Joy and I walked through the wide, open lawn outside our apartments. With gardens in full bloom and lush trees providing shelter from the summer sun, it was a picturesque scene. On this lazy Saturday afternoon, we walked by 2 older ladies relaxing in the shade, passing time with conversation and take out pizza from the Italian restaurant across the street. They each sported their own shade of white hair and were clearly enthralled in each other’s friendly company.
One of the ladies spotted Joy and gasped with pleasure. “Oh! I haven’t seen one of those dogs in ages.” She exclaimed to her friend. Overhearing her remark, I changed our course from left to right, so they could get a better look at my pride and Joy. I smiled as we approached and it was clear they longed to pet her. I cut through the grass towards their two white lawn chairs and smiled widely as they oozed over Joy.
Joy, bursting with excitement, rolled happily onto her back, exposing her tummy for bountiful scratches from her two new friends. The two ladies’ ecstatic reaction was more than the expected, “what a cute dog,” that I’m used to hearing from strangers. They were genuinely delighted. “Thanks honey,” one of them said to Joy. “You made my day.” I walked away smiling, thinking, “You actually made mine.”
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