Pyramus

By Seth Sherman

“Can we keep him, Daddy? Please? He followed me home from school today and he’s so  friendly. Look!” 

I had to admit that he was good looking, and he sure seemed to like Sarah, but…”I don’t know,  sweetie. I think he’s got a tag on him.” 

“I know, but look how he’s licking me.” 

“Bring him here so I can read it.” 

“Couldn’t we just keep him til tomorrow? Please, Daddy. I’m already starting to love him and I  know he loves me too.” 

“Sarah, I don’t think this is a good idea. He belongs to someone, and the longer we keep him,  the harder it’ll be to give him back. So why don’t we take him home now and we’ll see about getting a  puppy of our own soon? How would that be?” I guess she didn’t like that idea, because she  immediately started crying, and seeing her in tears was the worst thing in the world. It had only been  six months, and it was still hard to say which of us cried more. 

Between her sobs, she managed to get out, “Please, Daddy…Mama prom…” 

“It is getting late. How about if I call them and see what they want us to do.” 

“Do you think they’ll let us keep him?” 

“Probably not, sweetie, but let me see his tag.” He sure was cute, and so loving. I’d better stop  or I’ll start getting attached to him myself. “Come on, big fella, let’s see who you are and where you  live. Looks like his name is Pyramus, and he belongs to Christina and Gene Curran, and here’s their  number.” 

“Daddy, can I take him to my room, just for a little while, while you’re on the phone?” “I guess there’s no harm in that.”  

“Come on, Pyramus. You wanna see my room?” 

It was so touching how he just followed her around, like he was her dog. She didn’t even have  to hold him. Maybe getting a puppy wouldn’t be a bad idea. I sure hoped it would be like this one. I  almost didn’t want to dial their number, but right is right. 

“Hello, is this Christina Curran? Yes, sorry to bother you. My name is Dan Hutchins, and my  daughter, Sarah, found your dog on her way back from school today, and I was wondering if you want  us to bring him back now or in the morning?” 

There was a long pause before she answered. “Would you mind keeping him overnight?  Tomorrow would be better.” 

“No, that’s great. My daughter really seems to have bonded with him. It’s just that I don’t want  her getting too attached. She lost her mother six months ago, and it’s been hard on her, on both of us.  And I just don’t want to see her heart get broken again.” 

Christina’s voice softened. “It’s nice talking to you, Dan—thank you—and why don’t the three  of you come over for lunch at twelve. It’s Saturday, so the kids don’t have school. Would that work?” “Sure. It’s very kind of you, but you really don’t have to go to any trouble just because we found your dog and brought him back. I’m sure that you would do the same.” 

I thought I heard her choke on her words, “I already did.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be cryptic, but I’ll explain everything tomorrow if that’s okay?” “Sure.” 

“Okay, then we’ll see you at noon, and you already have our address.” 

“Thank you, Christina, we’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Well, Sarah, you got your wish; they said we could keep him tonight and bring him back  

tomorrow at twelve. And they’re even going to give us lunch. I guess that’s their way of rewarding us.  Hey, I was thinking of burgers for supper. Do you think Pyramus would like one too?” Seeing her  smile made everything seem so worthwhile, but I couldn’t help feel that we were just prolonging the  agony and that tomorrow’s tears would revoke the happiness of the moment. 

“Can he sleep in my room, Daddy? Nobody could ever get me when he’s around.” “Okay, but remember what…oh, never mind.” 

I was right. The joy from last night was gone and was replaced with tears as I heard the  following from the backseat: 

“I love you so much, Pyramus…don’t be sad…I promise to ask your parents if I can visit you  every day…please don’t cry…I don’t want you to go home either…I wish you could stay with us forever.” “Sorry, Sarah,, but I think we’re here. Remember what we talked about last night?” “I know, but even though we only met yesterday, we love each other so much. He understands  me, and I feel like he’s my best friend. Do you think we can visit him if it’s okay with his parents?” “We’ll see. We can ask, but they may be uncomfortable with that idea. Maybe you should hold  him so he doesn’t run away again?” 

“Don’t worry, Daddy; he won’t. He follows me everywhere. Look!” 

She was right. They seemed inseparable. What a great dog. How and why did he ever get out  and run away in the first place? I was beginning to hope for visitation privileges myself. 

The door opened about ten seconds after I rang the bell. 

“Hi. Come on in. You must be Dan, and you, young lady, must be the Sarah I’ve heard so much  about. Why don’t you sit on the couch, but make sure you leave a place in the middle for Pyramus;  that’s where he always sits. I’ve got some friends I want you to meet..We’re just having pizza and ice  cream; I hope that’s okay. So grab a paper plate and whatever kind of pizza you want, and we can talk  while we eat. Let me introduce you to everyone…on second thought, why don’t I let everyone introduce themselves, but why don’t you guys go first.” 

As Christina spoke, Sarah lost it and started crying again, burying her head into Pyramus’ plush  coat of fur. 

“I’m sorry that my daughter’s so upset, but she’s really gotten attached to Pyramus. I’m Dan  Hutchins, and this is my eight-year-old daughter, Sarah. We lost her mother and my wife six months ago, and it’s been really hard on both of us. Yesterday, Pyramus followed her back from school and we’re here  to give him back.” 

Christina got a tissue and knelt down beside Sarah, wiping her eyes and offering her the kind of  comfort that women do best. “Sarah, why don’t you listen to what everyone has to say, and maybe  you’ll feel differently about things.” 

