Chapter 3

Elizabeth looked at her watch and realized that if she didn’t start back right now, she’d run the risk of missing Spike’s snack time. He would be very angry with her. She had only missed his snack time once in his lifetime, and then only by a few minutes. It took her 4 days to get Spike to forgive her. He turned very spiteful. He would ignore her and only eat when she wasn’t looking. He wouldn’t play fetch with her or purr in her lap. He would only stare at her and tear things up when she was gone. He waited every night until Elizabeth went to bed, and when she was asleep he would knock things off the shelves in her room just to wake her. He also kicked the litter out of the litter box just to watch Elizabeth clean it up. She decided she had better hurry on her way.

She turned toward the house, which was about a mile up the dirt path. It was so much easier getting here than going back, she thought to herself. Walking back up seemed to take forever. 

She stopped and looked at her watch. It was 10:45. Well, Spike, she thought. I’m going to be a little late. Please don’t be too hard on me. The path wasn’t too steep. It was just a long walk. The dirt was dry and the coolness felt good on her bare feet. She slipped her shoes back on for the walk. When I get home I’ll take them off again. But first, I’d better get Spike his snack. 

She wondered what snack Spike might like tonight. He had a strange appetite. He liked popcorn, Doritos, and Cheerios. Sometimes he preferred pieces of cheddar cheese or maybe a little vanilla ice cream. It’s funny he isn’t fat, she thought.

She continued to walk and think. Her thoughts were not of Jeff or the baby, or even her father. She was worried that Spike would take her being late too personally and out of spite, eat her goldfish. 10:59 now. She looked up the path and saw the house. It was still a good quarter mile away. She looked at her watch. 11:00. Too late.

To Be Continued….

Chapter 1

Chapter 2