The End of Evil Ch. 01

Donna was up and dressed, sipping on her coffee. She was wearing a rare pair of long slim slacks and a print blouse. "Come and braid my hair, girl."

Junie looked at the map quest print out in her hands and pointed excitedly at the house number, bouncing in her seat, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Donna smiled indulgently, "Junie, you have permission to speak freely until I revoke that privilege. Remember, you may not discuss details of the crimes committed against you or Monica, but it is okay to be supportive. I do not know if anyone has discussed this absurd consensual defense with Monica and I do not know if she is ready for that information, so for now, don't discuss that with her. We are here as a sweet surprise and to see if she is willing to make the commitment to become the owner of Happy."

Junie's voice squeaked with excitement, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Go on then."

Junie looked at her Mistress, suddenly shy and nervous, "Are you going to come, too?"

"Yes, little one, I will be right behind you. But Monica is your friend. You should be doing the surprise, not me."

Junie swallowed and nodded, her face suddenly resolved and determined. "Yes, Ma'am, of course." She climbed out of the car and marched up the walk. There was a little note over the doorbell button that said 'broken, please knock'. Junie smiled and rapped sharply on the front door. There was a loud series of barks from inside the little house and then a curtain pulled to one side and a pair of blue eyes peeked shyly through the window. Junie smiled and waved. A soft voice spoke through the door, "Who is it?"

Junie called, "Monica, it's me, Junie," and then a wave of uncertainty swept over her, "um... surprise?" She began to wonder if it had been wise to want this visit to come without warning.

The door slowly opened and Junie saw a small blond girl in a thick terry bathrobe and tousled blond hair staring at her in disbelief, "Junie?" Monica was not much taller than Junie and even in the robe looked terribly thin. She had an angular bony face and scar ran from the corner of her mouth and across her cheek, pulling her mouth down into a perpetual expression of sadness. Then she spoke again, her voice louder as the information sank in, "Junie! Oh, my god, Junie, it's you. What are you doing here?"

A warm smile of relief lit up Junie's face, "I wanted to talk with you about an idea I had. I kind of wanted it to be a surprise. I am sorry if this is a bad time; I could come back."

Monica's eyes went past Junie and looked curious as Donna walked up, "Oh, no, don't leave. Come in; please, come in, both of you."

Junie turned toward Donna, "Monica, I would like to introduce you to my Mistress, Donna. She was kind enough to drive me down to see you."

"Nice to meet you." Monica's voice was a little hesitant and she stepped back and waved them in, "Come in. My mother is at work." As they walked into the small living room, Junie was struck with the smallness of the room. The furnishings were threadbare with blankets covering the seats. There was an oppressive smell of some artificial floral room freshener. An ancient black Cocker Spaniel raised his head from a dog bed and grunted out a tired woof in their direction. Monica rushed to turn off a television that had a soap opera droning in the background. "Sit down, sit down. Can I get you something to drink or a snack or something?" Monica seemed uncomfortable, standing nervously clutching her bathrobe around her tightly.

Before Junie could refuse, Donna spoke up, "Yes, that would be nice, just a glass of water for both of us."

When Monica returned her hair was combed and pulled back into a pony tail; she was wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeved blouse, buttoned clear up to the neck. She carefully set two glasses of water on the coffee table and sat down in a chair opposite from them and trapped her hands nervously between her knees. Her voice was tense, "This is certainly a surprise. You will have to forgive me. I am not very used to entertaining." Then her face crumpled and her eyes grew wet, "I am really happy you came. Here you drove all this way to see me and I don't even know how to act."

Junie looked at Donna in alarm and Donna stood abruptly, "Junie, we can't leave that puppy locked in the car much longer. We really need to take her for a walk. Maybe Monica would like to come with us?"

Monica blinked and took a deep breath, "You have one of the puppies with you?"

Junie smiled excitedly, "Yes, come on out and meet her."

Monica slipped her feet into a pair of flip flops and followed them out to the SUV. Donna opened the back and Junie gathered the wiggly puppy up into her arms. "Monica, I would like to introduce you to Happy."

"Oh, it's Happy!" For the first time a smile lit up Monica's face, the scar making her crooked smile cute and quirky. Junie fastened the leash to Happy's collar and handed the leash to Monica.

It seemed a lot easier to relax and talk as they walked. Donna trailed behind, saying for them to go ahead, that she had some calls to make.

