Whippet Tales May 2013 Edition 1 VOL.1, Issue 1, May 2013 | Page 23

sure that his surgery was a success and that he could be free to go home.
Each day Lila visited Joel, whether he was awake or not. The day that her father declared
him free to go home Lila invited him to her house for supper. He was introduced to Lila's three
older brothers and their mother's fried chicken. After they ate, they went for a walk and Joel
stopped her when they reached the ice cream shop they planned to order from. He stuck his
hand in his pocket and Lila's heart pounded, sure he was going to propose. He pulled out a
familiar linen napkin. “You forgot this when you brought me cookies at the hospital. I'm still not
quite sure how you forgot it when you remembered to take the basket.”
She took the napkin, grateful he couldn't read her thoughts. As he reached in his other
pocket she felt her excitement level increase again. She almost groaned as he pulled out a
bandana. “I bought a bandana today, since they're classy and all. Do you like it?”
She looked at the red, wrinkled bandana and almost laughed. “It doesn't look new
anymore.”
“Pockets have that effect.”
“Why don't you try it on?”
“I don't know how to wear a bandana.”
“Here let me help you,” she said, leading him to a picnic table. “Close your eyes.” She sat
down at the table, unfolding the bandana, trying to figure out how to remove the wrinkles while
giving Joel a western effect. Opening the bandana, she saw a small waded piece of paper. She
got up and made her way to the trash can. She turned her head when Joel called out to her.
“Where you going?”
“I'll be right back, don't worry.”
After throwing away the random paper wad, she set to work putti ng the bandana
around Joel's neck, adjusting it just right. “There. You look great. Now all you need is a cowboy
hat. And a plaid shirt. And a classy belt buckle. And some cowboy boots.”
“Okay, okay. I get it. Might I ask your preference on the color of suspenders you want me
to get?”
“I'm not that bad.”
He raised a brow at her and then looked at her expectantly. “So...”
“Oh. You really want to know? Um...I guess red would be fine.”
Joel started acting peculiar, looking around on the table and the ground. “Is something
wrong?”
“No. Well, kind of. I had an important piece of paper in that bandana.”
“Joel! Why didn't you tell me it was important? It was all waded up and I figured it was
trash so I threw it away.”
They both ran to the trash, having to dig a little deeper than they wanted to in order to
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Whippet Tales 2.0

May 2013