2nd Place for College Fiction-2016 Met Awards
The damp beige brick wall with red trim was slowly numbing his buttocks as he dialed his brother again.
PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE SOUND OF THE BEEP. He hangs up angrily.
He sighs as he struggles from the wall and drags himself up the driveway to try the door again. Locked. Walking back down the drive he turns and stares at the two-story house that shares the same paint job as the low brick wall surrounding its lawn, the lights from his brother’s room and the guest room glaring from the windows facing the street. He looks around the cul-de-sac. All had the same color, same brick wall, and the same solitary dying tree planted firmly in the front yard. The street, like all suburban neighborhoods in his experience, was eerily quiet. He missed the constant flow of night traffic. Shivering as the mist brought on by the evening rain penetrates his work clothes, he is about the dial his brother again when something brushes across his leg. It dives under his sedan. Startled he gingerly walks to the edge of the curb and kneels. The faint orange glow of the street lamp does little to help him see under the vehicle. “What he f-” Suddenly a Rottweiler bursts out from under the car. “Son of a-” He jumps back, trips over the knee-high wall, and falls to the wet grass landing square on his back. Lying winded, the Rottweiler is at his face within seconds.
The door has a trick to it, if you shut it too hard you’ll lock yourself out.
Then the Rottweiler begins to lick him. He spits at the dog. He stands up, the Rottweiler licking him through the motion. After dusting himself off, he takes a closer look at the dog. The Rottweiler has a collar, an owner. He looks up at the house staring blankly back at him with its yellow eyes. Maybe I’ll look around for this guy…or grateful girl. He could get to know the neighborhood, interact with the neighbors. He opened his car and took a shoelace from a work boot he found in one of the cardboard boxes. He ties it to the Rottweiler and is about to close the door when he decides to get what he had originally come outside for.
With full comprehension of his own stupidity, he took a stick of gum from the pack he pulled out and walked down the hushed sidewalk, Rottweiler in hand. Immediately it tries to pull him down the block, but he decided he would be systematic about the process. He walks up to the first door.
“Hello, ummm, I found this dog, is it yours?”
“Yeah this dog was walking down the street, I was wondering if it belonged to you…”
“This your Dog?”
“Yeah this dog was walking down the street, I was wondering if it belonged to you…”
“This your Dog?”
The next door had an exaggerated bell that the residents seemed to like to let ring to its completion. A hopefully grateful girl answered the door.
“Oh hey, I found this Rottweiler a couple blocks away, so I decided to look for its master…” Nailed it he thought.
Awwww that’s sweet-”
Then a man walks up from behind, embraces her and gives her a hope-killing caress.
“What’s up Babe?”
He walks home tugging on the dog, as he had throughout his search. The Rottweiler whimpered with each pull. He stops in his tracks. Stupid.
He lets the dog lead him. The Rottweiler takes him past the two story houses with hazel colored lights blinking from living rooms and bedrooms. He leads him past the small park where teenagers do drugs during the long summers. He drives him through puddles, down a concrete path past all the lights of suburbia. His phone begins to ring. It’s his brother.
“Hello?”
The dog leads him to a drainage aqueduct shining and trickling with rainwater on the side of the trail. A worn Reebok sits overturned on its edge.
“What’s up?”
He looks down as the Rottweiler gets away from him and runs downs the sloped wall of the duct, barking wildly.
“Holy Shit”
At the bottom of the ravine lay an elderly man half submerged in the cold current, shaking violently, reaching out with a weathered hand.
“Call 911, I am at the ravine.”
“Oh hey, I found this Rottweiler a couple blocks away, so I decided to look for its master…” Nailed it he thought.
Awwww that’s sweet-”
Then a man walks up from behind, embraces her and gives her a hope-killing caress.
“What’s up Babe?”
He walks home tugging on the dog, as he had throughout his search. The Rottweiler whimpered with each pull. He stops in his tracks. Stupid.
He lets the dog lead him. The Rottweiler takes him past the two story houses with hazel colored lights blinking from living rooms and bedrooms. He leads him past the small park where teenagers do drugs during the long summers. He drives him through puddles, down a concrete path past all the lights of suburbia. His phone begins to ring. It’s his brother.
“Hello?”
The dog leads him to a drainage aqueduct shining and trickling with rainwater on the side of the trail. A worn Reebok sits overturned on its edge.
“What’s up?”
He looks down as the Rottweiler gets away from him and runs downs the sloped wall of the duct, barking wildly.
“Holy Shit”
At the bottom of the ravine lay an elderly man half submerged in the cold current, shaking violently, reaching out with a weathered hand.
“Call 911, I am at the ravine.”
“What?”
He drops the phone and sprints, splashing furiously through the murk. “I’m Here…I’m Here…”
The ambulance and police lights spin and flash seemingly simultaneously. Their cherry shine burning the dead weeds rolled over from their entrance. He was wearing a ridiculous, itchy blanket as we watched the old man be wheeled away on a gurney. They smiled trembling grins at each other as the doors closed. His brother is standing a couple feet away dressed in a two piece suit that either saw a long day at the office or a long night out. He has a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He laughs.
“When you roll into town you really roll in dontcha?”
He slaps him on the back and walks off to get more complementary coffee.
The officer takes his place.
“You know if you hadn’t shown up, no one would have found this man till morning.” The officer beams. “Good job kid.”
“What are you gonna do with his dog?” he asks, gesturing to the Rottweiler entertaining himself with a plastic bag next to the ambulance.
“Granddaughter said she’ll take him in the meantime.” explains the officer.
Sure enough, a grateful girl walks up with the Rottweiler and a smile.
“Hey there, is this your shoelace?”
“Ummm, yeah it is sorry…”
“Don’t be, I’m Emma.”
“Hi I’m…New in town.”
He drops the phone and sprints, splashing furiously through the murk. “I’m Here…I’m Here…”
The ambulance and police lights spin and flash seemingly simultaneously. Their cherry shine burning the dead weeds rolled over from their entrance. He was wearing a ridiculous, itchy blanket as we watched the old man be wheeled away on a gurney. They smiled trembling grins at each other as the doors closed. His brother is standing a couple feet away dressed in a two piece suit that either saw a long day at the office or a long night out. He has a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He laughs.
“When you roll into town you really roll in dontcha?”
He slaps him on the back and walks off to get more complementary coffee.
The officer takes his place.
“You know if you hadn’t shown up, no one would have found this man till morning.” The officer beams. “Good job kid.”
“What are you gonna do with his dog?” he asks, gesturing to the Rottweiler entertaining himself with a plastic bag next to the ambulance.
“Granddaughter said she’ll take him in the meantime.” explains the officer.
Sure enough, a grateful girl walks up with the Rottweiler and a smile.
“Hey there, is this your shoelace?”
“Ummm, yeah it is sorry…”
“Don’t be, I’m Emma.”
“Hi I’m…New in town.”
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