Postcards from Prima #2: Muzzles, Puzzles, & Nuzzles

By J. Quick

Lost, hurt, and safe, Prima continues her journey to find her people, her home, with her new human friends, Emma and Jim. Emma and Jim, continue to read letters in hopes of solving a puzzle left by a loved one. Together the threesome find more adventures while walking on stars, taking a fairy ride, and visiting a ghost town. Will Prima, a canine with special talents, find the way home to her people? Will Jim and Emma, a grieving father and daughter, discover the final puzzle pieces? Zig-zag across the state of California with Jim, Emma, and Prima to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Quick
• Release date: Dec 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311232052

J. Quick

Just a little bit about me... I was very fortunate and married my best friend almost twenty years ago. We have two amazing teenage sons and live deep in the woods among the mountain lions and bears. Our fearless English Mastiff, a.k.a. Couch Baby, protects our home just about as well as his nickname implies, but we adore him anyway. For over twenty years I have been a secondary art teacher. In the beginning, I was a middle school teacher, and for many years, I have been a high school teacher. More years ago than I can count, I received a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a concentration in education. Just about ten years ago, I received a master's degree in education with a specialization in curriculum, instruction and assessment.

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Postcards from Prima #2 CA

Muzzles, Puzzles, & Nuzzles

J. Quick

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Published by Jennifer Quick

Copyright 2015 Jennifer Quick

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work.

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In print:

Copyright © 2015 Jennifer Quick

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1518607004 

ISBN-10: 1518607004

Illustrations and Cover design by Jennifer Quick

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

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For Sandra, whose enthusiasm inspired me to keep writing,

For C.E., whose family name inspired a chapter or two, and

For Prima, whose life inspired this book series.

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Chapter One

Whoa! It is HUGE! she said with her face pointed to the sky with mouth wide open. She pushed her blonde curls out of her face.

"The biggest one I have ever seen. Without a doubt! Imagine trying to fit that in your mouth," he said with his face pointed to the sky with his mouth open wide. His short, brown hair moved a little in the warm breeze.

To me, it looked like it was touching the blue sky. It looked like a really big one of those thingies the v-e-t puts in my mouth that make me want to throw up. The ones that taste like a stick and not in a fun way. My face was pointed to the sky, my mouth was wide open, with my tongue hanging out, panting.

It looks like a tongue depressor with numbers. The highest number lit up is eighty-one. For November that is hot. Makes you want to change out of jeans and into shorts doesn’t it? he said, as he pet the top of my head absent-mindedly.

Let’s go in out of the sun and get some water and snacks, she said while playing with my wagging tail. We made up this game yesterday. At least I think it was yesterday. My sense of time was not that great, but my ability to keep my tail away from Emma was great.

Walking towards the store, Emma’s father, Jim, said teasingly, You are always hungry, and you have pretty much eaten everything we packed for the trip. I think you have grown three inches since we left.

"I am not hungry all the time," she said exasperatedly and giggled a little.

Well, now we can say we have seen the world’s largest thermometer, and we are now back in California. It is a way different part than we are used to though. We should probably get some gas for the truck while we are near a gas station, he said with one hand on Emma’s shoulder and holding my leash with the other hand.

Leash wrapped around a bike rack, I waited outside the store hoping they would grab a box of the crackers shaped like fish. Those were the best snack food in my opinion. I was looking forward to some cold water, too. The horrible booty on my foot was annoying me again, and there was itching coming from underneath of it that I could not quite get to. Emma said the itching was because it was healing, and that humans itch when they are healing too. I was contemplating booty destruction when Emma and Jim appeared carrying a few bags. He could almost rest his elbow on her head; she was just a little too tall. Did I see a picture of a fish showing through the plastic?

Back at the truck and camper, Jim poured some water into a bowl for me and drank the rest of the bottle himself. Through slurps, I could hear the crunch of carrots coming from Emma’s direction.

Aaah. Feeling refueled, Jim said as Emma opened the door to the camper and I jumped in. As I climbed onto the bed, they climbed into the cab of the truck, and I could see and hear them clearly through the open, sliding window between the camper and the truck cab.

