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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780702257889 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Queensland Press |
| Publication date: | 04/27/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 130 |
| File size: | 788 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Jack & Mollie (& Her)
By Jordie Albiston
University of Queensland Press
Copyright © 2016 Jordie AlbistonAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7022-5788-9
CHAPTER 1
J had never been owned by a dog did not become a dog ownee until the age of forty enter Jack his full name — what monosyllabic moniker can adequately sum up or represent
such a complex & multi-layered being as a dog? — was Our Brother Jack (comma) Kerouac (full stop) with name-dropping nods to the expat Aussie novelist & San Francisco Superbeat however
putting such frivolous pretensions & appellative tongue-twisters aside Our Brother Jack (comma) Kerouac (full stop) quickly & thankfully became known quite simply as Jack Jack is watching her now
as she writes at a quarter to five in the morning Mollie of course is nowhere to be seen I am having the watch of Her even though it is the blackness & we should be at sleep Mollie is dream-dream
but it has never been for Mollie to have the watch of Her my eyes have the want to go backwards but I keep them look by having the jerk of my head I must do the stay this is of the significant
duty at least she is not having the wet-face or doing the go-around all in the no-light at least she is something of happy & Boss Dog is not of the maximum size Mollie did not arrive
until Jack was four two kennel moves & a leash of life changes later than where this story begins thus you — dear Reader — must linger for her rambunctious rock-rollicking & ready-for-anything yip!
* * *
J was unwell for some time before her Edisonesque event her marriage had ended her children had somehow transformed from infants into teens she was somewhat alone & she simply wanted something
to love many of these months remain mud in her mind but she still remembers this impulse something to love & then the light switched on & her heart was lit & she saw it up there the Dog Star she is not with
the very well when she comes to pick me up she holds me too squash even with the worry-worry I do the sad & bold goodbye to mother brother gather my self for what next I have the comprehend
I will not be return I have too the comprehend that I can love Her that I will love Her that love will have all of the everything good in the end J had done her fieldwork she was allergic to cats
despite their apparent attraction to her appearing out of nowhere at friends' houses on streets in parks to slide around her legs take up residence on her lap appraise her approvingly with other
worldly eyes she could not warm to them cats are regal independent pleasingly aloof yes but up close first the sneezing second the itching & finally the complete inability to see J
did not dislike mogs she just could not bear them thus prominent on her Pooch Research List — perchance this particular matter applied to dogs — was Non-Allergenic Breed to the AKC Information
Site! 'single-coated' 'non-shedding' 'dander' a whole new lexicon a whole canine planet Maltese Bichon Frise Portuguese Water Dog Peruvian Inca o lordy! to the sea for a think! & there
sitting on a rock on the sand minding her business dangling her toes it came upon her quick as a vision slow as a dream poking his nose right at her knee The Dog She Knew She Could Love swallowing
her customary compulsion she spoke to the bloke at the end of the leash & enquired as to the pup's pedigree Er Aussie Terrier he gruffly replied while gazing out above her head at a
pair of fluorescent bikinis the hound was smallish exuding autonomy companionship & everything nice as he calmly tolerated her gaze he was beautiful in a rugged kind of
way no cutesy-wutesy namby-pamby here coat not too short not too long bluish-black shot through with tan face strong & alert eyes dark & keen & intelligent — o those doggy adjectives! — ears upright &
vigilant J was smitten there & then she knew this was the dog for her knew she wanted the dog to be male & for some whacky reason she knew that somewhere a-waiting her was a little man named 'Jack'
* * *
local paper The Age The Trading Post the supermarket noticeboard J searched & searched but to cut a long story short as they say (or in this case several longish months into one shortish sentence)
she finally located a litter of four Australian Terrier pups (huzzah!) on the very far side of large Melbourne her desire for a dog having steadily progressed to a yearning &
that yearning having become pure longing she made the trip trusty Melway upside-down & unsteady on lap requisite $400 at the ready but when she arrived only two of the brood
remained at least they were boys how can she describe? a couple of fluffballs black & pure gorgeousness expressing distinctly differing temperaments even at only eight weeks one was amok jumping
& tumbling from couch to basket to floor to basket to couch — again again — the other just sitting studying her face answering her eyes difficult to put into words she thinks she just stood there can
only recall the faraway phrase The shy one he's called Jack Jack? as though in a trance J gathered up 'Jack' & headed for the door she expects the seller mentioned money she expects she paid he may have
proffered a profusion of detailed & complex pup-raising hints may have offered the recipe for his favourite self-saucing chocolate pudding she has no idea no memory at all of
the man's face/voice/name/suburb nor the poor den-mum who was no doubt nearby mourning her imminent loss no nothing nothing nothing at all except for the fact that she had found him Little Man Jack! at last
