I Hung Up. The End.

Last year, shortly after we adopted Lobo, I had reconnected with an acquaintance of mine. It had been several years since we had chatted. After a few messages, we took a bit o' time out of our afternoon for a phone chat. I was excited to hear their voice after such a long stretch of time.

And that excitement continued when their call came through. I answered. A few minutes of casual chat and banter.

Then I asked, "So...what have you been you up to? I've seen your Facebook posts, but fill me in!"

That conversation began with, "Well, I've moved up in life. Better investments. More money. Travel. Lots of vacations."

Blah. Blah. Blah. Sigh.

I knew where this was going. Had this person and I really been close at one time? Daily conversations?

During their turn in the spotlight, Lobo was at my feet. Making one of his dozens of noises. At this time, I was in the process of decoding his language. Tones. He had been with us for less than a month.

Suddenly, the conversation fell silent for a few seconds.

"Okay, what is that noise?"

I answered.

"That's just Lobo. The 3rd of our rescue fur-kids. He's been with us for less than a month and..."

Interrupted.

"Oh. My. God. I hate dogs. They're disgusting little creatures who shit on your floor and get dog hair on everything. Do we have to talk about them? Tell me something else that's been happening with you that doesn't involve dogs. Please."

That's when everything came to a screeching halt. Something that's been happening with me that doesn't involve "dogs."

Think. Think. Think. 

My brain spun like a hamster wheel.

Work? I work at home and that's why we're able to have 3 "dogs". Nope, that's out.

Vacations? With three "dogs", who we wouldn't think of boarding, that's out too.

Bodacious Biscuit Love? That revolves around shelter "dogs". Nope.

Two blog sites. They're all about "dogs" too. Scratch that.

New vehicle? We purchased one to have more room for our 3 "dogs" and for emergency transports. That's out too.

We participated in a lot of events over the spring, summer and fall. Shit. Those events were to raise money for the shelter dogs. Nope.

I've cut my work hours almost in half. Wait. That's because of Bodacious Biscuit Love. Dogs. Again.

Finally, after a few minutes, the silence was broken. Them.

"You still there?"

I sucked in my breath. My voice was loud. Bold.

"Lisa bought me avocados last week and they went bad before I had a chance to eat them."

Then I hung up.

The end.