This story starts on a cold Christmas Day and ends a week later on New Year's Day. The high point, however, came on December 29th. That's a day I'll never forget. My mouth starts to water just thinking about it.
Mom prepared a whole ham on Christmas Day. It was a big one, about 16 pounds. Most of the day the ham was cooking in the oven. Its lovely aroma flowed throughout the house. Mom cooked other things for dinner as well; but they did not warm up the house the way the ham did.
Late in the afternoon a friend came over. I like this friend of Mom's. She lets me help her with her gloves and scarf. Humans should not carry those things when I'm here to help. Mom made me put the gloves and scarf in the closet. I personally thought they would be easier to keep track of if I kept them with me while I lay in my bed. Oh well, someday Mom may understand my way of doing things.
For dinner Mom and her friend only ate a small piece of the ham. They had other things to eat too. There was rice, yams and vegetables. But the ham smelled the best to me. Quinton liked the smell too.
Quinton is my brother, although we're not really related. Quinton lived with Mom before I got here. He's bossy and tells me what to do. There are things I know how to do that Quinton doesn't have a clue about. I know how to move a door handle so that the door opens for me. Quinton would never think to even touch door handles.
Mom feeds Quinton and me really good food. On Christmas Day she even allowed us to taste some of the ham. One taste and I knew I wanted more. For the next few days Mom would put a piece of ham in our meals. I think she took the ham from the refrigerator. I was confused since the refrigerator only held small portions of the ham. Where was the other 12-14 pounds of ham?
Tuesday evening I figured it out. After Mom put away the groceries she had just bought, she went back into the garage. She returned with a big roasting pan. The same roasting pan she had used Christmas Day when preparing the ham.
Mom cut some chunks off the ham and placed the chunks into plastic containers. She let Quinton and me each have a piece; and then she put the roasting pan containing the ham back into the garage. Very interesting!
I don't try to open the garage door very often. Most of the time it is locked when Mom is not at home. I don't think she likes me to go into the garage unless she's with me. Mom likes to keep an eye on me.
The next day, Wednesday, I had to try the door to the garage. Just before Mom goes to work she throws pieces of chicken outside. These are for Quinton and me to eat. Mom feeds us according to the Billinghurst diet, in case you're wondering. Right after I finished my chicken piece I raced inside the house, leapt up the stairs and tried the door to the garage.
It was amazing! The door was open and right there, on the floor was the roasting pan with the ham. I pawed at the lid and it came off making a lot of noise. I think it was that noise that brought Quinton inside to see what I was doing.
There was more than enough ham for the two of us. We're pretty big guys, weighing in at about 80-90 pounds each. I made sure to hang on to the bone. I let Quinton have some pieces. We had a great time. I'd growl and raise my lip in a threatening gesture. Then he'd act like he wasn't looking at me and sneak as close as he could. I'd take a bite and Quinton would grab some meat from the other side. We'd play tug-of-war a bit and then settle down to chew the hunks of meat.
It wasn't long and we were both full. I wanted to find a place to hide the bone until I was ready to eat some more. I looked around in the garage. There was the perfect spot, a big bale of peat moss. Mom uses it when she plants in the spring time. It was wonderfully easy to dig into. I had no problem hiding that ham bone.
Quinton and I spent the rest of the day sleeping. My stomach hurt a bit, yet I was wonderfully happy.
Mom seemed upset when she came home to find the door to the garage open. She closed the door immediately and said something about the furnace having to work extra hard. We live in Wisconsin where it is cold in the winter.
It wasn't until later that Mom discovered the clean roasting pan. Mom was quiet. She felt both Quinton's and my stomachs, and watched us carefully. We only got a small meal that evening. I didn't mind. I still had happy memories of the ham and a slightly sore stomach.
Mom kept the door to the garage locked for the rest of the week. The ham bone remained buried in the peat moss. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to get it out.
Then on New Year's Day I got my chance. Mom was upstairs brushing her teeth and had left the garage door unlocked. I went into the garage, got the ham bone and took it outside where I could chew leisurely. Quinton kept Mom company. She got busy writing and did not come looking for me for quite a while.
Mom finally felt uncomfortable that I was not in sight. I am usually lying at her feet. She came outside and found me. First she asked me for the bone and I gave it to her. Then she just shook her head, returned to bone to my mouth and went inside. The bone tasted even better after that. I even let Quinton chew on it a while. Quinton's basically a good guy, even if he isn't very smart. Perhaps that's why he gets bossy: to make up for not being clever.
I continue to keep my eyes open and test the barriers. You just never know when some door will open up and bring joy to your life.
