Ceasar And Claudia

Everytime I go over to Claudia's house, for whatever reason, I can't just drop something off or pick something up. No, I have to go inside and pay some attention to Ceaser. He gets all excited when he hears my truck turn on to her street from nearly a block away, and he pushes the front door open so he can let out a series of soft excited barks from her screened porch.

It's not like he remembers me from the days when Claudia and I were married and living together. He wasn't even born yet. Somehow the marriage ended and the relationship morphed into best friends. Maybe even brother/sister would best describe it. That was over fifteen years ago when she still had her dogs Tessie and Max. When they each in turn died I went over there and helped bury them. She got Ceasar and then Prince. I suppose because Claudia and I still consider one another as family so do the dogs.

I often stop by on Saturday morning and have a cup of coffee. If I'm lucky there's some home-made pastry. I play with the dogs while she calls her parents in Germany. Then we chat a bit, I say my goodbyes, and promise Ceasar that I'll see him again soon.