* * *
for the road trip back there was no Melway on lap but a prepossessing pup called Jack driving along — in retrospect quite unsafely let alone illegally (given Jack's place just beneath the steering-wheel)
— J was consumed with a seraphic sense of calm she had found Her Dog! again unsafely illegally she could not help but gaze down periodically at this compact collaboration of
trust innocence serenity warmth & baby Jack just lay there — deep black eyes fixed on hers — all the way Home apart from one essential deviation The Pet Shop yes despite her assiduous dog-based
research over the preceding months J had neglected to plan ahead — whatsoever — in terms of the basic canine essentials required in order to house a pooch she had been unwell indeed! no
preparations at all in place no bed no bowl no clippers or brush no collar or tag or leash no toys or chew-bones no anti-flea stuff no anti-pee stuff not even any food thus The Pet Shop &
the only one she knew was located deep within the local (& colossal) shopping mall now J could not simply leave her new Best Friend alone in the car could she so pup-in-arms she fought their way to
Pet's Paradise & accumulated the obligatory investments (does a dog really need all this?) so much to carry instinctively J placed the pup upon one of her shoulders to allow
her to ferry the vast doggy booty & Jack seemed fine with that — happily perched like a pirate's parrot — & thus he stayed until they made it back to the car o lordy little did J realise what
an enormous precedent had firmly & irrevocably been set in place right from that very first morning well she was a novice she admits & she had hitherto never been owned by a dog
* * *
I have the much like of it up here the perfect sitting for a being like me a more fuller & safer view of the all than the seeing down there example when we go to the many-people-place not
only will I have the all over what-whats if travelling the way down below but I have the understand I will be trample up here I have the high eyes to identify my all-arounds of course
I must go the way below some often as I have the depend on the sniff to comprehend the every but her shoulder is of the significant special on account of my near-near to Her & we
are of the similar see which from a philosophical brings us much close there is more to life than feet feet feet I have the assure having eventually reached Home (dog on right shoulder arms fully
occupied with a dog's Christmas stash) J set about the task of introducing Jack to his new place of residence & to her relief — once he had snuffled each inch & snaffled down lunch — he sent her a
look which said Satisfied I have much for the occupy with the examine & organise of the all new mine the toys are joy example I have the instant like to The Ball & the tiny pink-pink
with the ringing the tartan coat has the warm-handsome-warm & the flame-box even of warmer the choker does not have the quite so joy or the push-pull-lead but in the over I have the inherit of
distinct as to the bed well I will not be doing the dream-dream in that one all comfortable & stylish I have the concede but never the lie-down in elsewhere from Her never for a being like me
* * *
Jack having completed a diligent & thorough inspection of his new Home it was time for J to attend to a few overdue chores Little Man followed her everywhere a constant miniature
shadow trotting behind her wherever she went Organise washing Attend to dishes Take out compost Jack already & always a steady four feet at the rear half an afternoon later — despite
his formidably focussed & super determined persistence in tailing her — J realised he was tired dog tired ah! now for the inaugural road-test of his new comfy bed! it had been a long
& complex day after all picking up the exhausted pup J gently placed him in the quilted manger she had prepared complete with home-knitted blanky (which had wrapped her own babies in a former life)
a couple of cushions a soft toy or two a shirt of hers which smelled — pleasantly she trusted — of her but nope no go if anything the new bed seemed to make Jack wake up J tried a few more times cooing
gently stroking his tiny head & yes his breathing slowed his eyes finally closed & he appeared to doze while making those angelic sweet baby sucking sounds but each time she stood to continue her chores
he was back on duty in an instant escorting her every move hmm well she could not discard pressing domestic & cordon bleu concerns so she picked up Our Brother Jack propped him on her right shoulder
where at last — despite an awkward clutching of sorts — he did indeed fall asleep arrh arrh me hearties big mistake even she realised there was no going back from here some hours later it was time for J
to attempt sleep herself yes the Little Man had been untimely torn from mother & brother yes he had been subjected to the psychedelic chaos of an enormous urban shopping centre yes
he had been unceremoniously supplanted into a new Home yes he had 'assisted' with varied household tasks (how he coped with the fumes of chopped onions or that Domestos without wanting Off
shoulder! Off! is beyond her) & simply put his entire world had been turned upside-down yes she realised all of that but now it was time for bed so let the fun begin her ablutions complete J kissed
the tiny tacker tickled his tummy & tucked him into his snug little bed in its snug little lounge-room corner & proceeded to her own room where she had barely reached the doorway & he was there
looking up at her with those delicious liquid eyes no she would not be seduced by a two-month-old dog Are you not tired Little Man? Come on Back to bed seven? seventeen? twenty-seven times? she was
not counting & she won't subject you to a blow-by-blow description of each firm but polite attempt to get the guy back into his cot but — just for the record — she tried yes she did she really really
