The Gift (9 page)

“That crazy mutt has a mind of his own,” Adam muttered. “Maybe if I stay inside awhile longer, he’ll leave.” Adam took a few celery stalks from the refrigerator and snipped off the ends. After rinsing the pieces, he got the peanut butter and spread it on the celery. He munched on one and wrapped the others to put in his lunch pail for the following day. After placing the rest of the celery back in the fridge, he paused a minute, making sure he had enough bread, lunch meat, and cheese to make a sandwich in the morning to take to work. Satisfied that there was plenty, he shut the refrigerator door. He looked out the window but didn’t see the dog.

“Oh, good.” Adam grabbed the peanut butter and went to the pantry. After putting the jar away, he took out a pack of crackers and a few cookies to add to his lunch box. Now all he’d have to do in the morning before heading to work was make a sandwich.

“Guess it’s safe to go back outside.” Grabbing his hat, Adam went out the door but halted when he approached the barn and saw the mutt lying there, looking up at him.

“Are you still here?”

The dog wagged his tail but didn’t budge.

Adam wondered if the critter might be lost or abandoned. He’d heard of people driving to an area outside their neighborhood and dropping off their unwanted pet. Even though Adam didn’t care much for dogs, he thought it was terrible if someone had deserted the Lab.

Flash nickered when Adam drew near and ran a hand down the horse’s neck. “What do you think of that pesky dog?”

Flash snorted and shook his head.

“I feel the same way.” Adam chuckled as he unhooked the horse, leading him past the dog and into the barn.

Before leaving for work, Adam had raked out the stall and put fresh bedding inside for his horse. At least that was one chore he wouldn’t have to do this evening. Adam led Flash into the stall and started brushing him down. When that was done, he gave the horse fresh water and put oats in the feeding bin. While Flash ate, Adam ran a curry comb through the horse’s mane. Taking care of Flash was relaxing, especially after the way today had turned out.

When Adam finished combing Flash’s mane, he noticed that his shoulders actually felt somewhat better. He put the brush and comb away then came back to scratch Flash’s ears. “You’re good therapy for me, you know that Flash? Who needs reflexology anyways?”

Flash nuzzled his nose into Adam’s hand and nickered softly.

Adam brushed off some wet oats from his horse’s mouth that had stuck to his hands. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the dog was still there, watching from the barn’s entrance. Closing the door to the stall, he hung the horse’s bridle, along with the blinders, on the hook next to the stall door.

Suddenly, Flash started snorting and blowing air through his nostrils. Because he knew his horse so well, Adam was sure something was wrong. He looked around but didn’t see anything unusual. Then he noticed that Flash appeared to be looking toward the back corner of the barn. Adam moved cautiously in that direction. Backed into the corner was a portly groundhog, baring his teeth and snarling. The groundhog ran past Adam’s feet, toward the open barn door.

Adam ran outside in time to see the barking Lab disappear as he chased the varmint behind the barn. “Good, let him take care of the groundhog.” Adam closed the barn door. “I don’t need any more hassles today.”

Just as he reached the porch steps, Adam heard a distressed-sounding
yip
! Groundhogs had large front teeth and could probably deliver a nasty bite. Without thinking twice, he ran to the back of the barn, but all was quiet, and neither the dog nor the groundhog was anywhere to be seen. Looking closer, Adam noticed a chewed-out hole that went through the wall of the barn. In the dirt in front of the hole was a spot of blood. Adam scanned the area again but saw no sign of the dog or groundhog. Taking off his hat, he ran his fingers through his hair.
Did that groundhog bite him? Or did the Lab bite the groundhog?
Either way, he’d have to get rid of the pest, because he couldn’t have a groundhog getting into the barn again, alarming, or even biting his horse.

He hoped the mutt was okay and would find his family, because that dog would never have a home with Adam.

E
ntering the kitchen, Adam paused to yawn and stretch his arms over his head. Then he rolled his head from side to side, hoping to get the kinks out. For some reason, he’d had a hard time sleeping last night, and now he had a stiff neck.
Probably from all that went on yesterday,
he decided.
Well, today is bound to be better.

Before leaving for work, Adam fixed himself a cup of coffee, ate a banana, and then headed outside to the phone shack to check for messages, which he’d neglected to do last night. Opening the back door and stepping onto the porch, he nearly tripped over something. Looking down, he realized that the determined mutt was lying on his porch.

Disgusted, he stepped around the dog and sprinted down the driveway.
Maybe if I ignore the critter he’ll go away. Guess that’s wishful thinking, ’cause it hasn’t worked yet.

Inside the phone shack Adam took a seat and checked his messages. The first one was from his neighbor, Clarence Lambright, saying they had some extra eggs and asking if Adam wanted a dozen. Adam dialed Clarence’s number and left a message, thanking him for the offer and letting him know that he would pick up the eggs on his way home from work.

The next message was from Adam’s sister telling him that she and her family planned to hire a driver next week and come to Arthur to celebrate Adam’s birthday. As much as Adam looked forward to their visit, he didn’t really care about celebrating his birthday. Turning thirty was no big deal. Adam wouldn’t discourage her from coming, though. He hadn’t seen Mary, Amos, and their girls since Christmas, and it would be good to see them again.

After returning Mary’s call and leaving a message saying he looked forward to their visit, Adam stepped out of the phone shack.

Woof! Woof!
The Lab looked up at Adam with sorrowful brown eyes.

Adam gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe the mutt had followed him here. Didn’t this dog ever give up?