Junie watched Monica's face as they walked the puppy around and around the block. Finally she gathered her courage, "Monica, for the longest time I have had this idea and the more I thought about it, I knew I just had to try. Monica, do you remember when I first wrote to you that you should remember happiness?"

"Yes, I remember that. And I do most of the time. It's just once in a while that I forget."

"Well, when my Master said that Happy would make a good name for this little girl puppy, it just clicked that she and you were meant to be together. I asked my Mistress if I could give Happy to you and she said that you can't give a puppy to somebody as a present. And she is right; you have to want to have Happy as much as I want to give her to you."

Monica stopped and was looking at Junie with a look of wonder on her face. She repeated the words, "Give her to me?"

Junie rushed on, "And you would be doing me such a huge favor. I just can't bear the idea of Happy going to some stranger's house where I can never see her again. If you took her, I could visit and see her now and then."

"Give her to me? You mean it, that you would give Happy to me?"

Junie nodded eagerly.

Monica sat down onto the sidewalk and pulled the soft puppy into her arms. She spoke softly to the puppy that was eagerly licking her face, "Hello, Happiness."

Donna's voice was soft, but cut through the moment, "It is a big commitment to own a puppy. You will need to make sure she gets enough exercise and it has to be okay with your mother, too."

Monica looked up at Donna's figure standing over her. "That should not be a problem. My mom can be a bitch about a lot of stuff, but she loves dogs. We have always had dogs. We used to have a German Sheppard, but she got old and died about a year ago. She will fall in love with Happy. I know." Monica stood up still cradling the puppy in her arms. "I know about having dogs, ma'am. I promise to be a good owner to this puppy. We have a nice big back yard and it is fine with the landlord for us to have pets." Monica looked nervous and then plunged in, "Ma'am, please, Junie is right. This is a good thing. It will give me something to help me remember happiness." She stood in front of Donna hugging the puppy possessively to her chest, her eyes pleading.

Donna smiled and laughed, "You two girls seem to be determined to make this happen and I must say I was not looking forward to driving home with that puppy locked up in the back of the car."

Junie squealed and threw her arms around her Mistress and spoke fervently, "Thank you, Ma'am; oh, thank you for letting me do this."

Donna laughed and whispered into Junie's ear, "You owe me 750 dollars, girl."

They helped install the travel box in Monica's bedroom. Junie was struck how much it still looked like a child's room, decorated in pink and white with a large pile of stuffed animals dominating the narrow single bed. Donna cautioned her, "If your mom says no, we will come back and get her. We will be leaving Portland Sunday morning. And I want you to remember that, if for any reason you cannot continue to provide a good home for this puppy, you can let Junie know and we will come back and get her. I don't want any of my puppies ever to end up in an animal shelter."

Junie and Donna stayed and let Monica make them tuna sandwiches for lunch and then Donna looked at her watch and said, "Sorry to cut this party short, but Junie has an appointment to keep."

Monica stood up and stammered, "Ma'am, thank you for bringing Junie to see me. And... and thank you for letting her give me the puppy." Her lips trembled, "I don't get good surprises very often, lately. And I can't remember the last time I had a visit from a friend. I don't get out much." Unconsciously her hand strayed to touch the scar that scored her cheek.

Junie swept her up into her arms, "Oh, sweet girl, you know that David is right. It's not all that bad and when you smile it is kind of cute how it makes your smile look a little impish. I know it's a reminder of a bad experience, but it is not horrible looking at all." Junie gave her a stern look, "You know I was expecting a lot worse, pretty girl."

Monica's voice was a little smug, "David calls me that too."

Junie looked puzzled, "Calls you what?"

Monica smiled her crooked smile, "Pretty girl." Her eyes shone as she said it.

Donna interrupted, her voice taking on the crisp cool tones that always made Junie's eyes widen and her heart beat faster, "Monica, you are very welcome. And now I must insist, Junie; we must be going if we are going to be on time."

Junie gave Monica a quick squeeze and whispered, "I will email you as soon as I get home," and then stepped quickly out the door hurrying ahead of Donna to the SUV."

You might recognize this story as one I had up in the past, under the title Northwest Hunters. I took it down for revision and a brief flirtation with possible publication.

Books One and Two of Northwest Hunters, titled Joining the Circle and Finding Happiness are already posted.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please take the time to rate and leave a comment if the spirit moves you.

Enjoy

xantu