A Lilac Creek Christmas ( a Lilac Creek Dog Story) (3 page)

Chapter Five

Snow fell all through the night and the small village of Lilac Creek woke up to an even more magical winter wonderland.  The plows had come out when the snow ended and the roads were cleared.  The day dawned bright and sunny and the snow sparkled like a garden of gemstones.  Julia was glad to see the good weather. It would make for much easier travel to the chapel for Anna’s funeral service.  She and Sam had explained what had happened to the girls and where they were going.  Brinn and Emma still had one more day of school before the holidays and Kaylee would go to her regular daycare for the day.  Only Sam, Henry and Julia would make the trip.  When the time came to leave, Henry insisted that Jasper come along as well.  In a mixture of broken speech and a kind of invented sign language he got them to understand that Anna had grown quite fond of Jasper during his visits, and Henry thought she would like it if Jasper could be at the service.  Julia was reluctant at first, wondering what the pastor and other guests might think, but in the end she agreed.  Lilac Creek was a very small town, one of those towns where everybody knew everybody and was always there to offer caring support.  When she really stopped to think about it, she couldn’t think of a single person who would object to Jasper being there.  And so, dressed against the winter weather they all loaded into the car for the trip.

Henry was somber in the back, watching the familiar countryside roll by.  Jasper was stretched out o
n the seat beside him with his big head in Henry’s lap.  Henry gently stoked the soft fur, and Julia couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind.  Henry had grown up on the old farm where they now lived and this neighborhood was all he’d ever known.  He had taken over the farm from his parents, had brought his young bride home to its warm cozy rooms, and raised his daughter Wendy there by himself after his wife passed away.  Jasper had been a stray that Henry took in after Wendy got married and moved to the west coast with her husband.  Man and mutt had grown old together and had been each other’s best friend until Henry had his stoke and had to move to the hospital.  And as much as Jasper loved his girls and his new family, the bond he shared with Henry was deep and unshakable.  This Christmas visit would be a special time for both of them. “
How unfortunate
,” Julia thought to herself, “
that it has to be marred by such tragedy
.”  And although Henry’s spirits seemed pretty good, all things considered, she knew that the service today would definitely be hard on him.  Once it was over, he would hopefully be able to relax and look forward to his time with Jasper and the rest of the family.  His daughter Wendy and her family were flying in for the holidays, so there would be plenty to keep his mind occupied.

When they arrived at the chapel, Sam helped Henry into his wheelchair while Julia snapped a leash to Jasper’s collar.

“Now you have to be a good dog,” she told him, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.  The soft touch of her hand and the look in her eyes conveyed the message perfectly. He would be good…for her and for Henry.  He was needed today, and he would not disappoint.

Most of the guests were already seated as they slipped into a pew at the very back.  Julia sat at the end of one pew with Jasper at her side.  Sam wheeled Henry down to the front of the chapel to pay his respects and have his own private moment with Anna
.  When he was ready, Sam parked his chair at the end of the pew opposite Julia and Jasper.  Jasper watched his old master intently until he was settled in beside him then he gently put a paw up into Henry’s lap as if to say, “I am here.  You have all of my love.”  Henry shook the old dog’s paw and laid his hand on the back of the furry head. 

After the service, everyone filed out of the chapel for the short
drive to the cemetery.  As everyone gathered in a small circle, the pastor said his final words over Anna’s grave.  Guests placed flowers and other small tokens of remembrance on the coffin, Henry included.  With tears glistening in his tired blue eyes, Henry placed an autographed Yankees baseball that he had kept for years on top of the casket. Anna had been a loyal Yankees fan and they had enjoyed watching many a game together.  He hoped she would be able to look down and watch the game from her new home in heaven.

W
hen Henry signaled that he was ready to go, Sam started to push him back up the snowy path towards the parking area.  Suddenly Henry put his hand on Sam’s arm to stop him, and pointed.  When Sam and Julia turned to look in the direction he was pointing, they saw a small black dog coming out from behind the gravestone next to Anna’s burial site.  It appeared to be the same dog that Julia had seen earlier in the day at the hospital, and then again at the parking lot with Henry.  Confused, Julia turned to Henry.  “Do you know this dog?” she asked.  “Does he belong to someone at the hospital?”

