In which Emma gets Goodies
I’m fortunate enough to have some really wonderful friends. Some even go so far as to extend their friendship to Emma Dog. Unless it’s the other way around.
When the group goes out together to restaurants Emma’s Aunt Kathy (Kelly-Kubica) and Aunt Roslee (Orndorff) are especially thoughtful in donating meat scraps for me to take to Emma. Which is very sweet of them, and much appreciated by Emma. And me.
So tonight - technically yesterday evening, now - as threatened I attended the monthly ASFS meeting to hear Ian Tregillis read from Bitter Seeds, the WWII “secret history” novel he just delivered to Tor. As I was going in I was hailed by Kathy. She’d been out to dinner before the meeting, and had actually got a doggie box to bring scraps for Emma. It was just incredibly nice of her. She even brought a baked potato for my compost heap, which is going above and beyond.
It was a great reading, very well received. The book’s going to be killer.
After the meeting several of us (Roslee, who’s a nurse, had to work and didn’t make it out tonight) went by Craig’s house while he prepared some packets for art-show participants. Then we headed over to the Applebee’s on Menaul. There Kathy got another steak (she’s on a reduced-carb diet), and darned if she didn’t send another box o’ scraps home to Emma. So she’s set up for the next few days. A happy dog indeed.
As we headed out to the cars Kathy suggested I check the box she had given me. “Emma won’t much like it if you bring home a box full of broccoli,” she said. “She’ll look at you, like, ‘Why don’t you love me?’ ” And she pulled an appropriately mournful face.
I cracked up. She gave a great impression of a dolorous dog. We’ve all seen that face come out on dogs. It was even funnier to me because Emma has such a great face for lugubrious looks.
Oddly, though, that’s not really Emma’s style. She doesn’t seem much inclined to doubt I love her. I think she’d more likely give me a, “What did I do wrong, Daddy?” look. And possibly repair to her pen.
I’ve got great friends. After the reading, when people were hanging out and talking, three of my closest friends - Kathy, Melinda, and Pat Rogers - wound up standing near me to chat. And it really struck me how fortunate I was to have three such remarkable (not to mentioned disparate) women as friends.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Thanks for the kind words, sir. And thank you for coming to the meeting and seeding the audience with supportive eyes and ears. Much appreciated!
May 11th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Seriously, my pleasure. You do a mighty entertaining reading. Plus it was a good time in general. And it provided an excuse to see Carrie Vaughn, and that’s always a good thing.