Buzz - Chapter 1
The buzzing was driving her crazy. It had been days now. Once again, she walked around her small bungalow looking for the source. She turned the fluorescent lights on and off again. She checked that the appliances were still unplugged. Flipped the TV and radio on and off, the lamps, unplugged the cell phone charger. The buzzing continued.
Stanley was concerned. He may be a Chihuahua, but he knew when his roommate was not acting normally. Sure, he got his food on time, and the water bowl was full. They still sat in the yard together in the morning and evening as always. But the pacing! She paced and paced and kept touching things over and over. Things that had always been there. Things that smelled dead, as they always had. Things that should be ignored.
He tried to pace with her but her stops, starts, and turns had become so unpredictable that she had stepped on him more than once. So Stanley sat on the arm of the couch from where he could see her most of the time. They still slept in bed together, but fitfully. If she didn’t get a grip soon, he was going to be sick with exhaustion again.
She decided they should go for a drive together. Maybe there would be no buzzing in the truck. Plus she owed Stanley some fun because lately she was so distracted she kept stepping on him. He wasn’t a youngster anymore, and if she kept this up she was afraid she might really hurt him, like break a bone or something. Poor little guy. She knew he kept his bulgy eyes on her. He always knew when something wasn’t right, even if he didn’t know what it was. He was, after all, just a dog.
The truck started right up on the first try. That was a bit of a surprise, because she couldn’t remember the last time they had driven somewhere. She needed groceries and to run errands like a normal person, but she just couldn’t concentrate because of the buzzing. Stanley jumped into her arms as soon as she asked, “Ride?” He was shaking and wriggling with excitement. This was a good decision.
As they drove along the river, she rolled down the windows and left the radio off. It was quiet. There was just the wind and Stanley’s panting, no buzzing. The truck could probably use a muffler check, but it was almost a relief to hear a rumble that made sense. It was the truck, she knew it was the truck, and she relaxed a bit. They stopped at the peninsula park and trotted across the grass to see if the water was high as it often was this time of year. Stanley peed on every rock they passed. They were both content for the moment.
The water was low, revealing the nasty mud bottom that smelled like old river algae. Stanley wanted to sniff it but it was gross and she was afraid he would fall in, so she picked him up. That was when the buzzing started again. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned to take Stanley back to the truck. Then she saw the dragonflies.
