The bench by the sea

Sinead’s suffered from insomnia. When it coupled with her psychosis and depression, she didn’t leave her bedroom except to use the bathroom in five days. Her only friend, her Jack Russell terrier, Rex, sat by her side night after night, day after day.

One morning, as she saw the sun begin to trickle through the curtains of her bedroom, she looked down on her ever-reliable Rex and asked him if he would like to go for a walk? The clock read 6:10 of what was a very hot summer and, as an experienced dog owner, knew not to take him out in the blistering heat of day. Rex answered her with the wag of a tail a turn of the head, cocking his ears up to see if he had heard her right.

Sinead put on a pair of shorts and a clean t-shirt and made sure she had a bit of money in her pocket before quietly going downstairs. She didn’t want to wake her family at, what her mother would call, ‘an ungodly hour’.

Rex sat, his tail wagging in the form of a helicopter blade, and made a very cute welcoming noise when he saw the harness. Sinead put the harness to her nose as it was freshly laundered and she loved the smell of freshly laundered clothes. She put Rex’s harness over his head and he held his right paw up first for her to put it through the leg hole, and then did the same with the left. Sinead smiled at how good her little ‘bunny’ was and amazed at how intelligent he was…but then again, most would say that about their dogs.

Rex had an expression on his face her making her feel as though she was missing something. She clicked her fingers together, ‘a note!’ she remembered, ‘I need to leave a note!’ She walked into the kitchen and wrote, ‘Gone for a walk’, on the back of last week’s shopping list and left it on the table. She looked towards the front door, Rex sitting patiently for her.

As the first part of the journey was purely through a green space, where the kids of the neighbourhood played football and ran around being kids, Rex was in his element. She spent his time sniffing the branches of the shrubs and peeing against every tree. He explored the flora and fauna of the area.

Sinead’s senses were heightened as well as she had been cooped up for five days. She could smell the glorious scent of freshly cut grass coupled by lavender from the spot the tractor missed. She couldn’t figure out whether it was for the bees and butterfly’s or whether they had just gotten lazy in the heat yesterday when they mowing the grass. She nodded to herself and figured it was for the slowly dying off wildlife.

As they reached the road, Rex stopped dead and sat waiting for Sinead to catch up with him. He knew that this was the place where his lead was to be placed on him. He sat patiently, his tail still spinning, until he heard the click of the lead attach to his harness.

Rex looked up at Sinead and she nodded, signalling that it was safe to start moving once more. They crossed what would have been a busy road in the daytime, but all Sinead could see were commuters out with their dogs, running and frolicking with each other. She couldn’t help but smile, the volume of people astounding her. ‘This must be what if felt like before there were cars!’ she said to Rex, who looked up at her as if he were agreeing.

Sinead thought back over the past five days and wondered whether she had eaten anything. She felt her tummy rumble as they moved closer to the towns centre and figured that maybe her body was telling her to get some food!

As they approached the one shop that would be open at that time, ‘Gerry’s’, Sinead looked through her coin purse and realised she had enough money for a breakfast roll, of which she would ask for sausages and nothing else, and a bottle of water.

With Rex tied to the bike rack at the front of the shop, Sinead entered the establishment and made a bee line towards the deli. She brought the roll that was loaded with thick juicy sausages and went to the cooler for a bottle of water before going up to pay. She just about had the money and audibly said ‘phew!’ when she was counting out the change she was carrying around.   

Sausage roll under one arm, water under the other, she rushed out of the shop and found Rex where she left him sitting comfortably on the footpath. When he noticed her, the tail started to wag and as she approached him, his nose was cocked…he smelled the sausages.

They walked around the perimeter of Gerry’s and crossed the road to the beach. There was a walkway and plenty of fresh green grass at the mouth of it. They came across a vacant bench and Sinead lifted him, because he had arthritic knees, onto the bench before she sat down beside him. ‘This is the life!’ she said to Rex who was sniffing his way to a sausage or two.

Sinead opened the package the roll came in and was mesmerised that there were six succulent sausages in it. She took two out to cool as they had only come out of wherever they make them. She was excited as Rex smacked his lips together and licked his nose over and over. Sinead, of course, knew that sausages were Rex’s kryptonite. It was the currency in which he was paid for being such a great dog.

