Little Red Haired Girl Ch. 01

"Hi there." Frieda said to Barky, then asked his owner "Can I pet him?"

"Sure." said Barker. "Just let him sniff your fist first." Barky's tail was wagging mightily as he sniffed at Frieda, then let her pet him on the head. It warmed Barker's heart to see the smile of radiant joy on the little red haired girl's face as she petted the young dog, and Barky seemed to be loving the attention, as well.

"Frieda!" Mrs. Franklin all but yelled. "Get over here and eat your lunch! Leave that man and his dog alone."

"It's okay, ma'am." said Barker. "Barky likes making new friends."

"Frieda, you heard me." said Frieda's mother, acid and impatience in her voice. "Stop petting that dog and get back over here to your lunch."

"Aw, Mom..." Frieda said, then gave Barky one last pat on the head...

Barker heard the squeal of tires and instinctively was already pulling himself to his feet as he saw it: a car had turned onto College Street from Riverside Drive to his west, the tires squealing, and was accelerating at a very high rate of speed. As it barreled down College Avenue, it suddenly veered over, right at Barker, Frieda, and Barky!

In the supreme moment of his life, Barker reached over, picked up Frieda, and hurled her towards the other people in front of the bistro. Barky jumped to the sidewalk as his owner looked up to see the car plow right into his table, ramming the metal table into Barker's abdomen. He flew back in the air, and the first thing that came back to the ground and hit the bricks of the sidewalk was the back of his head...

To be continued.