But then, in third grade, everything changed suddenly and unpredictably. David noticed that Duke was having trouble getting up in the morning. At first, it was just a slight hesitation, a moment when the dog thought twice before getting up. Then, day after day, the situation worsened.
That day, David sat in his van, parked in front of the veterinary clinic, for ten minutes. His fingers nervously tapped the steering wheel. He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes. And it was at that precise moment that he made the decision that would change everything. He wasn’t going to welcome Duke into his life only twice: once as a spirited puppy discovering the world for the first time, and once at the end. He would welcome him every day, for as long as Duke wanted to feel the warmth of the sun on his fur.
Thus began a ritual that was repeated every day for ten months, at precisely 10:45 am, without exception, without delay, without excuse.Language Resources
But David had been unaware of one thing all this time: someone was watching him every day, and this person had decided to reveal to the world what they saw. Margaret, a girl of about eleven, lived across the street. Every time she made tea in the kitchen and looked out the window toward the garden, she saw the same scene: David would come out the back door, tenderly holding his large German Shepherd in his arms as if it were a sleeping child.
