Lessons From Ducks Read Online Free PDF Page B

carrying the takeaway Styrofoam cup she took the road that led to the playground.
    It was one of those late summer afternoons that reminded Anna of her childhood. A hazy sky, streaked with faint pastel pinks that signalled a glorious sunset would at some point be forthcoming. Warm sun beamed down on her head. Unseen birds twittered in trees, a gentle breeze fanned the flowers that lined the road, causing their delicious scents to waft up and treat her with their sweetness. She stopped in front of a particularly pretty rose, a deep gorgeous purple bloom with an abundance of petals curved around each other. She closed her eyes – after making sure there were no bees on the flower first – and inhaled deeply.
    “Ohhhh,” she sighed, “that is simply divine.”
    A man walked past at that moment with a black and white dog tugging at its lead, his mouth open as he panted, sharp white teeth smiling as a long pink tongue lolled out the side. The dog stopped at her feet and smiled up at her excitedly, tail wagging.
    “Sorry,” the man said, “he’s a friendly wee chap.”
    “No need for apologies,” Anna smiled, patting the dog on the head and admiring his long silky ears. “He’s lovely.”
    “He is,” the man smiled back at her gratefully. Not all who he met on his daily walks were as appreciative of the dog’s attentions. “I tell you,” he laughed, “It takes me a fair while to just get around the block some days, what with all the people he wants to stop and greet.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “Sully.”
    Anna started to say that it was an unusual name for a dog but then she thought how some people might find the name Mrs Dudley odd for a duck so she stopped. The man read her expression.
    “My kids named him, after some monster in a cartoon movie I believe.”
    “Oh you have children? Why aren’t they walking Scully?”
    If the man was perturbed by her personal question he didn’t show it.
    “Oh you know,” he said, “usual story. Couple of Christmases ago they were all, ‘Please dad, please can we have a dog! We promise to feed him and clean up after him and walk him every day! Pleeeease!’” he laughed. “So I bought this fella,” he paused to fondly touch the dogs head. Then he shrugged ruefully. “Of course the novelty for the children wore off after a few months when he destroyed toys and soiled their cricket patch.”
    He saw Anna frown.
    “Don’t get me wrong,” he added hurriedly, “they adore him, and they’ll throw a ball in the backyard for a while if I nag hard enough. But it’s me who feeds him, who picks up his messes and who walks him. I don’t mind though,” he patted his stomach and winked conspiratorially; “I need the exercise.”
    “Hardly,” Anna said, because it seemed to be expected from her.
    The dog, satisfied that he had found another fan in Anna and spotting children ahead - more potential fans - tugged at the leash, anxious to be off.
    “Woah,” the man laughed, “you have a good day miss,” he said to Anna, and then he was gone.
    “You too,” she called after him. She watched as Scully pulled him off up the road towards where the children were playing, his tail wagging energetically. She’d considered getting herself a dog once, some time ago when the loneliness and the sound of her own breathing had become almost unbearable. She’d imagined their life together; one sided conversations – at least there would be someone to listen - and cosy cuddles by the fire in Winter, the dog with his head on her lap or feet while she read. At her desk she daydreamed of walks after work around the neighbourhood. She would take the dog to the river for swims and to fetch sticks and dig holes and do whatever else it was that dogs liked to do. She’d even spent time in the pet store one Saturday morning planning the bed she would buy it – a stylish black and white number – and bowl – green, with black bones around the rim. The collar had taken more