A Day at the Beach

The pavement was warm, the air was salty and you could smell the fishy aroma in the breeze. Serena and I were walking from the parking lot with Kobe by our sides to dip our toes in the cool water. I didn’t feel the need to walk Kobe on a leash even though he had that greyhound instinct to run wild. He stayed by our side as we settled onto the loose sand to approach the calm, light blue water. Serena was wearing a light gray t-shirt and black running pants, her toenails were painted a coral color. I had on dark blue shorts and a beige t-shirt. I carried both of our sandals in my left hand while I grasped Kobe’s royal blue collar. Kobe had the goofy look of excitement on his face, with his mouth slightly opened and his tongue hanging out to the side. His eyes twitched to the different people he wanted to greet. I whispered to Kobe, “don’t get crazy.” and I let go of his collar. He immediately went to the first couple, a man who looked to be in his fifty’s with salt and pepper hair and his lady friend who looked as though she had just finished running. Her hair was damp with sweat which she brushed back as the breeze kept coming through. They put on their best, high pitched dog talking voices, asking “what’s your name?” The sand closer to the beach was damp and we left footprints when we walked on it. The day was warm with a lot of sun but the breeze helped cool everything down. When Kobe got bored of the couple, he started wandering down the right side of the beach. I yelled, “Kobe! Kobe! Come and chase me!” I was trying to tempt him into running at me. He looked back as though to say, “You’re going to have to try harder than that.” Knowing that he would give chase, I ran at him and turn back away quickly, sprinting towards the other side of the beach. As I was running, I turned back and saw his senses flare up and he flew towards me. I stopped immediately and he stopped on a dime at my feet and gave me his crazy dog eyes. I bent down and clapped my hands and he took off in quick, tight circles. The sand didn’t fly up but left his motions like artwork in the sand. I ran away from him and he ran the opposite direction then again he twirled and ran closer to the water. He looked towards me and then ran head first into the right leg of an older Hispanic man. The man was 5’8 with black hair and dark tanned skin. His moustache was full and black and it seemed to move up and down as he chuckled at what happened. Kobe waved his head back and forth to clear his mind and headed towards the parking lot. As he went to the pavement, his feet made the sound of a horse running on the track. He ran hard on the pavement, ran a couple of more tight circles and then he passed out on the soft sand. I ran over to him and noticed red on his back right leg. His muscular body lying on his side and I admired the brindle colors of his fur. I tried to find where the red came from and then I noticed his front left paw. It was detached from the rest of his leg, a white nugget oddly misplaced on the grainy background. Kobe didn’t seem to notice that he was broken and he kept his goofy grin, tongue outside his mouth, with his black eyes focused on me.