Henry couldn’t take his eyes off the dog.  A strange kind of smile crept across his face
again as he silently willed the dog to come to him.  The black dog sauntered directly up to Henry and licked his outstretched hand just like before, completely ignoring Jasper and all the humans who stood about.  Julia looked at Sam and Sam just shook his head and shrugged.

“
We’d better ask someone about him,” Julia finally said.  “Maybe someone in the cemetery office will know where he belongs. He doesn’t  have a collar or tags, yet he doesn’t look like a stray either. You get Henry in the car and I’ll go see what I can find out.”  While Sam got Henry and Jasper situated, Julia walked over to the little cabin that served both as an administrative office and maintenance building for the cemetery.  The black dog made no move to follow her and she wished she had thought to attach Jasper’s leash and collar to him.  When she got to the cabin, she was surprised to find all the doors locked and no one in sight.  Apparently everyone had left directly after the service.  She looked around for any signs of life but the cemetery was empty.  She returned to the car, unsure what to do.  If the dog was a stray, then authorities should be notified.  If it was just someone’s pet who lived nearby, then it would likely return home once they left.  The dog looked well too cared for to be a stray so Julia decided on the latter possibility.  He was most likely just out for a stroll and would return home once the visitors to the cemetery were finally gone.  Sam agreed with her, and started the car.  As they drove down the laneway to the main road, Sam said to Julia, “Look who’s following us.”

Julia turned her head around and there was the black dog following behind the car.  Jasper gave a couple of short barks, and Henry turned in his seat to look too.  Again the strange smile appeared and a tender glow appeared in
Henry’s eyes.  “Anna,” his raspy voice whispered, so low that no one else could hear.  Jasper turned to him, seeming to understand in spite of his broken ears.

“Well we can’t let him follow us out to the main road,” Julia said with urgency and panic in her voice.  For a moment all she could see were the visions of that day when Jasper had run out onto the road in
front of her car.  Fortunately, he hadn’t been hurt and it had all worked out for the best, but she still felt a big knot in her stomach every time she thought about it.  At her worried tone, Sam stopped the car and waited to see what the dog would do.  When the car stopped, the dog stopped.  Sam pulled ahead again slowly and the dog followed once again.

“It appears he intends to follow us home,” said Sam
. “What do you think we should do?”

“I guess we should bring him home and try to find out who owns him.”  Sam couldn’t help himself from laughing.
Julia looked at him questioningly.

“
Remember what happened the last time you did that?” he joked.

“Oh, I remember alr
ight,” Julia smiled, looking at Jasper in the back. “But I don’t think we have any choice.”  Sam agreed and they both got out.  The dog had stopped walking and watched them closely as they approached.  He wasn’t at all aggressive, just watchful. Julia put a hand on Sam’s arm as she stopped.  She gave her head a bit of a nod toward the car suggesting that they turn around a walk back. “I just want to see what he does.”  Sure enough, as they headed back to the car, the dog again began to follow them.  When Julia reached the car she opened the back door and stood to the side.  Then she made a come on gesture with her hand. The little dog hesitated for only a second and then scampered into the back seat landing directly on Henry’s lap.  Julia had never seen a bigger grin on Henry’s face.  The black dog was licking Henry’s face, while his whole furry body contorted in ecstatic wiggles.  Jasper stuck his nose right into the middle of the fray and Henry hugged them both. Julia and Sam looked on in astonishment.

“I have no idea what just happened, but I think maybe we’re going to have an extra guest for the holidays.”  Since the next day was Friday, and the day before Christmas Eve, she didn’t expect
they would have much luck searching for his owner until Christmas was over.  “I just hate the thought that someone might be missing their pet.”

“We’ll do what we can,”
Sam assured her.  “We can stop by the hospital right now and see if anyone knows anything, and we can contact the local shelter here before we head home.  We’ll leave word with them that we’ve found the dog, and give them our number. We’ll drive around the neighborhood for a bit too, and ask any folks who are out and about if they recognize him.”  Julia nodded and she turned in her seat to once again watch the happy trio in the back.

