Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sweet Dreams


Today I was working at the computer in my study and most of the dogs were outside enjoying the cooler weather (upper 80's instead of 100+). I paused to mentally search for a word (which I do more and more often these days), swiveled in my chair, and saw that I was alone in the room except for Berry, who was conked out on the spare bed (that's the bed that guests used to sleep on before dog pee made it useless for that purpose).

As usual, Berry's eyes were closed and his face was smiling. And why not? He's a lazy guy resting on a cushy bed in an air-conditioned house with his head on a pillow and his Grammy a few feet away. Who wouldn't smile? That scene happens a dozen times a week. A dozen times a day. But this time it was different, because Berry's tail was wagging. Thump, thump, thump against the bed. I thought, maybe he's awake after all. But on closer inspection, his eyelids were closed while his eyeballs did the rapid eye movement that indicates deep sleep. My boy was asleep and dreaming a happy dream. Not the anxious kind of dream that Jinx has, with twitching, "running" legs and desperate, muffled woofs. No, Berry was wagging his tail at something wonderful.
When Mister P. got home, I told him about Berry's dream and asked him what it could have been about. Mister P. said, "He was dreaming about eating a cat."
Maybe. But I think he was dreaming about being a sultan in a luxurious tent, with apricot poodles fanning him and bringing him sweet-meats and flagons of chicken liver wine.

No comments: