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A Dog, a Man, and Fish

JOHN GUNDERSON

The two were sitting on the front porch absorbing the evening
breeze. This was the part of the day when there was no work to be
done. The crimson sunset, clouds drifting eastward, occasional shouts
from neighbors trying to gather their children in for the night, the
barking of the dogs, and the fresh, dew-laden air made the townsfolk
forget the sunbaked plains of their own Oklahoma. A day's work was
behind them, another lay ahead, but in between was a time for

serenity of mind and body.
The man was reading the evening paper. Occasionally he would

rock the chair with an automatic tap of his foot against the porch
railing. His pipe glowed faintly in the semi-darkness and the spirals
of smoke were almost invisible. He held the paper close to his face

and squinted to distinguish the printing in the dusk.
The woman looked up from her knitting and rubbed her tired

eyes. She walked inside and turned the porch light on, poured herself
a glass of ice tea and returned to her handiwork. She was knitting a

miniature dress for her granddaughter's doll.
Occasionally the two would talk, never pausing from their

occupations.
"johnson's dog got kilt today," she said.
"Old Whimper?" he questioned hesitantly.
"Yep. Got run over by the tractor out in the field."
"I'll be danged," he said. "I'Il be danged." His words hung in

the air and his voice reflected sorrow. "He seemed just like one of

the family."
"He was a good dog all right," she added. "Just as quick as

he was good lookin'."
"Never caused no trouble long as I knowed him. I remember

when he was just a ball of fuzz."
"Fourteen year ago come next month," she said.
"He'd chase a rabbit to Texas before he'd lose one." He talked

as if he owed the dog a few words of commendation. He
"They're burring him tomorrow," the woman said.
The man shook his head slowly. "A real dog, old Whimper."

began concentrating on the paper again.
The magical brush of the sun no longer painted the clouds. The

formations faded into the steel blue of the new-fledged night. The

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