Remembering Angus and the UPS man

Jan is away at Quilting with Machines this week, Tom went home to southwestern Ohio for his brother’s wedding, and took Euba with him; the girls and I are home alone.  Laura and Emily have a list of things to remember posted on the cupboard door.  Bring in the mail.  Lock the doors.  Emily eyed the list with suspicion last night.  No cooking.  Grandma has that covered; a nice family restaurant down the road.  They will be so pleased.

The UPS man brought a delivery today, and took a biscuit from his pocket for Euba.  She took it away without even saying Thank You.  He looked sadly at her and said he missed those other two.

Euba

It’s been a year since Angus left to join Fiona.  They always heard the UPS truck pull in.  Two little faces were in the window as he came up the sidewalk, up the ramp, and rang the doorbell.  As if he needed to do that.  The barking and the jumping for joy alerted the house. 

Two biscuits were in his shirt pocket.  One went first to Fiona, who went straight to her place and kept her biscuit between her feet until long after Angus finished his.  She tormented Angus exquisitely.    Angus’ biscuit was next.  The UPS man broke it in half and gave Angus one at a time cautioning “Chew it up, now.”  Of course Angus swallowed them whole.

When no one was home the package and two biscuits were left on the little table on the porch. Two Cairns met the rude persons who had not been there for the delivery and herded them to the front door, clamoring for the biscuits on the front porch.

Fiona

One day the UPS man pulled out one biscuit and looked around.  “Where’s the little one?”  Jan explained Fiona had run the last great run of her bad heart the previous Saturday, and laid down and died. 

The poor fellow said “Oh.”  Blankly he handed Angus the biscuit in his hand.  Angus dispatched it in one swallow.  The UPS man turned and went back down the ramp, slowly patting the other biscuit in his pocket.  Jan watched him go, with no words to say.  Angus went down the ramp with him, bouncing on his Tigger springs.  You have another biscuit.  I could eat two!  The UPS man was still patting his pocket when he got back to his truck.

Angus