Day 56: Edinburgh - Cramond

Today was a strange day… one of those that starts normally but ends with a whirlwind of emotions.

In the morning I was calm, in Tito Fabi's flat, as always these days. I took my naps, played with the duck a bit, got comfortable on the sofa... Well, the usual. Until, well into the afternoon, when the sun was almost scratching its belly with the chimneys of Edinburgh, I heard something.

Some steps.

But not just any steps. They were familiar steps. Family ones. Those that sound like heartbeats when you really want to see someone. I jumped up from the sofa like a shot, ran to the door, and zap! There he was! Daddy Edu had returned.

You can't imagine the emotion. I climbed on top of him, turned him around, sniffed him, licked his head... I even forgot that he had left me alone for six days with new humans! Well, okay, it wasn't so bad, but it's not the same.

Except this time, Edu didn't bring good news.

He explained, with that tone that humans use when their heart is heavy, that Auntie Rosa… is no longer with us. That she was gone, like when some birds migrate and never return. It turns out that she died the same day that Edu traveled to Barcelona, so he couldn't say goodbye. And although I already knew she was very ill, this… this hurts a lot. I knew her well. She was sweet, she had good hands for scratching ears, she always said things to me in a beautiful voice. And although dogs don't cry like humans, we do feel. And I, I promise you, I will miss her very much.

Edu went to Barcelona to accompany Tito Joan and Yaya, and everyone who loves Auntie Rosa. To be there, because when the heart breaks, there is nothing better than having someone close to hold your little pieces. Edu didn't tell me in so many words, but I saw his eyes, and that says it all.

Even so, as he is Edu, he brought something nice too: a bag with ham, fuet, cheese and other things that smell like Spain. Not for me, of course, because I know that trick... but as a little gift for Fabi, Maggie and Cassie. Because he is very grateful to them for having taken such good care of me. Me too, huh? But I don't have a credit card, so I did my thing: I gave them some licks and wagged my tail with extra energy.

Oh, and Edu also brought… a terrible cold. The kind that makes you blow your nose with the bathroom towel (him, not me). He coughed like an asthmatic lion, and his voice was as if he had swallowed sandpaper. But even so, he sat down for a while to chat with Fabi and Maggie, thanked them all in that Edu tone that mixes tenderness with tiredness. Then the three of us went down —Fabi, Edu and I— with my things: the basket, the toys, the food, the blanket… and me, back in the car again.

On the street, I said goodbye to Tito Fabi. I gave him a doggy lick, with a long look included, and Edu gave him a real hug, the kind that squeezes. He's been a good babysitter, Tito Fabi. The kind you want to see again.

With the car loaded, we went to sleep at the usual place, overlooking the sea and the island of Cramond. You know it. Today it is quieter than ever, almost in silence. As if even the sea knew that it is not a day for parties. We got into the camper early, because Edu was exhausted. And although he coughs and blows his nose every two minutes… I sleep by his side, warm. Because now we're together again. And that, on days like today, is the only thing that really matters.