Chapter Six

Neither the stop at the hospital, the shelter or the neighborhood had yielded any results. No one had reported a dog lost or missing, and no one at the hospital had even seen the black dog hanging around.  And none of the people they queried had ever seen the little dog before.

“Well I guess he’s ours for the holidays,” Julia sighed.  “Brinn will be absolutely over the moon at the idea of having another dog in the house!”

“Will she ever!” Sam agreed.  “And from the looks of Henry, I’d say he’s going to enjoy it too.  Strange how he and that dog  just took to each other that way.”  Julia nodded in agreement.

“You
would think they had known each other for ages!”

Conversation for the rest of the trip home revolved around plans for finding the dog
’s owner as soon as possible.  They would make and distribute posters and put them up all around Wilmot as well as Lilac Creek, just as they had for Jasper.  Hopefully someone would claim him soon.

When
they finally got home, Sam let the dogs out first before helping Henry out of the car.  As he watched Jasper head immediately over to a tree to relieve himself, he laughed and called to Julia.

“The first thing we better do is stop calling him “he”, Sam laughed as the black dog followed Jasper’s lead.  Julia glanced over and smiled.

“Come here girl,” she said with a chuckle.  “Let’s take you in and introduce you to everyone.”

As expected, Brinn squealed with delight when she saw the two dogs come in.  Her squeals were quickly followed by a myriad of questions about how they found her and what they were going to do about her, and of course, expressions of hope that they would ultimately be able to keep her just as they had Jasper. 

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” said Sam, trying to bring her back down to earth.  “I’m sure she’s somebody’s pet.  She has been very well looked after.” 

“I know,” said Brinn with an exaggerated sigh, “but a girl can hope!”  Sam and Julia just laughed.  “She sure likes
Henry,” Brinn added, watching the two of them sitting by the fire.  The black dog was once again curled up in Henry’s lap as if they were old buddies.

“She certainly does,” said Julia.  “It was almost eerie, as if they already knew each other. But anyway, now that we’re home and she’s here let’s concentrate on the holidays and we’ll do what we can to find her owners as soon as we can.” 

Emma had been pretty quiet about the dog, and now added her opinion. “It’s very sad to think that someone will be spending their holidays missing their dog.”  Julia knew she was probably remembering the time when she had been parted from her own dog Tucker.  When her parents died, she was taken into foster care and she had never seen her dog again.  Nor did she ever find out what had happened to him.  This situation was obviously bringing back some very sad memories.  Julia walked over to Emma and gave her a hug.

“I know, it is sad to think about that, but we’ll do everything we can to find out where this
little lady belongs just as soon as we can.”

“But what if no one claims her?  What if her people just abandoned her? What if they died or something and no one knows about her? What if….”  Julia stopped her in mid sentence.

“Then she will have a wonderful, happy life here with us.”  Emma seemed satisfied with that answer, but she was a little quiet for the rest of the evening.

After dinner was enjoyed and the table cleared, Julia sat with the girls to make a list of Christmas baking they were going to do the next day.  Sam
would be heading to the airport to pick up Henry’s daughter Wendy and her family who were also coming to spend the holidays.  Jasper had brought them all together, and they were now very close. Wendy usually flew out for visits on her own as it was costly to fly the whole family.  But this time they were all coming and Henry was very excited to be seeing the grandkids. Although Wendy hadn’t said as much, Julia knew she was concerned that this might very well be Henry’s last Christmas, and she wanted the kids to have a good visit with their Grandpa.

The evening passed comfortably while a beautiful Christmas snow fell outside.  The big fat flakes were illuminated by the
Christmas lights on the house as they drifted by the window. Lilac Creek would be beautiful for Christmas as always.  As the hour drew late, Julia helped Henry get settled in his new room.  When she checked on him later, she smiled to see the little black dog curled up at his feet, while his old furry friend snored away on his dog bed beside him.  Jasper would have been on the bed too if his old arthritic legs would have permitted.  But his bed hopping days were over and they had bought him the biggest and best dog bed they could find.  He opened one sleepy eye when Julia opened the door and gave a small thump of his tail, letting her know that he had everything here under control.

As Julia climbed into bed beside Sam, she said a silent prayer of thanks for the wonderful life she had.