The Dog Prompt

​I felt the stares and eyes burn through my skin. The park was the only place I could take him that was safe for him to play. People got up from the ground and took their dogs and left. Soon I was one of the only people there with him.
The only people there was the nice old lady who lives next to me and a young man with his Great Dane, Molly. They played and ran together with an old tennis ball.
​I took Manny off his leash to let him run, and he took off and sprinted around trees and the few benches. The old lady, Nancy, looked up from her Scottish Terrier and smiled at my Pitbull run. His happiness making Ferguson the Terrier wag his tail and start to run with him. Molly got distracted from her owner and joined the other two. They all ran around together, playing and rolling in the grass. Our little club of the dogs with no social skills. All Manny knew was play and be happy. He always was happy. Especially at the park.
​The young man smiled and walked over to me, still his attention on the commotion of the new friends messing around.  "Hi, I'm Sammy, call me Sam or Sammy. Both short for Sampson." He said with his hand out. He had a tall stature, around 5'11, scruffy dirty blonde hair with hazel eyes. I shook his hand said, "I'm Danny. Short for Danny." He gave a short laughed and looked at our dogs. "How old is Molly? She's small for a Great Dane." He gave a strange look, as if he didn't know why I knew her name.
​"You guys come here when ever I'm here in the afternoons. You're always playing with her." He gave a reassuring smile. "Oh, yeah, she's almost two. Molly was the runt of her litter when her mom was found with her two other siblings. My parents have the mom and her two brothers. Molly was a gift from them. How about you? How did you get yours?" I let out a nervous laugh, "Manny was a rescue, he was in the shelter for longer than the other dogs. No one wanted him because he was a Pitbull, and their "reputation" to be dangerous. Hence why you, Nancy over there, and I are the only ones left in the park. But really, he's a sweetheart. Him and Ferguson, that Terrier over there, are best friends." I sighed. Thinking about when I met Nancy when I first moved in.
​I got Manny a little after I had just moved in and met Nancy. She invited me and Manny over to her house for tea, cards, and just to get to know each other. "Nancy is actually like my only friend, since I work the graveyard shifts at the science industry building thing down the street from the university." He gave me a sad but hopeful look, "Really? You don't have any friends besides that old lady?" I held up my finger and said matter-of-factly, "Hey, she is not that old, she is just... well aged? I don't know, yeah, she is. But her and Ferguson are great to see when we go over her house. Every time we go to the park, I see her here, sitting in the sun and just relaxing while she pets Ferg on the bench with her. I then walk her home, we hang out, watch game shows and movies. After, I walk home and get ready for work. I sometimes leave Manny with Nancy when I know I might not be home as soon as I'd like."
​I start to walk over to where Nancy is sitting in the sun on her bench, eyes closed, smiling. "Hello, Nancy." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. "Beautiful day." She said with content. I agreed with, "Always is." Her dark mocha face smiling as always, and her grey white short curly hair moving with the wind. Her head tilted up at Sammy. "And who might you be?" Nancy's eyebrow shifted up as Sammy moved in front of her. "I would be Sampson, Ms. Nancy." She laughed and exclaimed, "Oh please, just call me Nancy. You are the owner of that fine dog over there with ours?" He nodded and looked back behind him where the dogs where playing a game of tug-a-war with a stick. Ferguson was just prancing round the crowd.
​Each of us called out to our dogs and their attention dropped and they raced over to us. Sam was on the ground and Molly ran into him. Ferguson ran over to the bench, jumped up and licked Nancy as she laughed. Finally, Manny jumped on top of me, as I was squatting near the ground, and nocked me over, playing and barking happily.
​We stayed in the park for a little while longer and both Sam and I led Nancy and Ferg home. We decided to reschedule our tea time for a different time due to the extra we spent at the park. I made sure Nancy went inside safe and sound. I then went next door to my quiet two-story house where I was at my door with Sam and our dogs. I looked at him and voiced, "Well, it was nice to finally meet you, Sampson." And with a smile he said, "It was nice to meet you as well, Danny," He looked down at Manny and gave him a little pat on the head, "You too, Manny." I took my keys and shoved them into my lock on my door and pushed the door open. "Bye Sam, Bye Molly." I smiled and closed my door and took Manny off his leash. He walked over to his bed, panting, and plopped down.
​And with that, my day had just begun.