a good cuppa'.” Dez lifted her head and laughed low. “Yes, she does. But it’s the fresh air. Moist, cool…..and not stuffy, medicine-y noise.” It was Emelina’s turn to laugh. “How can hospital air smell noisy?” Dez took a sip of her cooling tea. “Hmph! You haven’t had to spend more than a few hours in a hospital. The beeping, crying, talking, laundry carts and gurneys rumbling through the halls at all hours are the very colour of the smells. But let’s not talk about that.” Emelina had stood, pulled her blanket around her and walked to the edge of the porch. “What should we talk about? Or maybe just sit and be quiet. The fog that’s settling down on us does make me feel quite quiet.”
Dez moaned. Setting her tea on the side table, she tried to stand on her own, gave up and sat back again. “I guess I’ll have to use that darn walker to get me up……No, Em don’t hurt yourself. Just set the walker where I can reach it. The crutches are just fine but not for getting myself out of a chair. I don’t care what the physiotherapist said. When is the rain suppose to let up? I want to get out and walk that track with you.”
Emelina picked up their mugs. “Are you ready to go in? I’ve got the mugs. Just give me a minute to take them in and I’ll be back get the door for you.” She was gone before Dez could answer. “Em…..she’ll be back. I’ll just stand here and watch……Samuel! Where did you come from?”
“Well, Miss Dez. I just come up from the shed. No sense trying to do anything in the garden today. Most everything’s been put up anyway. Saw you and your sister out here, thought I’d come by and say hello.” Samuel, dressed in his ‘rain workin’ clothes’, said “Seein’ you and Miss Em out here, thought I’d introduce you to my friend here. Name’s Brewster. Black as night she is, ‘cept for that one white ear.” The door opened behind them. “I’ll hold the door, Dez…Dez?”
“Em, come here. I’m not quite ready to go in yet.” Dez sounded as excited as if she’d been given a new set of paints and a new canvas! “What’s got you all excited…….Oh, hello Samuel. I almost didn’t recognize you. What’s that you’ve got on your hat?” She came to stand beside Dez at the porch’s edge. “Elizabeth made me put it on. Said it would protect the leather. Leather that’s almost as old as me.” Emelina nodded and smiled. “She’s right you know. You don’t need to be keeping your hat that you love wet all the time.” He was almost blushing. “I put it on, but I told her it looked like a woman’s shower cap.”
“You are such a lovely girl!" Dez stroked the dog's long wavy hair. “Why did he give you such a name? Brewster’s a man’s name. Not a beautiful girl like you. Isn’t she lovely, Em? Oh, I do need to sit down again. Come on, girl. Is it ok Samuel?”
“Sure thing, Miss Dez. Think you’ve got a friend, Miss.” Samuel smiled. “Are you going to introduce me to your new friend, Dez? Come up on the porch out of the wet, Samuel.”
“No, Miss, my Wellie’s are too full of mud. Brewster shouldn’t even be up there. She’s been walkin’ in more mud than me.” He just pulled his black slicker close and stood on the steps. “Em, do you think Cook’s got some meat scraps we could give her?” Before she could reply, Samuel said. “Nope. She’s not to be fed anything but the food I give her. Twice a day, morning and night. She can have dog biscuits now and then. I don’t want her gettin’ fat. Long as she gets enough exercise she should be all right. She gets lots of good runs while we’re out, follows me around all the time.” Brewster was still getting lots of attention from Dez. “How long have you had her, Samuel?” Emelina was curious. She had never seen any pets on the Estate. The old stable and carriage house had been converted into the garage by the house, so it had been a long time since even horses had been part of the Estate. “Well” Samuel hesitated. “She kind of came to me a couple of weeks back. She’s sure not got a pedigree, but she’s travelled a long way. I’ll tell you her story.” Samuel gave Brewster a rare smile. Emelina interrupted. “Let’s all go around to the kitchen where it’s warm. You can take all your rain gear off and I’ll get an old towel to wipe off Brewsters feet.”
“Come on then, Brewster, girl.” The dog jumped up and returned to Samuel’s side. He looked up at his boss. “We’ll walk around back and be in there right quick. Elizabeth keeps an old towel in the mud room for Brewster. We’ll be all dried off before you know it.” He turned, snapped his fingers and headed to the back of the house. Brewster looked back at Dez, but when she heard the snap of fingers, she bounded after Samuel. Dez and her sister made their slow way around the porch to the side door into the kitchen. “I’m not feeling quite so stiff, Em. I wonder if Samuel will let me take Brewster with me when I - I mean, we walk the track?”
“I’ve always had this feeling,” Henry says,
“that all dogs are really therapy dogs.”
~ Meg Donohue, Dog Crazy
