Quiet Evenings with My Dogs

Grandma Stella reflects on the quiet evenings as seasons change, finding comfort in her tea ritual and the companionship of her dogs, Ebony and Picasso.

When the days grow short and the nights grow long; when there’s a chill in the air and the windows are closed and the curtains are drawn, the house is quiet. It throbs with a lonely silence. That is when I take my tea tray and climb upstairs to sit and watch the evening news. The dogs follow me to the room off our bedroom. I sip my tea as I listen. The dogs look at me hopefully in anticipation of a treat. Ebony becomes impatient and gives me a discreet nudge. Picasso looks on. “Do I ever forget you?” I ask as I give each of them a tasty morsel.