tried anyway call her weak call her the stupidest person you ever met but she was tired too so she thought what the heck his bed can be close to mine what is the difference & — spent as she was — quickly
carried out a total relocation of Jack's bedding essentials from the lounge into her room over by the window next to her desk a perfect place for a sleepy pup nope no go not a bar of
it non nein nyet NO! it was going to be a long night Jack just would not stay in his bed o lordy it was hours she swears before she moved it adjacent to hers whereby she could hang down one arm her hand
on his back & thus they would blissfully sleep nope no go even writing about this is making her tired anyway — long story short again — after much fruitless negotiating Jack ended up on
her bed J knew this was not the correct solution that dogs can live for fifteen years but this was how things transpired she had had it she was right out of ideas yes quite with the good settled now thank you
* * *
following Jack's arrival — three? four? five weeks? — J was again unwell she recalls a room with walls made of glass & trays & corridors & doors she recalls Helen Hunt kissing Jack Nicholson & — twice? thrice? —
her own little Jack in the hospital garden for visits the two of them were overjoyed to see each other & the cuddles & ball-throwing & general happy play was curative memories
of Jack are clearer than those of human callers during that time there was no sense of culpability or failure or disgrace with him & he being Dog had no agenda other than to be with &
love her in the moment with no other thought than the Now no judgement no distress no regret lending new sense to Macbeth's famous pronouncement 'Throw physic to the dogs' I have the much sad of her gone her
not-there at the Home is the nearly can't take I am of the trouble with the dream-dream & lose the like for the food & walk & toys yes even The Ball it is Boss Dog who is of the fault it is Boss Dog
who makes her have the go away this is the worry-worry for me he is big & I am small but I never throw the hope that eventually she will be finding the way back to Home & to me
* * *
shortly after J's return she packed up car & picked up Jack & journeyed down to the coast Venus Bay is a wild stretch of unadulterated ocean-meets-land not at all well represented by the
relatively tame term 'bay' its coast is wide & extensive drawing way away into distance until obscured — in both directions — by wave-tossed flotsam & soft briny mist walking this shoreline is an
inspirational exhilarating cleansing thing the most excellent dunes drift-wood & kelp the moody shape-changing hue-changing sea & — most important — very very few people happy snaps from that
holiday show Jack as inquisitive Little Man nose down tail up sniffing & snuffling checking out yet another New World there he is all of six inches tall a most handsome chestnut tan invading
an otherwise pitch black coat ears far too big for such a small face racing along beach leaping to catch The Ball already revealing his 'ratter' instinct — genus terrarius — responding to calls Go
Get It! Go On! more than any other utterance she made (except of course his own name) a wonderfully overgrown garden surrounded their temporary Home Jack seemed particularly taken
by flora it being mid-summer there was a plethora of flowers & any in his immediate vicinity were eye-balled snout-sniffed paw-tapped taste-tested eaten each morning J sat outside in
pyjamas & sun & watched Jack wander in wonder around the yard as though it were Eden (which it pretty much was) on a number of occasions — ensconced in his methodical & meticulous
examination of daisy or shrub — the pup was perhaps a tad too enthused & ker-choo! this event would catapult him backwards into a brief sitting stance before toppling him sideways into the
grass there he lay supine for two or three seconds — stunned by the ferocity of his own physicality — then reclaim an upright position shake himself back into doggy mode & resume his bold
exploration these sneezes filled J with such fits of laughter that she too almost collapsed happy moments are of untold worth utterly essential for living on this earth like sleep or water or air
* * *
dog & ownee visited the beach each day J is an unstoppable swimmer when it comes to saltwater regardless of shark warnings rip warnings storms on the opposite side of the coin dams — yabbies!
mud! I can't see the bottom! — & rivers — snakes! logs! I can't see the bottom! — frighten her but the sea the sea J would plant a tent pole to secure Little Man & then she was off now Jack by nature was not
what you would call a brave boy despite an undeniable fervour for life he was reticent & cautious something of an introvert at heart but love it would seem conquers all during one of J's brief
excursions into the turbulent & mighty rumpus so characteristic of Venus Bay she happened to glance back at the beach & in that solitary moment was forced to digest a full-scale
drama in an eye-blink for there stood the tent pole empty of tenant & there — at least thirty feet into the swirling whitewater — heading straight toward her through the cacophonous ruckus of surf — was a
small black dot Jack breaker after breaker assaulted his tiny frame submerged his tiny head & with a mother's sudden instinct J dove into immediate & furious save-mode — Please God! Please God!
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Jack & Mollie (& Her) by Jordie Albiston. Copyright © 2016 Jordie Albiston. Excerpted by permission of University of Queensland Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Author biography,Also by Jordie Albiston,
Title Page,
Dedication,
Epigraph,
Jack & Mollie (& Her),
Imprint Page,