Josiah won’t lie. He’s not a fan of being a Presidential Pet. He’s short tempered and likes to spend his days napping. He remembers fondly his time in the wild, back before a little girl plucked him up and threw him at the President.
Now, that’s not to say that Josiah doesn’t like living in the White House! It’s actually quite a lot of fun! The President lets him do most anything he wants, including nipping at the heels of the people who come into the building. It’s just that it requires a lot more work than he particularly likes to put forth.
But even he supposes that this isn’t the…worst job he’s had.
See, President Roosevelt doesn’t live in the White House on his own. Among others, his daughter, Alice, lives here. Alice is known for being a wild child, brazen and determined. Josiah likes her a lot. She’s independent. She doesn’t need to be babied, and she doesn’t keep her opinions to herself.
But one of the staffers that works very close to Alice is…not as self assured. She takes care of Alice’s room, among other things. Josiah often sees her sniffling her way through the halls, dotting at her face with a kerchief. Most recently, she had started taking care of Eli Yale’s room.
Josiah should have figured this out at the start!
As he leads the way through the White House, Josiah grumbles, “of course it has to be something like this, all emotional drudgery!”
Punch asks, “what’s a drudgery?”
“Dull work,” says Josiah. “Work no one wants to be doing!”
Snipe says, “I take it back! You complain too much!”
Josiah gives the bird an irate look. “If you don’t like how much I complain, you should have gotten someone else to come help. Now hush it. I know it’s hard for birds and yappers – “
“Excuse me,” interrupts Punch. “Yappers? You could use a lesson in manners!”
Josiah continues as though he hadn’t been interrupted at all. “ – but why don’t you lot hush for a bit, eh? We’re going to tuck into this room and wait for someone to come by.”
Punch asks, “who?”
Josiah says, “didn’t you just hear me say hush?”
“I don’t listen to people without manners,” huffs Punch. The little dog scurries forward, ducking into the nearby room. Punch takes initiative and scampers under the heavy white cloth of the nearby table.
Josiah and Snipes follow suit. It’s a very small table, the sort meant to hold a single decorative vase and nothing else.
Josiah says, “for the person I think might be involved in all of this. She should be by here soon.”
Katelynn E Koontz – Author
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