Relentless Night

After an excruciatingly long day with temperatures well above 100º, I waited until after dark before finally venturing outside to do the grocery shopping and take Duncan for an extended walk. We met up with Melissa and Kona at the edge of the parking lot, crossed Bowles, braving the sprinklers in the median and ventured into the park. It was still quite hot, the first night we haven't cooled down to the sixties all summer. Instead the temperatures hovered in the high eighties, sheening us in sweat and misery. Melissa and I are usually quite chatty but tonight we could only stand watching the dogs, too exhausted to make more than the simplest of chit-chat. While the dogs romped and played, Melissa swatted at her exposed arms and legs as the mosquitoes descended on her en masse. I wasn't bothered at all. Much to the annoyance of most of my friends, who apparently have much more delectable blood than I, the little buggers don't bother me at all... except in North Dakota, where they flock to me. The dogs rolled for a bit but finally we were driven off the field by the blood suckers and the thirty or so kids who overran us playing Ultimate Frisbee.

Duncan was quite displeased with my decision to return home and did one of his pouty fits where he drags his feet, hangs his head low and moves at a snail's pace, forcing me to practically drag him. Finally, quite near our building, he reared up and bolted around the side of the building into the dark, dragging me behind him. I ambled along trying to maintain control of the leash until I discovered the source of his rush: someone had dumped a cooler of ice in the tall grass beneath their balcony, leaving a sizable pile of quickly melting cubes which shimmered in the glow of the lamps from the baseball diamonds across the street. Duncan tip-toed into them, sliding only a bit as they shifted under his weight, sniffing for any stray goodies that may have been left behind. Finally, when everything seemed satisfactory he tipped gracelessly over on his side and rolled through them, a smile wide on his narrow, red face. Even I couldn't stand there without enjoying the relief so I kicked off my shoes, stuffed my socks into my pockets and joined Duncan by wading into them until his flailing scattered them across the grass where they melted even faster.

I tell you, he's a brilliant friend, smarter than almost anyone I know. Sure, he occasionally eats an unidentifiable scrap but who doesn't have their eccentricities?