He stared at her, wondering how she could be so oblivious. Had she always been like that—talking loudly in her nasal voice, ignoring the dog barking so she could continue her conversation, which was really gossip about an unfortunate neighbor in their former neighborhood? He calmed the dog. He waited, hearing the contemptuous whine enter her voice. How it grated.

The dog stood near a break in the fence, but didn’t push through. Just one of many fences needing mending, but he figured it would be the only one he’d undertake.

end 6/26/2016