Mosaic Spring 2016 | Page 77

Kudos by Steven Boyd concrete benches and white trellises; a gazebo perched atop a peninsula extending into the pond behind their house. So she felt justified when Cinnamon left a steaming landmine on their fresh-cut lawn. At that moment, Shelby recalled a time when Mr. O’Leary attempted to chase Cinnamon out of their yard with a garden hose, but she was enamored of the water cannon and began to bite at the oncoming shower. Shelby was nearly certain that O’Leary was responsible for restraining Cinnamon, which then caused her to faint. Of course, she would never chain her up. She kept Cinnamon in the shack, and she had all a dog needed: a toilet for water and a kitchen to guard—she’d be paid in full with pizza crusts and popcorn. Suddenly, O’Leary was barking: “Get out of here!” Cinnamon retreated to the shrub line. “Go on,” O’Leary begged. But she stood her ground. And then he charged her. Shelby broke through the property line and when O’Leary saw her, he rolled his sunken blue eyes, “We’re not doing this again, Cray. Just keep your dog off my property.” “It won’t do any damn good since you let your frisky mutts roam the neighborhood,” she said. O’Leary’s eyes began to slip beyond her shoulder. “And let them put their paws all over my… sweet… Cinnamon!” O’Leary’s young stud yellow lab, Teddy, had mounted the boxer. Then, Shelby charged at Teddy, who refused to let go of the breast-to-back embrace. When she finally separated the two, she was panting herself. Teddy’s persistence became too much for Shelby so she began to escort her dog to the shrub line. “Oh,” O’Leary hollered. “Since our sheep dog still remembers the sound of your paintball gun, I’ll be more than happy to introduce Cinnamon to ours. So, keep that crazy, mangy bitch off of our property.” Once they had crossed the thicket, Shelby struggled to get the stiff, red collar around Cinnamon’s neck. Cinnamon couldn’t get pregnant. Shelby couldn’t handle a litter. I’ll call the pound, she thought, and then Cinnamon will be the only dog on the gravel strip known as Sunset Drive. As she turned away, Cinnamon’s paws lunged for her back and Shelby hit her head on a rock. 75