The other day she and I had a race to get through the sliding door onto the stoep. Am not exactly sure what the race was all about, but I went first anyway.
Managed to boomps into the glass door on the way out. Nothing very spectacular – just a little bump. Although the security door did go boooiiinng boooiiinng booiiinng rather loudly.
Mom was right behind me. She skidded to a halt and said… “Fudges…” in a sort of outraged-cum-concerned voice.
Kept right on going – no ways was she going to get me like that. What did she think I was – a furry sucker? Not likely.
But she stayed stopped in the doorway and started foofelling with the door.
Turned around and looked at her. “Oi! What is your problem?”
“Fudgie – You are a Mafuta!”
I could detect some almost capital letters in that statement. A what? I blinked and shook my head. That’s a new word for me. A maffy what?
“What are you babbling about woman?”
“You, Miss Fudge-wena, are a hefty hound. You knocked the sliding door clean off its rails.”
I sauntered up and took a peek. Looked quite fine to me. Was still standing, nothing was broken. All my slobber marks were still intact on the glass. Clearly Mom was losing it.
Dashed out into the garden and played some ball with my own self.
Mom continued to fiddle with the door. She made a couple of odd oef oef noises. I lay by the wall gnawing the yellow stuff off my tennis ball, checking things out from the corner of my eye.
She slid the door back and forth a few times. Kept a wary eye in case she was planning on locking me out. Not that it’s ever really happened before – but you never know.
Eventually she stopped messing with the door and came outside.
But it turned out she was not even thinking of playing with me. Instead she fetched the watering can and went back inside to fill it up. Am convinced that she loves her wretched poppies more than me at the moment.
When she’d finished puttering around she did throw a few measly balls for me. Then we went inside.
“Carefully, Fudge” – said Mom in her meanie voice. “Don’t go breaking the house down again please.”
* As told to Ginny Stone