As she attempted to wrap her mouth around the roll, Rex did something he had never done before, he gently pawed at her leg making sure she hadn’t forgotten about him. Once what was in her mouth was swallowed Sinead tested the temperature of the two sausages that sat on the bench on the opposite side to Rex. ‘Not yet bunny!’ she said to him and he rested his head patiently on her lap.

After her second bite, she broke up Rex’s sausages in the hope that they would cool quicker like that, and they did. Every time she took a bite of the roll, Rex got a bit of sausage. When they were finished, all the sausages gone, she took a long pull out of the water bottle. She then poured some water into her hand for her furry companion who gratefully drank it. She repeated the process until he had enough.

The pair were like an old married couple watching the world go by on their bench. She took the lead off the harness so that Rex could investigate the area, but he was just fine where he was. He put a paw on her hand and looked lovingly into her eyes.

After about ten minutes of people watching, Rex spotted a golden springer spaniel who’s bum he absolutely had to sniff. He jumped down off the bench and did just that. After she passed, he investigated the long grass that connected the green space to the sand. Every couple of seconds Sinead saw his head pop up making sure she was still there. Upon his return, she lifted him back onto the bench and they continued to people watch.

Sinead didn’t bring her phone with her and didn’t have a watch so she had absolutely no idea what time it was, she was content in sitting on that very bench watching the world go by with her best friend.

As the sun climbed high into the sky, its rays reflecting off of the calm sea, she figured it was time to go home. She put the lead back on her companion and they walked at a relaxed pace as the town opened up and the roads became busy. When they reached the green space in front of the house, she took the lead off of Rex’s harness and he returned to his exploration of the area. Sinead smiled as she watched him, always looking back to see if she was ok and, with his tongue hanging out sat on the stoop in front of the house waiting for her. She caught up to him moments later and was met by the worried face of her mother.

‘Where were you?’ she said pulling Sinead in close.

‘I was out for a walk with Rex!’ Sinead explained as she made her way over the threshold of the front door.

‘I left you a note!’ Sinead tried to calm down her hysterical mother.

‘I know love, but you have been gone for hours!’ her mother said looking her up and down, trying to make sure she was in one piece.

‘Me and Rex went to the beach and shared a roll,’ Sinead smiled.

‘Sinead, honey,’ her mother began, ‘you know that Rex left us years ago,’ she said with tears in her eyes.

‘No, look he’s just ther……’ and with that Rex had disappeared.

‘Your mind has been playing tricks on you again!’ her mother explained, the tears streaming down Sinead’s face, the thought of losing Rex unbearable.

‘But we shared a roll with each other!’ Sinead stuck to her guns.

‘Sweetheart, Rex passed a few years…...’

‘…...no, no!’ Sinead broke down and fell to her knees, cupping her eyes with her hands, her body convulsing with each breath.

‘We had him cremated and he is on the shelf in your room beside his memory box!’

Sinead’s mom, knelt beside her and rubbed her back. ‘Honey,’ she started, ‘will you please, please take your medication?’

‘No!’ Sinead said with conviction. ‘They make me feel numb!’

‘Well I got onto the hospital when I saw your note when I came downstairs for my breakfast,’ her mother was more telling her than asking her.

‘No, no, I’ll do anything…. please no!’ she buried her head in her mothers shoulder and fell into her.

‘You have been gone for God only knows how long…at least seven hours! I can’t have you doing that!’ her mother began to cry. ‘I thought you were dead!’ she said and kissed the top of Sinead’s head.

Sinead looked up at her doe eyed.

‘We have to keep you safe and the hospital will have a bed for you tomorrow, but for now will you please take your medication?’ her mother pleaded.

Her brother, who she hadn’t seen in the background handed her mother a fist full of pills and a glass of water.

‘Please?’ her mother looked at her with the same kind of eyes that reminded her of Rex.

Sinead nodded and took her pills. Within the space of an hour, she was asleep tucked safely in bed. The next day brought her to the hospital she knew all so well. She was put on the special care unit and lay in bed, Rex gone and cried grieving his passing as if for the first time.

picture from pixabay