GRANDMA'S PRINCE
© Elliot Richard Dorfman

Phil Brier was a successful lawyer who lived with his wife and son in a pleasant town somewhere in the Adirondack region of New York.

One Friday, last January, he had to go downstate on some legal business for his firm. As it turned out, the location was very close to the house his Grandma Fran had lived in until her death.

 As a child, he loved visiting her. The sweet old woman always doted on him, giving him a sense of feeling special.

Since the meeting broke up earlier than expected, Phil decided to take a quick ride and check out his grandma's place before heading back to the Adirondacks.

He stopped in front of the house and got out to get a closer look. A small Pekinese dog darted out of the opened gate, jumped into his arms and affectionately began to lick Phil's face.

Grandma Fran, he recalled, had once owned a Pekinese named Prince. The dog saved the entire family by waking everyone up when he smelled gas escaping from a faulty pipe. However six months later, Grandma was heartbroken when someone stole her precious pet from the front yard. Naturally, this dog couldn't be the same one because that happened many years ago.

Phil was about to bring the Pekinese back to the house when it gave a bark and disappeared.

"Just What the heck was going on?" he thought. "I'm not a person prone to imagining such things. Besides, how could it have been a phantom? I felt the dog's weight in my arms."

But what rule was there that a ghost couldn't be solid? A moment later the distraught man got into his car and drove off, trying to figure some rational explanation.

It was snowing heavily when he arrived home four hours later. Tired and hungry, he parked the car in the garage. Suddenly, there was a low bark that came from the back seat. He quickly turned and looked, but nothing was there. Incredible as it seemed, was there a remote possibility that Phil was being haunted by Grandma Fran's dog? After all it had been a Pekinese!

Entering the house, dinner was ready and waiting for him. Grateful, he washed up and sat down in the dinning room. His cute little son, Christopher, came running down from his room and gave him a hug. He was all excited because Sunday was his eleventh birthday.

"Hi, Pop. Say, whatcha' getting me for my birthday? Is it the silver chromed bicycle I asked you for?"

"Let your father eat in peace, Christopher, " his mother, Janet, said, giving her husband a kiss. "Don't be so impatient. You'll find out soon enough."

"Okay Mom," he said cheerfully. "Well, see you later, Pop. Enjoy your meal. Mom made spaghetti and meat balls. It's great." A moment Christopher was back in his room, busily playing with a computer game.

After dinner, Janet walked over to Phil and took his hand. "Is there anything wrong, Phil? You were unusually quiet through the meal. Were there any problems today?"

"No," he responded, getting up and pacing. "Everything went fine but something strange happened when I decided to take a brief look at Grandma Fran's old house that was close by."

When he finished telling her his story about the phantom dog, she began laughing under her breath.

"You think it's funny?" he angrily asked.

"No," she said, trying to keep a straight face, "but aren't you the one who prides himself in being a realist and always scoffing at anyone who brings up the supernatural?"

"Well this time it was different," her husband answered, defensively.

"Why," she quipped, "because it happened to you?"

***

It continued to snow most of the night, and when Phil awoke early the next morning, he decided to stay in bed a little longer before going down and cleaning off the sidewalk in front of the house. Snuggling next to Jane, he felt something cold and wet licking his feet.

Phil jumped out of bed. The figure of a dog appeared from under the cover and stood on his hind legs.

"Are you the ghost of Prince?" the amazed man asked softly.

The dog barked once.

"Are you here for a reason?"

The dog barked twice and disappeared again as Janet awoke.

"What's wrong, Phil?" she asked. "You look pale"

"I just saw that dog spirit again. I'm positive now that it's my grandma's Prince."

Janet frowned. "Oh, Phil, grow up. You really don't expect me to fall for that, do you? The next thing you'll be telling me is that you're seeing little gremlins hiding in the closest."
Yawning, she turned around and went back to sleep.

***

Phil did not see Prince for the rest of the day and resigning himself not to mention the ghost anymore, even if he should reappear again. After cleaning the sidewalk, he ate breakfast, made a few business calls, then helped Janet put up the decorations for next day's birthday party. Later he and his son played in the snow, joyfully throwing snowballs at each other. Since the roads were cleared by evening, it was decided to have dinner out and then do some last minute shopping in the mall.

The next day was warmer, and most of the snow had melted. Christopher's party was a big success, and everyone had a great time. The highlight of the day came when Phil brought out the new bike. His son was thrilled. It was everything he had hoped for. It was starting to get dark when all the guests left. Chris asked permission to take a quick ride.

"Okay," his father said, accompanying him to the front of the house, "but just go around the block for a few times. It's getting dark."

Chris nodded happily and rode off. Phil heard growling and looked down, it was Prince. The dog ran a few paces after his Chris then came rushing back, grabbing the right leg of Phil's pants with his mouth.

"What is it, Prince? Is my son in danger, do you want me to follow you?"

Prince barked and Phil obediently followed him around the block. There was no sign of Christopher. Prince began sniffing the curb then bolted across the street and was gone.

Phil had hoped Christopher would be back when he returned home, but the boy wasn't there.

"He's probably still riding around," Janet said. "You know how kids forget time when they get excited," But she was just as worried, for Chris rarely disobeyed his parents.

When the boy still wasn't back in half an hour, Phil drove his car all over the entire neighborhood, but with no success.
"Prince," he called out in desperation, "come back here and help me find Chris."

But Prince did not respond.