Jim got out and started pumping gas. Very strong smell. Yuck. Ducking, Jim popped his head back in the cab window and to his daughter he said, How much farther to the ‘place to stay and unhook the jeep’ your mother mentioned in her last letter?

There was shuffling of papers and small tapping noises, and I knew she was looking up numbers and putting them into Navi again. I also knew she had two boxes next to her: a not-shoe box and a wooden box with an odd smell. Whispering to herself, Emma said, Okay. N-3-3-point-8-1-2-4-1-5. W-1-1-7-point-9-0-7-4-5-8. To her dad, Emma said louder, It looks like we have driven about three hours from the resort, and we have about three more hours to go. Halfway there.

Leaning on the open window edge, Jim said, Sounds about right. Why don’t you get the book ready, and I will finish up here?

"Okay. We are at a good part. I guess there are lots of good parts, huh? We are at the part about the mirror and how it shows you your dreams, what you want most. Wouldn’t it be wild to stand in front of that kind of mirror?"

"It would be interesting to see what the mirror would show you and me, huh? It showed him standing between his parents who were no longer with him. Do you think it would show us --- He was interrupted by the click of the pump. Before Emma could answer, Jim said, Looks like the gas is done." I heard the usual sounds of the cap turning and small door shutting.

If a mirror could show me whatever I wanted most, it would show me with my people again. It would show him, with his kind brown eyes and crooked smile, smelling of beef jerky and lemons. It would show her, my mom, laughing at me and holding her arms out to hug me. It would show him, with his yellow hair, giggling his young giggle and smelling like chicken fingers. It would show him, standing behind everyone, watching, protecting. Sadness came over me as I remembered all of them. I must see them again someday. They were out there somewhere.

Soon the big truck door was shutting and the engine started up. With the now becoming familiar vibration under me, I curled up on Emma’s bed in the camper which was becoming my favorite place to be. Although, I wished I was in his blankets that smelled of him, I had soft blankets that smelled like strawberries. Not too bad. I snuggled down into the blankets and watched things pass by outside the window. Most of what I saw were small bushes and dirt. Lots of brown, dusty dirt. Every once and a while I saw part of a building with writing on it or small trees. Mostly, there was just dirt, so my eyelids went heavy and soon I was in Dreamland.

There is sooooo much food. From under the metal table I cannot see most of it, but I can definitely smell it. There are so many smells I can barely tell one from another. My head is pointing towards the top of the table, my mouth is wide open, and my tongue is hanging out, producing an embarrassing amount of drool. A huge drop hit my paw.

The strongest smell is the buttered turkey. They are cutting into it, and the smell is getting stronger. I hope I get to have some turkey. I am not supposed to have people food, but holidays are different. Humans bend the rules on holidays. Cranberries. They smell like sour strawberries. I do not like cranberries. Lots more food smells come to my nose like bread, potatoes, gravy, corn, carrots, onions, lettuce, eggs, pumpkin, apples, milk, and soda. I am getting dizzy from all the wonderful food smells. There is a just pinch of watermelon in the air. Must be coming from that wiggling stuff I see that stranger passing to another stranger above my head. I do not like watermelon. Yuck.

I can hear planes flying over our heads. The people do not seem to notice, but the sound almost, allll-most, distracts me from the food smells. The murmur of voices also comes from over my head. Rows of many colored shoes, boots, and sandals block most of my view of the parking lot, where I know there are rows of trucks, cars, and campers parked. I see two of the pairs of feet I am beginning to recognize very well. The yellow sneakers belong to Emma and the brown boots belong to Jim. I hear Emma giggling above which sounded better than her crying sounds before the feast. I think she misses her mom a lot today. I am curled up between the two yellow shoes, but the familiar leather smell of his boots is not too far away. Smells just like my leash back home. I miss home. My current leash still smells new, is not leather, and is tied around the table leg and dangling from my black collar.

