Work Text:
Day 24~
Blind~
Dean watched the man walk down main street pulling the red wagon behind him every single Saturday, heading east towards the center of town, and then he’d come back west again a few hours later, presumably heading home again. This was his routine every Saturday afternoon, and without fail, at noon, Dean would look up from his work just to watch the man and his little red wagon. He didn’t really know why he had taken such an interest in such a relatively mediocre event in the beginning. The man, known to everyone in town as Cas, was considered eccentric, wearing dress clothes and either a tie or a bow tie, but forgoing a jacket in the warmer weather. His hair was never tame and he wore a perpetual 5 o’clock shadow but Dean thought that was all part of his charm. Dean had always found Cas to be charming and easy to talk to, not eccentric or odd like people whispered behind his back that he was.
About a year earlier Cas’ elderly dog had begun having even more health problems, one of which was that the old girl had started going blind. It had gone from bad to worse almost overnight and now Daisy the Golden Retriever was completely blind, diabetic, and her kidneys were failing, but Cas loved her so much, he couldn’t give up on her. Dean admired the love he had for his dog, and the bond the two had.
“I see Daisy’s still around.” Benny came up beside him, wiping his hands off on a rag.
“Sure is. She’s 14 and still kicking.” Dean replied.
“He taking her up to the café or the groomer today?” Benny asked.
“I think today it’s the groomer. She’s starting to smell a little ripe and he takes excellent care of her, pampers her and treats her like a princess.” Dean turned back to the car he’d been working on once Cas and his red wagon were out of sight, the pale orange ball of fur curled up inside of it gone too.
“She’s loved. All dogs should be so lucky.” Benny said. Dean smiled as he picked up his wrench and got back under the hood of the Dodge.
“You’re right.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, when Dean got home from work, he walked in the front door and toed off his shoes. The smell of something tangy reached his nose, making his stomach growl. Barbecue chicken. It smelled amazing. He made his way to the kitchen where dinner was ready and waiting on the table like it was every Saturday that he had to work.
“Dinner smells amazing, babe.” He said as he headed to the sink to wash his hands.
“I had a taste for pulled chicken, so I started it in the crock pot this morning. I also made a spinach salad with cranberries, walnuts, cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette. There are baked sweet potato fries as well.”
Dean dried his hands as he joined his husband at the table.
“Sounds fantastic, I’m starving.” He filled a bun with meat from the crock pot and added some of the salad to his plate before grabbing some of the fries too. For a few minutes, they ate in silence.
“I spoke to Doctor Fitzgerald today.”
Dean finished chewing his bite of food and swallowed. He looked over at his husband.
“And?”
“The latest test results were not good. He believes it would be in Daisy’s best interest if…”
Dean reached over to take Cas’ hand. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it.
“I understand, sweetheart, I do. Does he believe she’s suffering?”
“He thinks she is in more pain, yes.” Cas admitted. There were tears in his eyes and that pained Dean to see. He hated to see his husband upset.
“Well, honey, we’ll leave that decision up to Daisy. I don’t think she’s ready to go anywhere yet. She has her pain medication and she lets us know when she’s hurting. When the time comes that she can’t handle the pain anymore, then we’ll talk about other options. For now, tell me, how was the trip to the groomer? Did she enjoy her bath and getting blow dryed? She always loves the hose in the summer.”
Cas smiled, wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “She did, she loves the groomer. This time I chose a lavender oatmeal shampoo and she smells wonderful. Charlie put a purple bow on her collar this time. She looks so pretty.”
“She’s always pretty. She’s our beautiful girl.” Dean looked over at where Daisy was laying on her bed in the corner of the kitchen. Her eyes had gone white with cataracts but she always looked so happy, even now. He could see the pretty, purple bow on her collar. It brought a smile to his face. When he’d first stopped to talk to Cas eight years ago and pet Daisy, he hadn’t expected to fall in love with the handsome bookstore owner or with Daisy, but he thanked his lucky stars that he had. They were the best thing to have ever happened to him.
“I think after dinner we should take her out in the yard. She’ll have to use the bathroom, but I think I’d like to sit in the swing with you.” Cas said.
“I’d like that too. I’ll bring Daisy’s bed out there so she’s comfortable too.” Dean kissed the back of his husband’s hand once more before they went back to eating. They’d take what time they had left with their girl before she had to cross over the Rainbow Bridge, and they would cherish every single moment until then.