Sit, Monster! (700 words)

[mbarker]

 

The prompt at https://moreoddsthanends.home.blog/2020/03/11/week-11-of-odd-prompts/ was

The little tree in the small tree plot in the sidewalk right in front of your house (this is a city sidewalk tree) is putting out small pink flowers, leaves are budding and the tree is clearly ready for spring. But it’s mid-January. What’s going on?

Here's one answer...

Sit, Monster! (700 words)

By Mike Barker

Gil looked at the three-headed dog on the sidewalk, and shook his head as all three heads watched him with big doggy grins. They barked, then it turned, lifted its leg, and marked the tree in the sidewalk in front of his old brownstone. 

Across the street, Mrs. Miller laughed. When he looked, she was leaning out of her kitchen window, watching the  dog. 

"Nice dog you got there, Gil," she called. "Some kind of boxer?" 

Gil glanced at the dog. Well, if you didn't see the extra heads, maybe. When they brought the pups in at work, one of the monster hunters told him that no one else would see the extra heads, but he really had trouble believing it.

"I think he's a boxer mix, at least. Turned up at work, followed me home, and..."

She cackled. "And now he's your roommate. Oh, I know how that story goes. That's how I got Philly."

Philly, her black cat, jumped into the window.

The three-headed dog barked, and Philly sat down and cleaned a paw.

“Oh, he’s a feisty one! What’s his name?”

Gil chuckled.

“Well, I’ve been calling him Monster, but...”

Mrs, Miller laughed.

“That’s a good name for him! He’s a big one. Enjoy your walk, now!”

The next morning, it was snowing. Just a little spray, not too unusual for January.

But when Gil wrapped up and walked Monster out to the tree, he was astounded to see the branches starting to grow light green leaves, and a spray of pink flowers in two or three places. Monster, of course, just lifted his leg and marked the tree, as he had been doing ever since he moved in with Gil. Gil looked at the three-headed dog, and the tree clearly heading into spring despite the snow and the temperature, and shook his head. They told him at the office that they wanted him to report anything unusual that happened with the dog, so he'd have to tell them about this later.

When they got back from their walk, there was a city truck pulled up in the street, and a man in a uniform looking at the tree. When Gil got closer, he could see it was a Parks uniform. Gil started to walk around him. Of course, Monster had to stop and water the tree again.

“Oh! Is this your dog that’s been ... well, pissing on the tree?”

Gil turned. The man was looking at Monster, and smiling.

“Yes? I don’t think there’s any rule against it, is there? I mean, you can’t really stop a dog.”

The man laughed. 

“No, no, that’s fine. It’s just... every now and then, we get these trees that decide that it’s spring way before anywhere else, and we try to track down what in their environment leads to it. I’ll make a note that a dog has been pissing on it, but I really doubt that is what is doing it. After all, just about every tree gets that treatment, right?”

Gil nodded. He wondered just how many three-headed dogs were wandering around, but he wasn’t going to talk about that with the Parks man. Who had already turned back to the tree, and was looking at it, with a big smile.

“I’m sure it’s just a local variation in temperature and maybe in the genetics of the tree. Pretty, though. It might cheer people up if we can get more trees to act like this.”

Gil looked at the tree, the light green leaves and pink flowers lifting into the light snow flurry, and he had to admit, it was cheerful. 

Then Monster rubbed against his leg, and Gil reached down and scratched behind his ears. Then one head pushed another head out of the way, and Gil had to scratch again. And once more.

Gil chuckled as Monster shook his ears. The Parks man laughed. 

"That dog keeps you busy, doesn't he? But he looks pretty happy."

Monster gave a small bark, almost as if he understood. The Parks man got back in his truck and drove away.

Then Gil and Monster went inside, and watched the snow falling gently on the tree.