Our nights end the same

My dog and I

I stretch out on the couch and read a few chapters in whatever book I'm reading
Probably something by Hemingway or Paulsen

She's laying on the floor grinding down the knuckle on a bone that she picked clean days ago

There's a cold bottle of beer or a gin drink or a glass of ice and water sitting next to me on the table and they never seem to last long enough
So I always put my book down and grab another, make another, drink another

I look away from my book and watch her chew the bone and she looks at me and I see the corners of her mouth  curl up into a smile and she slowly stands up and does the stretching thing that she does and wanders to the back door
Moves the curtains aside and lays down by the glass and looks out into the darkness

I finish the chapter and stand up, walk to the back door and open it, letting her run out wild in the yard

I smile as she leaps like a horse over her small swimming pool and bounces like a rabbit thru the yard

I close the door and go back to the couch and drink my drink and continue reading
Or maybe I watch a little tv
Even tho I'm not paying much attention and there is seldom anything on
Maybe I stand up to adjust the antennae to get the channel in
But maybe I just shut the tv back off and read instead

My dog scratches at the door and I know she wants to come back in and it is near time to go to bed anyway so I let her in and say let's go to sleep
She grabs her bone and runs upstairs, lays the bone down at the top of the steps, and lays in front of the door to the master bedroom, never entering without me beside her

I brush my teeth and grab my work clothes and go upstairs where she is still at the door waiting

I walk into the bedroom and she follows

I shut off the lights and climb into bed in the dark and she jumps up on the bed and lays down beside me

Waiting for me to pet her head or rub her belly before she gets back up and moves down towards the bottom of the bed and curls up at my feet

We fall asleep until the alarm goes off and it's time to get back up for another day.