alone

A man is arrested for throwing his daughter down a construction hole while he had visitation time. He had been with her less than half an hour and she remains in critical condition at Childrens Hospital...The dog barks at something she hears, something I do not and makes her way to the front door, the others simply watching her as she is reprimanded and told to be quiet.

I move my thoughts to the outdoor, th my body walking slowly with me. The screen no longer squeaks as the WD-40 I sprayed worked, but temporarily at best.

I sit and look around. Dusk has fallen. It is a Friday night and I have nothing to do...again. My phone sits by my side and does not ring and I scroll through the numbers thinking of someone to call when I am distracted by the sound of the chimes ringing with the moving of the blow wind. A neighbor waves as she speeds through the alley, Ashley Marie only starring this time rather than chasing the car and barking from within the fence.

I have my clothes on to walk and am almost ready to leave, looking at my I-Touch to decide what I am in the mood to listen to. All that music and nothing is appealing, but I choose something, anything, put out my cigarette and head back indoors to a squabble of some sort. I shake my head and leave, locking the door behind me, taking the little dog as well as Ashley Marie, they becoming my friends, my compatriots for the moment and until we return at least.

Upon returning I am hot and thirsty. I change clothes as I listen to commentators deciphering the upcoming debate, telling me and everyone else what I (we) will hear. I take my glass full of water and the dogs and move back outside, they receiving cookies for a job well done, me remembering again its Friday night and I sit alone with my thoughts, many, and smoke until my heart rate returns to normal or my water glass needs a refill...
alone.