Today was busy. I woke up to the sensation of my left foot being
poked. It was quarter to eight and my dad said I had to get up before he left for work. My parents seem to have figured out that mere alarms no longer have the power to bestow consciousness on my sleeping mind. I had to be at work at 9:30. I got out of bed around 8:15 and wandered the house looking for something to occupy my time. I found nothing.
Left a little after nine o’clock for the bank. I entered my pin, punched in the deposit nonsense, prepared an envelope, and waited for the transaction to work. It didn’t. This happened twice. I then left the National City on Lakewood and traveled a few miles to the one on James next to the mall. This was on my way to work anyway, so it was no big deal. The ATM at the James Street branch, however, is ghetto. I don’t care for it.
Work was slow as always. I passed the time doing price changes and making labels for miscellaneous Pfaltzgraff stuff laying around the register area. My mom called around noon, only to say that she wanted me home asap so she could say goodbye before leaving for Saginaw with Adam for his soccer tournament. I promised to try to be home by 5:30, but that I had plans for after work (I got out at 2:30) and might not be able to get home before she left. Mom said she had forgotten what I looked like. I argued that she had seen me only yesterday; yes, it was three in the morning and I was shaking her awake to say I was home, but I’m pretty sure she opened her eyes.
I called at least a dozen people when I got home, looking for someone to go to the beach with me and Gus – the big American bulldog. I got a hold of five or six kids, all saying they’d meet me at the beach around four or so. I took Gus and headed out to the car. He knew we were going somewhere special, so he was more than willing to help prepare the backseat for his intrusion. He chewed on his blanket as I tried to use it to cover the seat to protect it from his shedding hide. It worked out wonderfully. Right. The drive wasn’t bad. I sang along with some DJ Funk samples to keep Gus calm and happy while his tongue hung out the window and he drooled everywhere.
The beach was incredibly windy. Meagan was there when I arrived, and we proceeded to entertain Gus with a red Frisbee, some sand, and a lot of waves. He hadn’t been to the beach since last summer, so he had forgotten what the lake was. Once he remembered again, we were romping in the shallows just like the good old days. He even managed the find and eat the only dead fish on the beach. Impressive.
Jon and Tim showed up shortly, bearing gifts of white Russians and pot. I declined as usual. They weren’t surprised. Soon enough Aaron got there, and then Jessica. By this time Meagan had to leave to see her boyfriend off to Ludington for the weekend. Gus was whining for attention I was not able to give him at the time, and I was frozen after hopping into the lake fully clothed. I stripped down to my bathing suit and hung my khakis on the nearest piece of drift wood to dry. They looked like a double wind sock or some sort.
Eventually it was time for everyone to go. I made it home just in time to say farewell to my mother, and for her to give me the gift of a clear bouncy ball with flashing red lights inside. She’s always giving my brother and I little presents.
This is when the sadness started. Adam and my mom had left, and it was just me and dad in the house. I asked where Bean was. Dad said he hadn’t seen him since this morning. So as usual, I went on my Bean-hunting mission. He was no where to be found. I decided he must have found a new hiding spot after seven years of living in the same house, so I patiently searched every room. At last it came down to one room – mine. I looked under the bed, behind my bookcases and finally, in my closet. That’s when I saw him, curled up in the back corner beneath hanging shirts and skirts – completely motionless, face towards the wall.
My heart stopped. I feared the worst. I gently poked him. Nothing. I called his name, poked again. I head a faint and distant hiss. Bean does not hiss. I carefully reached to pick him up and bring him out of the closet, but I immediately stopped when he started to screech unbearably. I have never, ever heard a sound like that in my life. I immediately called the vet in Zeeland. They’re the only ones open past normal business hours. I described Bean to him – wouldn’t move, cried at the slightest touch, panting uncontrollably, smelled weird, grunted with every breath. He said it might be a urinary tract blockage. He said to meet him at his office in 15 minutes.
We took Bean there as fast as we could. The vet rushed him into the examination room, and asked where I had found him. ”In the closet, I said. The vet replied, ”He went into your closet to die.”
These were not the words I wanted to hear.
The vet said to leave Bean there and he would do blood tests and x-rays, and he would call as soon as they were done. Driving home was hard. Leaving Bean was hard. The vet called shortly, only to say they had put Bean on an IV and that he was severely dehydrated. His kidneys were not functioning correctly, but they couldn’t say why. I am going in tomorrow at eight in the morning to see if Bean makes it through the night.
To see a picture of Bean,
Go to kaytay’s homenode.
Please keep Bean in your thoughts tonight.