their ears are up and alert as i park the car. yvonne and sandy meet me at the gate, wagging their tails and bodies. sandy yelps and howls. yvonne drops a damp tennis ball in the dirt path at my feet. sandy shifts from paw to paw, dancing and capering. the cats, looking bored, glance past me with casual disdain. i walk down the driveway conversing with the animals in falsetto tones. yvonne tosses the tennis ball at my feet twice more before i boot it across the yard. she overtakes the ball in a cloud of dust like a shortstop going deep into the hole. sandy dashes round me in figure eights. i'm happy to be home in paradise again. a tune pops into my head:

night and day you are the one
only you beneath the moon and under the sun
whether near to me or far
it's no matter darling where you are
i think of you night and day...

posted by Will Ross at 21:57