2013-01-02

Buster was truly Molly’s greatest treasure. In a heartbeat, maybe even quicker than that, she would give up anything and everything for him. He was her flesh and blood after all, a part of her which would persist long after she was gone.

            She had birthed him quite unceremoniously. No hospital, no doctors, not even a midwife. In fact, Molly had been all alone when she gave birth to him. She had had other children, but they were all gone. It was over so fast, there hadn’t even been time to give them names.

            But not her Buster. He alone said to the world that Molly was, in fact, a mother.

            From the time he was born, she had nursed him.

            When he got dirty, she bathed him.

            Even when he started to explore the world on his own, outside of the house, she was quick to watch over him.

            One time, he had made it almost down to the creek behind the house before she caught up with him. Always vigilant, she was the epitome of an excellent mother.

            The men would come and talk about her as if she was not even in the room, but she didn’t listen nor did she even care. Her entire world had become taking care of Buster.

            The only person that would sometimes help her was Sadie.

            Sadie was a kind and gentle sort of girl, the kind of girl that truly loved all of creation. She always had only nice words to say to Molly and Buster as well. Her very presence helped put Molly at ease. Sadie was also the only one that Molly would allow to help care for Buster.

            Often times, Sadie would bring meals for Molly. While the young mother ate, Sadie would take Buster around with her, holding him gently and caressing him. Other times, she would play with him while Molly slept.

            One time, while Molly was deep in slumber, Sadie had taken Buster outside with her. She had went around the yard with the small fellow. Eventually they wound up down by the creek. Looking for skipping stones while holding Buster in one arm turned out to be a poor decisions.

            After several minutes of a fruitless search, Sadie decided that the far bank might offer a better selection of rocks. Halfway across a makeshift bridge of large boulders, Sadie lost her balance and fell in, letting out an ear piercing cry and taking Buster with her.

            Only moments later Molly was already at the creek. She was hauling Sadie out of the water while the girl in turn held Buster tightly in her arms.

            As Sadie’s own mother came from her laundry, she quickly scolded Sadie for her recklessness.

            “I’ll tell you, Sadie,” the old woman started, “You’re damn lucky Molly is as good of a dog as she is.”