AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laugh loudly.
“Yeah, you’re right. They love you more.”
She wags her tail and I kiss her furry head.
Getting Molly was the best adult decision I’ve ever made, even if she’s demanding and needs to pull me out of the house four or five times a day.
I’m convinced I have half my followers thanks to her.
Molly runs beside me as I spring into a healthy jog again, the fresh breeze kissing my face. The leash is still wrapped around my hand, but I don’t give her any room.
Most of the time, she’s reliable.
Her recall is good.
I’ve done so much training with her that I’m pretty sureIwould respond to a cooing voice and smelly salmon treat, but the doggo knows what I expect by now.
Though I’m guessing she’ll always have one weakness.
Birds.
Any kind, from the smallest hummer to the biggest screeching eagle, causes her to lose her senses.
If she was chasing a seagull off a cliff, she’d go right over with it.
If the bird dove into the water, Mol would swim too.
I love her, but when it comes to birds, she’s a total doofus.
“Absolutely not!” I tell her as we pass a bunch of black oystercatchers roaming the shore, their distinct red beaks ready for feasting.
Molly grumbles, one ear flopping adorably as she stares them down.
I know what she’s thinking.
If I’m not supposed to chase birds, why are there birds?
“You have a point,” I say, and she glances back at me. The sand is firm and I don’t lose pace as we pass by them without incident. “But no. Birds are part of the ecology around here. You go chasing and eating them, and pretty soon we’ll all be joining the dinosaurs.”
She grumbles again at hearing “no.”
Call me crazy, I talk to her a lot.
She doesn’t understand most of my rambling, but that’s one word we’ve worked on to death. Husky pups need to be told “no” a lot.
The beach opens up as I head to the point where the lighthouse juts into the sky. As lighthouses go, it’s a small one, but I love getting to the point and staring out into the bay.
Just me, the sea, and nature.
Being here makes me feel like everything is all right with the world.
The sun has fully risen like a gold balloon by the time I reach the lighthouse. The wind picks up more, though, turning the gentle morning breeze into a proper gale.
It roars against my ears, tossing my hair up.
I slow to a stop, picking my way across the rocks and gazing out to sea.
From Alki Point, I can make out southern Bainbridge and Blake Island. On the other side of the bay past that, the wild growth of the Banner Forest National Park awaits.
