Writing for Fun
May 2015
The Hero? - Gerry Miller
It was both the first and the last time, though you may well ask how both came at the same time. God, how she had moaned about the dog and the mess he made of the garden. Ben had arrived in her home along with the man she loved and both soon made the house their home. Ben had felt left out and jealous of her, and so he had punished her by chewing everything he could. From knickers to slippers, carpets and plants and he certainly did not respect her Jimmy Choo's.
She had not started off disliking the dog but he just did everything he could to drive her mad, or so she thought. How on earth had such a small creature managed to stir such extremes of emotions? but he sure did. The first time she saw him she thought that he was cute and cuddly, but then of course all Yorkshire terriers were. There was the rub; he may have looked cute and cuddly but his behaviour was anything but. Today had been the final straw; choices would have to be made.
James had gone to see his mother for the day and Ben was not allowed either. At least that was one positive thing they shared, neither of them liked James' mother. Both were ecstatically happy for James to go by himself. Ben ran round and round the garden finally disappearing into the vegetable plot and the compost heap he loved. Susie went upstairs and showered and dressed; lunch with her friends in the garden and a good read. 'Heaven,' she thought to herself. Heading for the stairs she looked down and there was Ben about to come up. Susie realised he had something in his mouth and screamed at him to get out!
He had managed to catch a rat and it was wriggling in his jaws. Ben was startled by her screams and dropped his prize, and what was to be her present, on the bottom stair and headed for the garden. The rat moved but Susie moved quicker and book still in hand she ran for the bathroom and locked herself in. And there she sat, unable to answer her friend's knocking, unable to get to the telephone and the messages left, unable to get to the nice lunch and the chilled champagne she had planned for them all. From the bathroom window she could see Ben lazing in the sunshine and chasing the butterflies. Boy was she angry.
At long last she saw Ben rush in doors and then she heard the car drive up and the key turn in the lock. 'James, James, I'm locked in the bathroom!' she screamed and so he found her. Susie assured him that there was no way she was opening the door until he had searched the entire house and found the rat. And find it he did; it was dead. James called her to look out the bathroom window and sure enough one dead rat was being held by its tail.
James was laughing his head off but Susie sobbed, 'It was just not funny.' Ben of course was a hero; after all he had managed to kill the rat. The fact that Susie thought it was alive and had chosen to spend her day locked in the bathroom was down to her. Her girlfriends were phoned and reappeared for an evening lunch, Susie admitted to herself it was the funniest evening they had all had. But as they walked hand in hand up to bed, James put Ben to sleep in the kitchen; at least he was now aware choices would have to be made.
Six months later the vegetable plot and the compost heap were gone, choices had been made and ones they both felt happy with. No decision had to be made about Ben as he had become poorly after his fight with the rat and the bites he received. The vet had said that he needed to be put to sleep. James buried his ashes in the corner of the garden and a stone with 'Hero' written on it was placed on top.