A Man and His Dog

Posted on Fri 19th Mar, 2021 @ 4:19am by Chief Petty Officer Samuel Barbee
Edited on on Fri 19th Mar, 2021 @ 4:34am

566 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Barbee's Quarters
Timeline: MD 6 evening hours

ON:

Sam was lucky enough to be given quarters without a roommate. He guessed it was because of his tenure at the station. Maybe it was because of his leg or maybe because of his charming personality. Whichever it was, he was glad for the solitude. As he shuffled around the small apartment, he dragged his left leg just a bit. His leg ached most nights after a walk with Bodi or a workout. He'd manage to soothe the ache before he slept for the night. It was his usual routine and tonight wasn't much different.

"Steak, medium rare and eggs, scrambled," He sounded tired because he'd had a long day. He hadn't met up with any friends tonight so he'd opted to work out and then took his dog for a long walk. Shuffling back to the small table in the tiny kitchen, he flopped into his chair and with a sigh, dug into his plate of steak and eggs. As he ate, Sam felt the wet nose of Bodi, his dog, nudge at his calf before he heard the tiny whimper. He could feel the tapping of the dog's tail against the table leg in anticipation.

"Here you go Bodi." He smirked as he handed a piece of steak down to the bushy Havanese at his feet. The dog took the scrap and scarfed it down before giving an enthusiastic yip asking for more. "Hey, this is my dinner," Sam scolded the dog playfully. "You already had yours." He, of course, indulged the dog and tossed another scrap of fat from his steak down to the dog before finishing the last bite for himself.

After finishing his dinner, Sam cleared his plate and went back to the food slot. "Whiskey, two ounces, not synthetic." He ordered and then moved to the more comfortable sofa in the center of his small apartment. The moment he sat down, Bodi jumped into Sam's lap and rested his head on Sam's thigh. Sam instinctively started petting the dog. With nothing left on his schedule for the night, Sam took the time to relax. He authored a communique to his sister back on Earth while he listened to some old country music. The entire time, Bodi kept him company.

Before heading to his bed, Sam doubled checked that Bodi had water in his bowl for drinking should he get thirsty in the night. He kept a glass of ice water on his bedside table for himself as well. Sam jumped into a hot shower to relax his body and clean the day from his mind. It gave the whiskey time to kick in. Being the lone resident in his home, he saw no need to wear clothing from shower to bed or into bed as he preferred to sleep naturally.

As Sam slipped into bed, he paused for a moment and rubbed his hands down his leg, massaging the soreness left behind, even after the whiskey, out before slipping under the blanket. "Bedtime, boy." He called as he rolled into position to sleep.

Bodi obediently took his place on top of the blankets and near the foot of the bed, curled up against Sam's bad leg. Both friends were soon asleep, Sam dreamed of things that might have been while Bodi dreamed of chasing chipmunks along the river walk on the Promenade where he and Sam walked every day.

 

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