Little Ezra (A 500 word story)

"What’s going on?" Vin asked, watching two of his friends haul wrapped boards and tools into his back yard.

"It’s the stuff Ezra asked for," Josiah explained.

"What it for?"

Buck stopped in his tracks, looking startled. "You mean you don’t know?"

Suddenly, Ezra dashed outside; eyes bright with excitement as he saw what the men had brought. "You got it! Can we put it together now?"

"Son, what is all this?"

Ezra looked up at Vin, nearly bouncing with glee as he announced, "It’s our doghouse!"

Vin stared, confused. "What are you talkin’ about. We don’t have a dog."

"Not yet," the boy said excitedly, "but you said if a person really wants something, he has to work for it. So I’m going to build the best house any animal ever had, with warm blankets, and clean food and water bowls, and big enough so I can go in and brush his coat before he goes to bed at night. When it’s all done, I just know a dog will want to come live with us!"

Suddenly, Vin remembered. During the winter, Ezra had tried to coax a stray mutt into coming home with him, only to watch in disappointment as the animal scurried away in fear at his own approach. He had told the boy not to fret, that the dog wouldn’t have been happy with them anyway because they weren’t really set up for pets. When Ezra’s big green eyes had filled with tears, he had hastily added that maybe when summer came they’d see what they could do about finding something.

He had only meant those words as a comforting excuse, not wanting to admit to the child that he didn’t really like cats or dogs. Unfortunately, it now looked as if the seven-year-old had taken his words for a promise.

"Every boy should have a pet," Josiah opined, grinning at his flummoxed expression. "It teaches them responsibility."

"A dog could guard the house when you’re away," Buck added, his tone blatantly wheedling. "And he’d give Ezra somebody to play with."

Vin frowned. Ezra did spend too much time on his own, always seeming to be reading instead of running and playing like other kids. "But, the yard is kinda little for a dog to run around in," he tried. "Might feel kinda cramped."

"Beagles are little," Ezra told him eagerly.

"Beagles?"

The boy became even more animated. "Like Miss Nettie’s. Her dog had puppies. Can’t I have one? Please?"

Grinning at each other, Josiah and Buck added, "Pleeeease?"

"You’re a big help," he growled at them. Looking down into the boy’s pleading eyes, he felt his defenses crumble to nothing. With a sigh he asked, "This doghouse come with any directions?"

Ezra was rarely given to open displays of affection, so it surprised Vin considerably when the boy launched himself forward and hugged him around the waist with all of his might, thanking him with every breath.

Smiling, he hugged him back. "Love you, kid."

The End