The Real Struggle

Poke, poke, poke, prod, prod, prod. I shift. Prod, prod. Moaning & grumbling, I manage to yank the blanket over my head, hauling a moving weight with it. Groggily, I clasp my blanket, trying to decide if I should risk opening my eye, or if I’ll be in for a rude awakening. 

“Nyu?” A soft sound tickles my ears through the linen, then the weight plops down. It spans from my chin to well past my face to the once serene pillow. Meringue's long body isn’t a surprise, & I bet the time won’t be either, but I have once again come to the cross roads. Do I open my eye & let her soft body squish into my eye? Or do I feign sleep & hope she moves before emerging? My numb mind fumbles for other solutions & finds none. Subconsciously, my body obliges, I roll over, tumbling the small creature to the side with me. Punctuated with protesting humphs, she noses me through my fortress of sleep. 

“Mer, come on. Seriously…..” I sigh, my voice reaching out to her as best I can so early in the morning. “Saturday. Sat-ur-daaaay. Weekend. Me, sleep, you out.” I caveman at her for a moment, & for that moment, she sits quietly next to my head, hogging most of my warm pillow. Then the moment is gone. Poke, poke, prod, prod, cute little noises growing in intensity. Just when I think I’m going to have a major headache, she plods onto the floor with a light “floop” signalling me that she knows she’s won. Sighing, I sit up, fully awake now. There will be no escape. Blinking away the sleep, I look out to see how grey & wet the world is today. No wonder Meringue was so antsy… Of all the pets, I had to have the one that liked to be walked in the rain. 

Sweats, hoodie, & slip ons, oh my. I plod into the kitchen & grumble past the fresh toast Mom clearly forgot about. Eating & walking never sits well with me. A new grumbling in my tummy makes me lustful for that abandoned toast, but quickly is drowned out with small grunting sounds around my ankles. My left halo wobbles a bit as Meringue starts doing barrels between my legs. 

“Yeah, yeah…. Nobody likes a soggy Bawnie, keep your bow on…” As soon as I reach down, she sits like an angel. Her nub of whipped cream begins wiggling to & fro. She hasn’t noticed I’m not holding her leash yet & I get a few pets in before the impatient ear twitches begin to occur. I can’t help but be a brat, it’s only fair after she woke me so early; I snatch her from the floor & carry her under one arm. Small protests can be heard as she whines like a princess. Well, until she sees the leash hanging on its hook. The angel reemerges.  Silence & happy wiggles take the place of pouty pants.  Leash in hand, butt wiggles almost shook my impatient baby from my arms. Before losing my grip, I plop her down, & suddenly the model citizen, Meringue again takes her place seated perfectly in front of me, wiggle butting the whole way. 

Pulling my hood up in resignation, I nod to her with the leash around my wrist, “Aight, let’s go….” Trotting beside me, we make our way into the rain. A shiver crawls up my spine, & I glare at my fluff ball, “You spoiled brat. I love you…” Me muttering under my breath the whole way, we make our way through the normal route. So much for my day off.