“Bob, you start, as you were the first.” Christina was addressing a man of about sixty.  “Hi, Dan and Sarah, I’m Bob Rossmuller, and this is my wife, Barbara, and I suppose I did  come first. I lost my first wife to cancer about five years ago, and I don’t mind say’n it now, but I was  really down. We were childhood sweethearts, and I just didn’t know if I could go on without her. So one day, I was sitting at my desk, staring at my gun, and the doorbell rings. And it was my next door  neighbors. They were about to move and their dog had just had puppies and they wanted to give me  the last of the litter. I told them it wasn’t a good time for me to start mess’n with a pup, but the little girl —who always called me Mr. Bob—wouldn’t take no for an answer, say’n that they’d have to give him  to a shelter if I didn’t take him, and he could end up being put to sleep, and that she knew I missed my  wife but that a puppy might be just the thing to make me feel better. Well, it’s hard for me to say no to  a kid, so I took him in and named him Pyramus, who was the original Romeo in Greek mythology;  I’m sort of a mythology buff. And that little girl was right: Pyramus did make me feel better and make me want to live again. Two years later, I met Barbara here, and we decided to get married and go on a  honeymoon, but I didn’t know what to do with Pyramus., But as it turned out, he made the decision for  us. I guess you’re up, Helene.” 

“Greetings, Sarah and Dan, I’m Helene Rosen, and this is my husband Zelig. We had just  graduated college and gotten married four years ago, and after only one year, we were talking about  getting a divorce. Both of our jobs are stressful and our respective in-laws weren’t making it any easier for us, so one day, in the middle of an argument, I stormed out of the house and slammed the door  behind me. I just wanted some time alone, to sit on the front porch undisturbed. I started crying, and  barely a minute or two later, this strange dog shows up and plops himself down beside me. Well, he just stared, and I could tell that he knew what I was feeling. Then he started licking my hand, which  warmed my heart, and I found myself petting him and enjoying it, and soon, I wasn’t feeling quite so  hostile anymore. A few minutes later, Zelig came out, and he sat down and started petting him too— and I’m not sure how it happened—but just petting Pyramus seemed to have a therapeutic effect on  both of us, because Zelig reached over and kissed my cheek and said that he was sorry for yelling, and I said no, that I was the one who should be apologizing, because I had started it, but by then, all of our  anger just seemed to disappear. 

“But we knew we had to give him back, so we called Bob, who came over about twenty  minutes later.” 

Bob jumped in. “I was about to take him home, but when I saw them pett’n him, I had an idea: I  told them that Barbara and me was about to go on our honeymoon and asked if they’d like to watch  Pyramus while we were gone.” 

“We said we’d love to, and we did, but when Bob got back and called for Pyramus to follow him out, he wouldn’t budge.” 

“I always thought animals had a mind of their own, so they should have some say in their lives,  and if Pyramus wanted to stay with them, well then, that was his business. But then an odd thing  started happening, Pyramus would go back and forth between our two houses, so Barbara and me  became friends with Zelig and Helene and we just kind of shared him. We live close by, so it was easy  for us and safe for him. Then Barbara decides that each couple should have their own dog tag, cause  that’s the way she is, so we made one for them, and whoever had Pyramus would put their tag on him,  and return the other. Well, everything was going real smooth until one day, he didn’t show up at either  of our houses, and those people,” he said, smiling at Christina and Gene, “interrupted our cozy little  arrangement.” 

“I guess it’s our turn now . This is my husband, Gene, and my son, Adam. About a year and half ago, Adam broke his leg skateboarding and couldn’t go to summer camp with his friends. So he would  hobble down the stairs and mope on the front porch. And just like what happened to Helene and Zelig,  Pyramus showed up one day and started giving him some of his special kind of love, and the two  became fast friends. Adam did not want to give him back. But when we called the Rosens to tell them  that we had their dog and were about to bring him home, they told us the same thing that I told you,  that ‘tomorrow would be better.’ So when I said, ‘I already did,’ I meant it; I went through the same  thing as you, and I knew exactly how you felt. When we got there, Bob and Barbara were also present,  and they gave us our own dog tag, saying that if we wanted to join their little club, we had to do it right. 

“He was with us all the time for the first year, but then he started going back and forth between  the three houses at whim. We decided that we should all get together at least once a month as kind of a  Pyramus reunion, and he loved it. Sometimes he’d go back with the family that brought him, but other  times he’d go with another family, and we’d just switch tags and wish him well.” 

She then gave something to Sarah. I couldn’t see what it was, but immediately, the expression  on Sarah’s face went from tears to a happy face. 

“Look, Daddy, it’s got our names on it.” 

She handed it to me, and sure enough, it was a dog tag with our names, number, and address  under the name Pyramus. 

“Sarah and Dan, welcome to our little family, which we call the Pyramus Adoption Club. You  can keep him too if you want, but only for as long as he wants to be with you. You’ll have to agree to  abide by his decision. Is that okay with the two of you? 

Everything was just starting to settle in. “That’s fine with me; okay with you, Sarah?” “Yes, Daddy, he can stay with us for as long as he wants. But can I visit him when he’s not at  our house?” 

Christina smiled. “Of course, Sarah. All of us are welcomed at each other’s homes. And I  believe that my son, Adam, is sad because he doesn’t know you as well as he does the others, and is  afraid that he won’t get to visit Pyramus when he’s with you.” 

“Adam, you can come over and play with me and Pyramus whenever you want, can’t he,  Daddy?” 

“Of course, Adam. You’re welcome anytime.”  

Well, that sad little girl who had walked through the front door just thirty minutes ago was  gone—and that’s how I got my happy girl back, and that’s how we got our rescue dog.

Born in New Orleans and raised in Louisiana and New York, Seth Sherman gave up simultaneous careers in medicine and aviation to pursue the alternative lifestyle of writing while sailing alone around the world.  He is currently living aboard his yacht, Serendipity, now in  Trinidad, in the Caribbean.