the_walk tender_square she pulled and pranced and took her leather leash into her jaws, trying to wrest control from me. at every corner, i compelled her to sit, offering morsels of soft bone, and her sharp dentin, pulp, and cementum clashed with my keratin; “i said nice!” i scolded. her mouth a treasure chest for shapely rocks, twisted twigs, and bulbous pine cones i forbade her from carrying. “leave it!” her gawky limbs clashed with my short stride, the steel spikes of her prong collar doing little to dissuade her. it didn’t matter how often i praised her, she was testing me, engaging in the wrong behaviour to manipulate me for another speck of minerals, meat by-product, and milk. 221006 ... tender_square the leash kept getting caught between ruby’s legs whenever she dropped her head to sniff. i let it chafe her tawny belly, tired of stopping every few feet to adjust her. if she didn’t mind, why should i? dillon was quiet; no cars, no pedestrians, no undulating waves of traffic. ruby curved the crescent, prancing like a show pooch. “i like your dog!” some kids called from a dark driveway. “really? i don’t,” i said, then regretted my sarcasm. “i like you most of the time, ruby,” i whispered. “you’re a good girl.” the sky was discoloured cotton, the streetlamps dim. on little river, i held the non-retractable cord like a rein, wrapped around my right fist, taut through my left hand and lifted and, suddenly, we found a tandem pace. instead of her pulling ahead of me, she walked beside, tempo unbroken, the stitch in my side returning with our speed. 221007 what's it to you? who go blather from