Spotty

“Eric, please, remember, your sister is only five months old and- ”

“MOM! Are you freaking kidding me, I LOVED that dog!” a flustered seventeen-year-old boy wailed from the kitchen to the living room, eyes swollen and cheeks flushed with the loss of a companion. Spotty was his sidekick, partner-in-crime, whatever anyone could come up with.

The mom only gazed with sympathy at her son. What she also recognized was a formidable truth: when the baby comes, the pet goes. She knew the phrase, and farewells all too well. She, herself, had enough experience with departure for reference. Except at those moments, the destination was heaven, not a different household.

Eric and Spotty (Image Credits: Mom’s camera)

The father allocated to the red couch. He was rendered speechless by the sudden anguish, something that hadn’t touched him since childhood.

“Yan, there was absolutely no reason that you couldn’t keep Spotty with us.” He could only shake his head. “He barely even scratched her skin.”

“But he’s OLD, Feng,” Tears began to stream in endless canals beneath a set of thick-framed glasses. “We had to let go of him at some point.” The boy approached his mother for the first time since being separated from the dalmatian. Fists clenched, he amassed his strength to address the elephant in the room.

“But why now, Ma?” He immediately grappled with the strings of his hoodie and spluttered into sobs. “Why now?”

The woman before him absently contemplated a faraway recollection. “Because- “ She stopped in her tracks, wavering at the moment with the thoughts of past trauma stemming from her grandma’s death. She fumbled with the phone held loosely between her fingers. Finally, she spoke.

“Not everything in your life can always stay in your life.”