A Christmas Dog Names Manger

Chapter 1

Roger was cold as he walked back from the drugstore where he had purchased another bottle of aspirin to alleviate his aches and pains. The snow was falling, not a surprise for December. The streets had little traffic, the sidewalks almost no foot traffic. Smithville, Iowa, was not a busy place, hardly ever, and not now at 9 pm on a snowy evening.

The exception was up ahead in the parking lot of the Smithville Community Church. It had about a dozen cars, slowly being covered by the falling snow. He noted that the old Ford pick-up was one of them, Pastor Frank’s truck. He liked Pastor Frank. He was friendly to Roger, even though Roger had turned down several invitations from the pastor to attend a service at the church.

The stained-glass windows of the white church glowed in multiple colors, illuminated by the sanctuary lights inside. The sound of “O Holy Night” drifted through the falling snow to his scarf-covered ears. It was a pleasant sound, for the song brought back fond memories of Christmases past, long past, when he was a child. He hadn’t been in church in years.

His wife Esther had died a decade ago, when they were both sixty. Now seventy, the emptiness in his heart, in his life, was just as big as when she had first passed. He had sold their house. Without her social security check to add to his there wasn’t enough money to maintain the old, big house. His small apartment above the town’s doughnut shop on main street in downtown Smithville was adequate. He and Esther never had children. He felt alone, though he had to admit that was mainly his own doing, the townspeople could be friendly enough. He just didn’t feel like being friendly back.

As he approached the church, those practicing inside switched to “Away in a Manger.” There was the usual nativity scene displayed on the front lawn, both the lawn and nativity set being covered in several inches of the newly fallen snow.

Passing by the nativity scene, his shoulders hunched up in the cold, he heard a whimper. Stopping, he looked toward the source of the sound, the nativity set. The sheep, the shepherds, the wisemen, and camels were all covered with snow. Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus in the manger also were covered in the white stuff, blown under the small roof of the stable and onto the Holy Family by near blizzard conditions the day before.

Roger stood staring, then saw movement beneath the manger. Two eyes were looking at him. Another whimper. Curious, Roger stepped off the shoveled sidewalk and into snow several inches deep, taking large steps toward the manger.

A tail wagged under the manger, and then he saw that between the two eyes and the tail was a dog. “Hey, buddy, what are you doing out here in the cold?” Roger said softly as he approached the manger slowly. “This is no place to be.” The dog appeared timid, but not fearful, the tail still wagging.

Roger squatted down in front of the dog and slowly extended his hand to pet it. “Nice doggy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Roger looked around, as if the dog’s owner would be somewhere close, but he knew better. Roger noted the absence of any collar. The dog rose to its feet, trembling with cold, appearing very thin.

“You don’t have a home, do you?” he said to the dog. Roger looked around again, just to reassure himself there was no loving master nearby. It was clear the dog was a stray.

“You want to come with me? I can at least give you some warm milk and a warm place to stay tonight.” The dog, as if sensing a better night would be his if he stayed with the stranger, took a couple of hesitant steps toward Roger.

“Good. I think it’s a smart move if you come with me,” Roger said, patting the dog on the head. Slowly standing up, Roger said, “Okay, then, just follow me.”

Roger slowly made his way back to the sidewalk and the dog followed. For the first time in years, Roger would not be alone in his apartment.