Tess
Ash is at the beach this week. It’s his fourth trip. I’ve never been to the beach. I’ve smelled the wild scent on Ash when he comes home and listened to his stories about sea monsters and rogue waves.
Ash has been on lots of road trips. He took his first trip when he was seven weeks old. Mom picked him up from his birth home in eastern Washington and drove three hundred miles back to Seattle.
Mom likes to take Ash with her because he’s no trouble. He settles down in the back of the car and goes to sleep. Ash has so much confidence. He never worries about meeting new people or staying in strange places.
I wish I was confident like Ash. I worry and dither and make a nuisance of myself. I pant and cry and pace until mom scolds me. Eventually I settle down, but the minute we stop I’m at it again.
Ash says we each have our place in this world. Some of us were born to travel, others to stay at home. When I first arrived at Asherpark I had no idea what to do.
Ash told me all I had to do was follow the house rules and I would find where I belonged. I got in lots of trouble at first. The fence wasn’t secure and I escaped a dozen times. I heard them calling for me to come back but I had to run as fast as I could. But run to what? Run where?
Mom and dad soon discovered that if they chased me down in the truck I would jump in. They started keeping a spare key in the truck so they could get to me quicker.
One thing led to another and soon I started going with my dad whenever he drove the truck. I go to the job site, on errands, to see friends. I became my dad’s best trucking buddy.
Since I never want to miss a truck ride, I keep pretty close to dad. We watch TV together. I sit next to him while he reads the paper. If he’s in the yard, so am I. We are together constantly.
When I felt bad about Ash going to the beach without me, he reminded me of how I found my place at Asherpark. Ash said some mutts go to the beach, others stay home and watch their people. I guess that’s what Ash meant when he told me to keep on trucking. I will, Ash. I will.