My first bit of Sunday Photo Fiction

Weekly challenge from https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/. It’s supposed to be around 200 words and I edited, but still ran over:

Agnes held Coco in her arms as the vet made her preparations on the counter behind them. Leaning over, she whispered silly endearments to the 15 year-old poodle and hugged her a little tighter. The dog had been Agnes’ grandmother’s beloved companion since it was a puppy, but Gram had died two months before and Agnes had been caring for Coco ever since.

As a former animal rescuer and municipal shelter volunteer, Agnes knew all too well what often happened when somebody died and their family didn’t want the pets. Agnes understood that not everybody loved animals and even that sometimes people had allergies and other valid excuses. She also gave these people a little bit of credit for at least dropping the animals at the shelter and not by the side of the road or in the woods somewhere—cowardly acts that still happened all too often.

However, she could never do such a thing herself. Gram and Coco had been the best of friends: Two little old ladies enjoying their golden years together. At the very least, she owed it to Gram to care for Coco until her last breath.

Sadly, that last breath was upon them, as the little dog’s health issues made it crueler to keep her alive than to let her pass easily on. As the vet quietly slid the needle into the vein on Coco’s left leg, Agnes hugged the dog tighter. “Give my love to Gram,” she said quietly, wiping at her tears with the back of her wrist.

After she’d finally pulled herself away and made the necessary arrangements with the vet office staff, Agnes pulled the door to outside, expecting to have to unfurl her umbrella. When she stepped out, however, she saw that the rain had finally stopped. Instead, twin rainbows spanned the dark sky, bringing a small bit of peace to her heart.