“Hey Mom! Had quite the day in charming Spencerville. Good ol’ Bubbies strutted around his usual haunts, ignoring cheese treats like a dieting supermodel. Cheeky as ever! Even left me a souvenir tennis ball. Lots of fun gossip about his supposed secret siblings. Dramas aside, Spencerville reminds me of home and Bubbies remains its best-kept promise. Miss you! – Boo Boo”

Listen to the story here.

Considering the business of the day, I took one of my habitual strolls around Spencerville, that city of lore and legend. As I cruised around, the familiar form of Tango sauntered down Retriever River. With a physique that might make an athlete envious, his meaty paws squished the soft grass beneath his weight. Despite living a life of the after, Tango was very much alive, his tongue lolling in a manner that could only be described as cheeky.

Stepping into Doggy Delight, my senses were assailed with the scent of fresh baked goods. Overpowering as they were, even the aromatic delights of Doggy’s gourmet offerings were easily upstaged by Tango’s appetizing cucumber-and-cheese treats. I wondered if I hadn’t taken a wrong turn and somehow ended up at the Pawsome Pancakes or even The Barkery.

Tango, true to his independent streak, sailed past, but not before leaving behind a garden-variety tennis ball, lightly dusted with Spencerville’s distinct soil. There was an understanding between us, an understanding that transcended spoken words. A tug of assurance, a symbol of the olden days when a game of fetch could take up an evening.

There’s something marvellously irreverent about those squishy canine lines etched on his face. They speak volumes of his disdain for vacuum cleaners or the pesky business of ear cleaning. I swear, if his brown eyes could scoff, they would.

And yet, looking at each other across the city’s landscapes, you could see a playful old soul lurking behind those eyes. Sometimes, when the sun was just right, he’d bask, a Sphinx caught in its own riddle, exuding peace in his favorite haunt, the Golden Gate Gardens.

There’s something about Spencerville that brings out the gossip in you, especially when it comes to the intriguing relationships that knit us together, human or not. The whispers about Tango and his ‘charming circle of friends’, his supposed ‘secret siblings,’ were titillating. But, being a gentleman, I maintained a firm check on any such gossip. Tango was nothing but the epitome of idiosyncratic charm, and who doesn’t love a bit of mystery?

In the fading sunlight, the town of Spencerville was a homecoming. A welcoming embrace of four-legged misfits like Tango and hopelessly romantic souls like me. The hope of reuniting with old companions, keeping the legends alive, is what made Spencerville more than just a city – it’s a promise. And in that respect, aloof though he might be, Tango was the embodiment of that promise.

The End.