Pauline Wayne has never been in a situation like this. Normally, when a Presidential Pet steps into a new timeline, the Room provides them with a good bit of information about where they are and what they should know, often talking about the current President and, sometimes, about the state of the political world.
This time, though, there’s nothing.
It’s just Pauline Wayne, the rain, and an empty field.
“Alright,” says Pauline Wayne. “I hope you’re listening closely, Room! Because I’ve got some serious issues with how things are going down! You’d best start telling me what to do!”
The Room, obviously, does not answer.
Pauline Wayne still doesn’t know where she’s at. But she knows how to walk. In fact, she’s very good at walking. That’s what happens when you have four legs, she supposes.
And since she doesn’t know what else to do, and since she’s so good at walking, that’s exactly what the cow does.
Eventually, Pauline Wayne realizes that she’s not in a field so much as she’s in some kind of very strange, very large park. It’s like nothing she’s ever seen before. Earth packed trails cut between the vales of grass, which go from simple green to dotted with flowers of all colors, and then sprouted up with massive, very old looking trees.
In fact, the longer she walks, the more trees there are.
What kind of trees are they?
Not pine or oak, that’s for sure. Pauline Wayne has never seen trees like this before!
As she’s musing about the trees, a great ruckus fills the air. Pauline Wayne turns to look towards it, calling out, “hello? Who’s there? I’m here to help you, I suppose.”
“Oh! Oh! Oh! That’s so good!” As if from nowhere, a very large, very furry dog comes barreling out from between the trees. It’s a dog that Pauline Wayne recognizes.
Relieved to have a time frame to work with, Pauline Wayne gives a happy, “Bo!”
The dog lets out a bark of laughter. “Close! I’m not Bo! I’m Bo’s sister, Sunny! But you’re close! That means you’re smart, right? Oh! It also means you’re a Presidential Pet! Wow! I’ve never seen a cow up close before!”
The dog, a Portuguese water dog, trots three circles around Pauline Wayne before very nearly throwing herself onto the ground in front of the cow.
Pauline Wayne gives a long, slow blink. Her tail swats at a fly. “Alright then, Sunny. I’m Pauline Wayne. And I’ll be really honest with you. I have no idea why I’m here at all.”
Katelynn E Koontz – Author
