Blood and Bone: A Smattering of Unease (21 page)

She looked inside the box again and exclaimed, “Wow! He really thought about this!” The box contained a food and water dish, a couple of squeaky toys, a small dog bed, a bag of food, and a leash and collar. “You’re all set, for now!”

With her new puppy bounding around among the garlands and the old, child-proof, unbreakable Christmas ornaments, Lauren assembled and decorated her Christmas tree. She turned the tree lights on and shut the living room lights off.

A cup of hot cocoa in hand and her new puppy on her lap, Lauren settled back in the gentle red and green glow of her Christmas tree lights and turned on “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

“Joy. That’s who you are,” she told the puppy. “Aunt Rita’s going to love the crap out of you, Joy,” Lauren told the puppy.

THE END

About Shannon Rae Noble

Shannon Rae Noble was born and raised in New York State. Her published works to date include several works of poetry in print and online and over 120 nonfiction articles for local newspapers. Though she has been writing fiction for two decades, this is her debut collection.

To learn more about Shannon, her published works, and upcoming projects, please visit shannonraenoble.com.