Untitled Part 4
by 
Parts 3,2,1 here: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@eyedreemit/untitled-part-3-5-minute-freewrite-7-24-18-dog-breath
“Oh, come on! I couldn’t help myself,” giggled Candace with feigned indignation. “Unlike you, I think Lucie likes my singing.”
Lucie seemed to confirm this by licking her face. Or maybe she was keeping Candace from opening her mouth again.
Sweet Lucie. At 10 years old she was the same age as Raphael and had been in the family since she was a 14-month-old toddler puppy. A friend of theirs had a son who had started a search and rescue dog training facility for his Eagle Scout service project and Lucie flunked out of the inaugural class. She had no interest in searching for anything out of sight which even included her favorite tennis ball. The only thing Candace had ever seen her rescue was a cricket that ended up in the space between the wall and the refrigerator. Her paw couldn’t reach and her barking was an unwelcome invitation. Her tongue eventually coaxed it forward and upward right toward Lucie’s head. The vet bill to remove the insect from Lucie’s inner ear set the family back a pretty penny, but she was worth it.
Candace smiled with an epiphany. Maybe the dog didn’t mind her singing due to hearing loss from the incident.
“Everything has a silver lining, right?” she asked Lucie who did not respond.
With that, Raphael began to play the piano again. “My Melancholy Baby” was one of Grandpa C’s favorites.
