II
The slim red-haired woman with puffy red eyes, paced a circle in her living room listening to the agitated voice on her cell phone's speaker go on and on about how she felt used and unappreciated. Jillian barked back with, "Fine Sandra, so sorry to bother you with every little hangnail that comes up!" She began pecking her fingers against the smart screen, "Man, I miss when you could just slam the phone down on people." Finally, she slid the icon into the red and threw the phone across the room.
Jillian flopped down into the cushions of the well-worn recliner and began sobbing again. Stopping she looked up. Her Brittany Spaniel had slumped down stretching out. Its head rested on the length of white paws, large eyes cutting up at its owner. "I'm sorry Spencer, mom's migraine is coming back and I don't have a ride to the doctor's appointment again." The dog sighed his acknowledgment.
The apartment was dim, except for morning light bathing a green curtain's glow onto the kitchen's cluttering of unwashed dishes piled in both sinks. Jillian shook her head overwhelmed by the housework needing to be done. A darkened stain above the couch on the wall across from where she sat declared such evidence as to why. She tearfully whispered aloud, "Olivia I wish you were here now that George is gone."
The coffee table before her was littered with several empty soft drink cans, a molding half empty glass of milk, a stack of bills and several unpaid-payday loan notices. Still resting in a large ember ashtray was George's folded note. It read simply enough: 'I'm sorry it all got out of hand, I can't stop. I didn't mean for the last one to happen. Boy.' Jillian's frustrated reply to it was, "Sure you didn't George. I can't do this by myself."
Her husband of two years had drained their joint bank account with all of his gambling debts. They had pawned everything of any worth, and taken out payday loans to pay for the payday loans. She was a mess. Everything was lost. Jillian smirked at the dog, "You were here when he went and blew his brains out and left me with all these bills, and water dripping migraine. Spencer, we both know Olivia wouldn't have."
The canine's eyes alone followed her every step as she crossed over to claim his leash, "Well, come on boy. There's no insurance check in the mail again today. He'll just have to lay under more bags of ice in the funeral home till it comes in. I can't even afford a cremation without a job." Clipping the leash to the dog's harness saw an excited tail wag being rewarded with a brief back rub as they both headed out the front door.
CONTINUE Reading... 3
_____________________________________________ From the beginning... HERE
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