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Howard's Goodbye Howard paused at the back of the room and held his breath against the unfamiliar scent in the air. In all his seventy-plus years, he'd never actually attended a funeral. The truth was, no one had ever wanted him to come. When they sent their invites, only Frank's name appeared on the cards. It was the same when they visited. Or called. They never asked about Howard. It was always Frank, as if Howard had no part in his life whatsoever, as if he and Frank hadn't spent the last decade living together. "What if he does something inappropriate and makes a scene?" Aunt Revvy once asked. Howard eyed her now, two rows from the front. Her dark beehive hair bobbed when she wiped her eyes, making more of a scene than his presence ever would. He shifted his gaze to the casket at the front of the room again. The reason he'd come. On each side, a thick bouquet of varying gray carnations in silver-white vases decorated the view. Suddenly, he didn't want to be here. He wanted go back to when Frank had promised they'd spend the rest of their lives together, back to the beginning when he was all business and Frank had taught him to laugh again, to love again, and to be a true friend. "Can you please pass to the side?" someone asked from behind. "Back off," Denise answered. "Let Howard be for a moment." Good ol' Denise. Frank's sister. They'd always gotten along. Thankfully, she'd been kind enough to bring him here today, although he had no idea where he'd go afterward. Her place maybe? No, that wouldn't work. She had that damn furry cat. And he had his allergies. With a heavy sigh, Howard started down the narrow aisle. His heart ached with memories he couldn't grasp all at once. It'd been a week since Frank had passed. A week. Dear God, please don't let me make a fool of myself in front of these people. Just as they'd rehearsed, he walked with Denise to the casket's side where she slid a tall three-step block into place. It was just as she promised. A proper farewell. Carefully, his four paws trembling, Howard stepped to the top stair and peered into the oblong box. Frank! "Sh...shameless," Aunt Revvy spat out. Howard ignored her and sniffed, desperate for his master's comforting scent. Nothing. Even Frank's face had changed. An odd color. Not quite the right shape. Howard couldn't bear to look. Turning away, he spotted a folded up walking stick beside the body. In life, it had served as Frank's second eyes. In life... Howard crinkled his brow at the old stick and immediately took it between his teeth. Didn't they understand? "Stop him!" Aunt Revvy screeched. He gulped the best he could and backed down the steps. Upon turning, he faced a roomful of accusatory frowns. No, they didn't understand at all. And to think...all this time...they thought they were smarter. They claimed to be above his kind. Recognizing Denise's strappy shoes, Howard dipped his head and set the walking stick at her feet. Of all of them, she would understand. The soft touch she laid upon his head told him so. Where Frank now walked, he didn't need such things anymore. |
