(029)
A short tug of resistance from the lead brings Nick to a stop. Behind him, the wizened face of his border terrier Terry is stuck fast to the floor in search of something. His eyebrows are furrowed in a way that makes him seem like a detective who’s ‘just blown this case wide open’, though he’s still yet to solve one in all his long years. Nick waits a few moments then gently pulls the lead, hoping to be back on their way again – but Terry has other ideas.
“Coooooome on old man.” Nick pulls again, but Terry isn’t budging. His nose follows the ground in the wide arc of a metal detector, hunting for whatever hidden treasure that has caught his attention so intently. The scraggly white hairs around his snout comb the dirt by the water’s edge until suddenly, he finds it. His two front paws start digging into the packed mud.
“That’s enough now, come on–” Nick protests, pulling a little harder. Terry hunkers down and fights him off.
“Come on dopey, leave it be.” He says with a gentle ease, though in truth a knot of anxiety had been growing since they’d stopped. Memories of things from a lifetime ago flicker on the edges of his mind. His tongue runs along the back of his teeth of its own accord, seeking out a gap that had already been filled for many years.
He hooks Terry up in one arm and carries him away in a half-stooped position. The dog wriggles and struggles until he sets him down just a few feet away – not far exactly, but far enough for them both to leave what was buried there behind.
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