Her Most Loyal Friend

Mary came home after a devastating day at work. The office was at a depressingly isolated old boarding school far out in the countryside. People had yelled at her. People had avoided her. People had fallen asleep during a presentation of hers. 

Her boss had even snored as he was lying, nose down, with his head resting on the table in front of him in the meeting room. That would have been embarrassing if anyone else had been awake, but luckily they weren't. Unperturbed, Mary had gone on talking. She had this feeling that her soothing voice was the safest way of keeping the others asleep, so she could have some time for herself, thinking, resting, while slide after slide passed on the screen. It was only when a cleaning lady came in and interrupted them, way past the scheduled lunch break, that Mary realised that the slide show had restarted from the beginning. Perhaps several times. 

Later on, she had found a colleague of hers, Steve, hiding in a cleaning cabinet to avoid her. Steve had claimed he was looking for a broom, but the door was closed from the inside. The only reason Mary had found him was because she had tried to put away the broom she had found in his office. 

The highlight of the day had been when she got the opportunity to complain about an offensive picture she had found on the company intranet. It was actually quite funny, but she was sure other people would be offended by it. 

Now she was home. Safely home. With the hero of her life. Bob was always there for her. He would never let her down. He would never go out bowling when she needed him. When she wanted to feel his wet tongue all over her face. When she wanted to hear his comforting yelp, as she used the can opener. 

He had dark eyes under bushy eyebrows and ears that were standing almost straight up. Both his back and chest were covered by thick silvery hair. 

He was the fabulous Bob. He may be small and old and not very strong, but she was convinced he would not hesitate to attack any intruder. He had once bitten the postman, but that was just an accident involving an offered sandwich. 

Bob curled up in her lap. She softly tickled his neck, as she thought about the day at work. She had never managed to get that report from Steve. It was as if he deliberately tried to sabotage her work. That must be it, she sighed. He was after some promotion and tried to stop her from getting any threatening recognition. She became more and more angry. 

“Come now, Bob,” she said. “It's time to go for a walkie.”

It was a cool autumn evening, but the fresh air would not calm her down. They walked around the park along dimly lit paths. 

As they turned a corner, she recognised Steve, that most despicable of colleagues. They were both surprised, mumbled some kind of greeting to each other, but then quickly moved on. 

After a few paces Mary stopped. “Steve!” she whispered. “My office arch foe!” Then she burst out louder: “Bob! Attack! Sic ‘em!” And pointed at the shadow that moved away from them around the bend. 

Bob eagerly obeyed. His little legs moved at an incredible speed, as he ran after his prey. Mary heard a scream through the darkness, and after a brief moment Bob proudly came back. 

“Good Bob!” she smiled and patted him on the head. “Did you bite him?”

“Of course not”, said Bob and adjusted his tie. “I pinched his car keys. He won't be able to drive to work tomorrow. Really, Mary. Sometimes, I think you treat me like a dog.”