Saturday, October 9, 2010

An Instant of Instigation

It was a head butt.  Earlier this evening His Royal Highness Prince Edward was engaged in military maneuvers in protection of his basement fortress.  Queen Mommy was required to supervise the battles from the sofa because the Prince is still a bit afraid of being in the basement alone.  I was absorbed in a mystery novel set against the backdrop of World War I England when it happened: my peripheral vision caught a distinct motion beside me on the couch.  It was a head butt.  And, shockingly, it was Maggie perpetrating the head butt in the direction of Hank who was lounging beside her.  Do not turn my head: I know that the instant they think they are being watched any attempts at play will be abandoned and the focus will zero in on me instead.  Giving myself a wicked case of eye-strain I covertly observed.  Another head butt and then another.  Shock and amazement flooded my being.  This is my Maggie; the grande dame who is "too cool" to play, too dignified to, well, head butt a chocolate lab.  Hank swerved his massive muzzle over Maggie's head and proceeded to lick her all over the face.  Maggie tentatively licked his jowls in return.  Hank wiggled on the couch, getting ready for a good, old fashioned doggie wrestle-and-chase.  And that's when it happened: the Moxie Maggie personality disappeared and Matron Maggie reappeared, a warning growl was delivered, and Hank, taking life in stride as he always does, rose up on his massive feet, turned three times in a circular pattern to make a nest, and flopped down for a snooze.

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