"You're a worthless apparition," he mumbled, banging his hands on the steering wheel. "Go back where you came from."

Trembling, he took out his cell phone and called his best friend, Reilly, who was also the chief of police in town.

"We'll get right on the case, "Reilly assured him. "Try to stay calm. We'll find Chris."

But Chris still was missing in the morning. As word began spreading among the neighbors, a group formed and intently searched the surrounding area. A four-point bulletin was put out. News of his disappearance was covered on tv, radio, and by the newspapers. The Brier's even hired a private investigator. The results were negative. Janet and Phil were full of grief, expecting to hear the worst as more time past by.

One late night, Phil sat in his son's room, starring at Christopher's picture that he tenderly held in his hands. Janet had taken a sedative and was asleep on the couch.

"It's hopeless," the father said, sighing. Glancing out the window, he saw Prince in the moonlight, standing in the driveway.

The dog looked up at him and whined. Phil instinctively knew the sprit wanted to take him to Christopher, so he rushed downstairs.

***

Phil followed the apparition as it went in a Northerly direction past the town. Forty-five minutes later, Prince crossed a large field on the right side of the road. He stopped at a clearing where a small dilapidated factory building stood. The place looked absolutely deserted.

"Now what? There's no one here," Phil discouragingly remarked, but Prince walked to the back of the factory. There on the second floor, a faint light came from one of the windows. Phil's hopes began to rise.

"Good dog. I'll bet Chris is up there" he whispered, patting Prince.

There was an opened back entrance that had a staircase leading to the second floor.

The place smelled musty. Dust had gathered all over. In the darkness, Prince guided Phil to a closed door at the far end of the corridor. Cautiously, Phil put his ear against it and listened in. There were no sounds. Grabbing a discarded wooden plank that was lying on the side, he barged in.

The room was sparse. In the dim light Phil could see a table and chair near the shaded window. Prince immediately went to a figure lying on a cot against the wall. It was Christopher! He was tied to the cot with a chord. Luckily, the knots weren't too tight and Phil soon loosen them. His son looked at his dad with groggy eyes. It was obvious that someone had sedated him.

"Pop, is it really you? Thank goodness! I'm still kind of groggy. The woman who kept me here forced me to take a sleeping pill before she left earlier this evening."

Prince barked and jumped on the bed.

Chris smiled and hugged him. "I'm okay, Boy, don't worry."

"You see this dog, too?" Phil asked

"Of course, Dad."

"He's a ghost you know."

"Yeah, I sort of figured that out when he appeared the night and only I saw him. The dog has stayed close to me ever since then. Somehow I knew he'd bring you here to rescue me at the right time."

Prince began to growl when footsteps were heard in the hall.

"Play along with me, Chris," Phil said, loosely retying his son's hands.

Chris bravely nodded.

Tightly holding the wooden plank, Phil hid in the corner as the door opened. A disheveled heavy set middle-aged woman stepped in carrying a bag. She smelled as if she hadn't taken a bath in months. The lady bent down next to the boy and shook him.

"Get up, Sonny. I brought you some grub."

Christopher moaned and tried shoving her away.

"Guess the sedative hasn't worn off yet," she said. "I had to give it to you so you wouldn't untie yourself and run away. What a shame that would have been, especially after all the trouble I went through by myself to get you."

She menacingly pointed a finger at him.

"Remember, what I told you; the sooner you accept you're my son from now on, the better it will be for you."

The anger in Phil swelled. He couldn't bare to hear another word from that deranged woman. With one fast stroke of the plank, he wacked her in back of the head. She fell to the floor unconscious.

After freeing Chris again, he used the cord and securely tied the kidnapper to the chair. Then, he took out his cell phone and called Reilly.

"She'll be secure until you come," he told the chief. " I'm taking my son out of this horrible place right now."

Prince carefully guided them home, then gave them each a lick and vanished.

***
It was eventually learned that the woman who had abducted Christopher Brier was Grace McIntyre, the next door neighbor's cleaning lady. When she saw Chris playing outside, she felt he resembled her late child and conceived a plan to abduct him. After a swift trial, the woman was sentenced to prison for the remainder of her life.

Prince never reappeared again. He had accomplished his mission and his pure little soul returned back to heaven, reuniting with Grandma Fran.

Christopher seemed to have something on his mind, but said nothing for months. Then on a spring day when he and his dad were playing a game of catch, the boy abruptly stopped and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Phil.

Chris shrugged. "Nothing really. It's just that I miss Prince. Do you think there's any chance that he may reappear again?"

Phil shook head, "No, I don't think so."

There was a pause.

"Then Dad, can I get a puppy?"

His face waited eagerly for a reply.

After all he had gone through, Phil knew he couldn't refuse him. He was positive Janet would feel the same way.

"Sure, if that will make you happy," he answered.

The next day, the two of them went down to the local animal shelter. It was after the Easter holiday, and the shelter was full of animals that had been brought back or abandoned by people who hadn't the patience or devotion to care for them.

"We just got in a bunch of puppies today," a worn-out caretaker said when they entered. "Would you like to take a look? Follow me."

In the back of the shelter was a pen full of dogs.

"Dad, look!"Chris excitedly shouted as he pointed to one of the little creatures.

The puppy resembled Prince, but was more of a mix.

As soon as the cage was opened, the dog walked over and began playing with them, wagging his tail excitedly.

A short time later the lucky canine was on his way home with

Christopher and Phil. Of course, you know what they named him!