Damsel In Distress

A cell phone ringer of “Jesus Take The Wheel” sung by Carrie Underwood can be heard from the direction of Turtle’s tank.

That can only be one person on my cell phone.

“Hello?”

(sniff, sniff) “Mom?! I had a flat tire and there is a huge hole in it.” (crying, sniff, sniff)

“Are you hurt?” I asked because the crying continued.

“No, but my tire is flat. I am going to need a new tire,” she blurted out between tears.

“That’s okay sweetie. Why are you crying?”

“Because my tire is flat!”

“Well, the car is in a parking lot so don’t worry. Just go on into work and I will be there in just a bit to take care of a new tire for you,” I said hoping to calm her.

That meant that I would not be lounging in my pajamas all day. So I jumped in the shower and began the routine of bathing, applying makeup and drying my hair.

Meanwhile, Alyssa’s dog, Bella, ran around as usual. When it was time for me to leave, I put all her doggie stuff in Alyssa’s bathroom. We block her in the bathroom like a toddler so that the light of the bedroom can still shine into the room. I think it helps her feel not so couped up.

But as I’m standing at the doorway, Bella is totally motionless like a statue with a mischievous look on her face. So I look around the bathroom again wondering what she thinks she is going to destroy because she is Destroyer Dog.

Hmmm…

I decided that maybe Bella wanted the cord on Alyssa’s curling iron, so just to be safe, I wrapped it around the curling iron and put it way high on a shelf. “That’s perfect,” I thought and left the bathroom again.

Turning to tell Bella goodbye, she still lay motionless and mischievous. Perplexed, I searched the bathroom again for the item of her obvious intentions, but found absolutely nothing!

“Maybe I’m just being fanatical,” I said to myself. I walked out of Alyssa’s room, paused, turned around and peeped back at Bella. With big brown eyes staring at me, she just continued to lay on her bed.

Feeling like a fool, I left the house, got in my car and drove to the flat tired car of the Damsel in Distress. Just as I pulled beside Alyssa’s car, I realized that I had forgotten the key to her car!

I’m getting used to doing that stuff, so I just backed out of the parking spot and headed back home to retrieve the missing key.

It was really windy here today, so my hair flew all over the place as I stepped out of the vehicle and made my way to the front door. As I stuck my key into the lock, I heard a dog bark from within the house and it sounded like the bark of freedom.

I quickly opened the door in time to see Bella leap off the couch and run towards me.

“Oh my goodness puppy! How did you get loose?! No way could you leap three feet over the barrier blocking the door,” I exclaimed as I scooped her up and scratched behind her ears. Her little tail was wagging like fluttering hummingbird wings.

When I got to Alyssa’s bathroom, I realized that I never shut the barrier all the way across the bathroom doorway. Bella knew the whole time I had searched the bathroom earlier and she was smart enough to stay in the bed motionless until I left home. That little dog knew that if she had followed me to the front door, I would have realized that I hadn’t closed her in securely.

Well, I locked her into the bathroom safely, went about getting a new tire for the Damsel in Distress, and then took a long nap in the sunshine after I got home.

Best part of the day was a text message that said, “thank u mom ur awesome,” so you know I drifted into that nap quite happy.