Between my feet, one with a dreadful booty over it courtesy of the v-e-t, is my bowl of dog food which seems pretty smell-less and sound-less to me compared to the rest of my surroundings. Can I get a little turkey down here? Or maybe just little gravy to add more smell to my dog food. Don’t make me use the paw. Just as the tenth drop of drool lands on my foot, Emma’s young, smiling face appears, then her hand appears under the table with a small paper plate of turkey and gravy. She sets it on top of my bowl. I wait. No matter how much drool is now dripping from my mouth, manners are manners.

Prima, okay, she practically sings the magic words like an angel. I dive into the turkey and gravy goes up my nose. Whoa, slow down, little girl. It is all yours.

I can see Jim’s face through the flying gravy, barely. Laughing his deep laugh, he says, Stand back. I think she is thankful for the food today just as much as we are.

Thank you, thank you, thaaaank you. I am thankful for this turkey and for this gravy and even for the dog food underneath the plate. I am thankful for Emma and Jim and the safe place they have given me until I find my real home. Wait, isn’t this Thanksgiving? I only remember one other time we had turkey, gravy, and cranberries with lots of people, and they called it Thanksgiving then.

The sound of scraping metal causes me to look up from my practically empty plate, and the rows of cars, trucks, and campers are strangely going out of focus.

Rows of cars, trucks, and campers were coming into focus as I slowly opened both my eyes. Why were they upside down? The door to the camper was opening with the sound of scraping metal. As she came in, upside down Emma was saying, Now, I am absolutely starving. Time. For. Lunch. Sandwiches and fruit sound good?

Sounds good. I will unhitch the jeep, responded Jim from outside.

Look who’s awake with her paws in the air again. It was the best way to sleep, great for the back.

Lazily I flipped onto my belly, I watched Emma make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and put them on plates next to some grapes and cantaloupe. The Thanksgiving smells and sounds were gone. The truck was moving around a little as Emma came and sat down on the bed next to me, leaving the plates on the counter. Reaching for her shoe box, which does not have shoes in it, Emma said, I wonder what the next letter is going to say and what clue to the puzzle she will give us next.

Pulling out the next letter she turned in over and over in her hands, running her fingers over the number five written on top in black marker. This one was much bigger than the last ones. Maybe not so much bigger as thicker. It looked more like a package than a letter. There was something more inside this one. Emma began to squeeze around the bulges like I had seen him do at Christmas. She was making the same strange face. Eyes rolled up towards the ceiling and her small teeth biting her lower lip in concentration. I have tried to roll my eyes back like that, but I could not do it no matter how hard I tried. Unique to humans I guess, eye-rolling.

Jim climbed up the stairs into the camper and washed his hands. Jeep all unhooked and ready to go. Mmmm, looks good, Em. Thanks for making lunch, Jim said while he washed, then dried his large hands on a towel. He handed Emma her plate and leaned against the counter while he ate. Like Emma, I am hungry all the time, but I only get to eat two meals a day: breakfast and dinner.

In between bites of his sandwich, Jim said, We got here in good time. We have plenty of time to head to the next Plot Spot, I think. Maybe find the next clue. This next letter looks a little different from the last ones. I am curious what she is up to this time.

Yeah. I cannot figure out what is in it. Whatever it is it is small and makes no real noise.

Let’s clean up and head out then.

Food and plates all cleaned up and put away, Jim and Emma grabbed their stuff. Watching from the door of the camper, I saw Emma put two boxes on the front seat of the jeep: one was the not-shoe box, and the other was about the same size made of wood. She grabbed her backpack. Jim came into the camper and grabbed a few bottles of water and some granola bars.

Prima, okay, Emma said as she opened the back door of the jeep. A small piercing pain went through my foot as I jumped from the camper. Too excited to really notice or slow down, I jumped up on the floor in front of the back seat of the yellow jeep. Out of habit, I began to curl up in the small space. Silly, remember you can get on the seat if you want.

She patted the back seat, and I climbed up onto it feeling a little guilty. There was a soft blanket on the seat for me. The door slammed shut and the engine rumbled