The Journey Home

I call from my car and a tech emerges masked so am I COVID-19 death lurks. She takes my dog into the office and I must wait in the car in the sun blinded by steam silently oozing onto my glasses from under my mask. She reappears with my pet no big problem nothing a few pills won’t solve. The dog looks up at me smiling that goofy perpetual canine grin happy to be back with me or just looking forward to the treats that await her. As we back out an oversized pickup truck lumbers into the lot. A man emerges big beefy sun reddened rural Florida born and bred a how y’all doin’, have another beer man not one to show emotions but he looks distraught. Two techs emerge one bears a stretcher that looks like a small trampoline a child’s toy on a grave mission. Florida Man pulls a heavy bundle wrapped in a colorful blanket from the truck loads it onto the stretcher supported by the techs. Their procession moves toward the office a somber cadence. As they approach the door the head of an ancient chocolate Lab emerges from the blanket like that of a giant turtle tentatively leaving the shell looks with hollowed eyes at the world trailing behind feels the sun and breeze on his face marks it all sinks back into the blanket and they are gone. I sit for a moment looking at my dog napping peacefully now for the journey home. We are all on a journey home and as I pull into traffic I wonder how it will be.