Full Circle
Prologue
I open my eyes and look up into the shadows that fill
the ceiling over the bed. Rain is falling, drumming on
the roof, and vaguely I make a mental reminder to
clean the gutters before the storm promised by the
weatherman on the evening news arrives in full force.
Tomorrow, perhaps, after I finish grading the stack of
freshman essays sitting on my desk in the next room.
If I can find the ladder in the mess that is the barn.
Beside me, Thayer rolls onto his back and breathes
deeply. As usual, he's somehow managed to pull most of
the quilt around himself so that he's cocooned in
warmth. I both admire and resent his ability to sleep
so fully, like a child. Or a dog, I think, as on his
smaller bed beside ours Sam imitates Thayer,
stretching his big paws and sighing contentedly.
How old is Sam now? I count back, ticking off the
years. Eleven? No, I correct myself. Twelve. Twelve
years since Thayer and I returned from the Banesbury
County Animal Shelter with him sitting between us on
the seat of our pickup, nose raised hopefully as he
sniffed the air for the scent of home. Even then his
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