Lynn had started looking at plane tickets home. Anywhere from $300 – $500 a ticket, and that was without specifying first class. Florida had been great; the weather, the sun. But it was getting old. Her classes were a joke. Even work was starting to get mundane. Jasper nipped at her sock. Lynn reached down and shooed him away. Puppies were exhausting and needy. She hadn’t seen here sister in forever. From the pictures on the internet she was a beautiful as ever. Lynn rolled her eyes. So much for enjoying her awkward stage. It seemed her parents also had a certain glow to them. Lynn wondered why she should be stuck in painfully mundane Florida when her family was having the time of their lives without her.
She was supposed to pay for her own plane tickets, her own grocery, and her own phone. Her mother, unbeknownst to her father would send her a weekly allowance on top of the rent which her parents paid. They sent her a gas card every month. Anything over the prepaid amount was supposed to come from her pocket. It usually came from her allowance. She was bored. So bored. And her special package from “mummy” wasn’t coming until early next week. It was only Wednesday. Her classes had ended last week and she treated herself, just to a few things as a reward. A sushi dinner, a few drinks at the bar, car service to and from the bar, a spa treatment at her hotel where she topped it all off with one night in a two bedroom suite with an ocean front view.
It had somewhat exceeded her budget, but the dog hadn’t been feeling well the week before finals. The stress had been awful. The expenses for the vet astronomical. Her mother sent her a blank check to cover the difference. The difference between what the vet would have cost if Lynn had been interested in taking the dog to an actual vet and what she spent on herself over the weekend was a minimal difference. No more than $1,000.
Lynn looked at the dog. Laying on the floor watching her. Upset that she had pushed it away. Jasper hated when she pushed its face away, but being gentle never worked for Lynn. The dog would return in a minute or two once again nipping for her attention. Besides, it’s not like it hurt the dog. It just offended it. Unlike her sister, Lynn didn’t believe dogs could be offended. It didn’t have sensibilities. It was an animal.
An animal that when it ate four of Lynn’s chocolates – the last four that she had been saving for herself – it shit and puked all over her floor whimpering over Lynn’s favorite show. The dog suffered a little, Karma as some might suggest, but overall it was fine. No need to actually take it to the vet. It’s not the like the dog had died. Lynn had simply called her mother to tell her what was happening – mainly that her floor would definitely need to be cleaned after this. It was her mother that flew into a panic and began blubbering. Whatever she needed, the dog would be okay, the check was coming, on and on her mother had went.
Lynn looked down at Jasper again. In front of her was no longer a nipping puppy who she had lost interest in, but a plane ticket. A five hundred dollar pile of green light to get Lynn back home. Lynn shot up off the couch and walked over to the kitchen cabinets. There wasn’t much there. At least nothing she could share with Jasper. Lynn walked over to the fridge. Starting from the bottom. There was some wine, some soda, eggs from when her mother’s last trip down at the beginning of last semester, and then gold.
Two bento boxes of leftover sushi from Lynn’s weekend away. She had bought them unsure of whether or not she even wanted them, but had heard one waiter say to another that they were almost out of the caviar sushi special, complete with shrimp tails and garlic soy sauce on the side. She wanted them. She deserved them. And now, no one else would have them. So they sat in her fridge, waiting for this moment. Jasper wanted to be special, wanted attention, had sensibilities – at least according to Lynn’s stupid sister. If Jasper was truly Lynn’s dog and could eat Lynn’s chocolates, naturally he would want her very expensive, very special sushi.
So Lynn left them in his dog bowl, and ran out to the store. She bought herself some healthy snacks. It looked good on her credit card statement. After all, it was important that she take care of herself since there was no “mummy” or family assistant to watch her weight for her in Florida. And some dog treats for Jasper. Had to take the best care of her doggy dearest.
It took Lynn no more than thirty minutes to run to the store, pick up a few things, and return home. Within the hour she called her mother in a fury. Jasper was dead. Choked on a stolen piece of sushi. He must have pulled it out of the garbage, the garbage scattered the floor. It was old. Lynn didn’t know how old, but it had caviar and garlic and shrimp tails. Lynn’s life was over. It was too much to take. “I’ll only pack what I need, but I’m never coming back here again” Lynn said as she hung up the phone with her mother. An electronic ticket would be sent to her phone, and a car would be picking her up in two hours. Her “mummy” would take care of the rest.