Adam headed back to the house, and as he opened the door, the dog leaped forward. Adam grabbed the Lab’s collar to pull him back, stepped inside, and quickly shut the door. The persistent animal remained on the porch and whined. Adam remembered the dog’s encounter with the groundhog and figured he’d better check to see if he had been bitten.

“The critter’s probably hungry and thirsty, too,” Adam mumbled under his breath. “Guess it wouldn’t hurt if I gave him a little something to eat and drink.”

Adam found a plastic bowl and filled it with water. Then he went to the refrigerator and grabbed a couple leftover hot dogs. While the dog ate hungrily and lapped up the water, Adam checked for wounds. Seeing none, he figured the Lab must have been the victor or at least chased the groundhog off.

Adam patted the dog’s matted coat. “What you need is a good bath and thorough combing.” He thumped the side of his head.
I must be getting soft in the noggin. If I do all that, I’ll never get rid of the mutt.

“I’m heading to Elaine’s now,” Leah called to her mother after she’d finished drying the breakfast dishes.

Mom had been gathering up the living-room throw rugs to shake outside, and she poked her head into the kitchen. “Oh, that’s right. I had forgotten you were going over there to help her clean. Will you be back in time for lunch, or will you stay and eat with Elaine?”

“I’ll stay there. Priscilla is coming over around noon to eat lunch with us. We three haven’t gotten together in a while, and it’ll give us a chance to catch up with one another’s lives.”

“Well, have a good time, and don’t work too hard.”

“Same goes for you, Mom. I know you said during breakfast that your back feels better, but try not to overdo it.”

Mom smiled. “I’m not going to do any heavy cleaning—just touch things up a bit.”

“I’d stay and help if I hadn’t already promised Elaine.”

Mom waved her hand. “That’s okay. Go and enjoy your day.”

Leah took her black outer bonnet down from the wall peg and put it on over her white head covering. “See you later, Mom.”

As Leah headed down the road on her bike, she passed Adam’s house and noticed a black Lab sitting at the end of his driveway.

I wonder where that dog came from.
As far as Leah knew, Adam didn’t have a dog.
Well, it’s none of my business,
she told herself.
If it’s a stray or one of his neighbor’s dogs, it probably wandered onto his property looking for food, or maybe it was chasing a cat or some other critter.

Thinking about Adam, Leah reflected on how he’d fixed her bicycle chain. She’d definitely seen a kinder side of him yesterday. Maybe they could set their differences aside and be friends. Of course, Adam might not be interested in being Leah’s friend. He seemed content to be by himself when he wasn’t working in his store, so she wouldn’t pursue a friendship with him. If Adam wanted to be Leah’s friend, he’d have to do the pursuing.

When Adam arrived at his store a few minutes later than usual, he was glad to see Ben already waiting on a customer, Leah’s father. There was no sign of his other employee, so Adam figured Henry’s shoulder was still giving him problems. He probably wouldn’t be in again today, but hopefully by Monday, Henry would be back to work.

Adam stepped up to the counter. “
Guder mariye,
Ben. Same to you, Alton.”

Ben nodded, but Alton barely squeaked out a “good morning” in response. Wrinkling his nose, he turned from the counter. “Guess I’ll go look again for that blade I need,” he called over his shoulder.

“Whew… what’s that spicy smell?” Ben asked, leaning away from Adam.

Adam’s face flushed. “Well, I did use some new aftershave lotion this morning. Guess that could be what you smell.”

“What’d ya do, take a bath in it?” Ben plugged his nose.

“Course not.” Adam grunted. “Thanks to the time I took to take care of the mutt that followed me home yesterday, I was in a hurry this morning. Guess I must’ve put on a little too much balm after I shaved.”

“What mutt was that?” Ben asked.

“The black Lab that was hanging around here yesterday. The critter followed me home, and I couldn’t get rid of him.” Adam turned toward the back room. “I’ll fill you in later. Right now I need to go to the washroom and try to get some of this lotion off my face so I don’t chase away all our customers today. After that, I’ll be in my office, going over some paperwork. If you need me, just give a holler.”

“No problem. It doesn’t look like Henry will be working again today, but I’m sure I can manage on my own unless it gets really busy.”

Adam nodded, thankful once again that he’d hired Ben.

A bit later, as Adam was heading toward his office, a teenage boy wearing a baseball cap stepped up to him. It was the shoplifter.

“Came back to return this stuff to you.” The boy handed Adam a pair of gloves and the two small shovels he’d taken. “I know what I did was wrong, and I… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

Stunned, Adam hardly knew how to respond. He’d never expected to get the stuff back, much less receive an apology from the boy. “Why’d you do it?” Adam asked. “Was it just for the sport of it, or to prove that you could take those things and get away with it?”

The boy shook his head. “My dad’s out of work, and my folks are short on money right now. So my mom’s been trying to sell some produce from her garden.” He frowned. “She’s been pulling weeds with no garden gloves, and the handle on the shovel she uses broke yesterday morning.”

“So you came into my store and took what wasn’t yours.” A muscle on the side of Adam’s neck quivered. He felt bad about the boy’s father being out of work, but stealing was wrong, and the kid ought to learn a lesson.

The boy dropped his gaze to the floor. “The stuff I took hasn’t been used. When my folks found out what I did, they said I had to bring everything back this morning.” His voice cracked. “Dad’s making me do extra chores around the place now, and he said I should do some work for you, too, to make up for what I did.”