Yeller doesn’t come out often but when he does, I can hear him coming. He has dark hair like my dad but is taller and bigger in the shoulders. With eyes fixed on the ground, he marches down our street shouting and arguing at someone who isn’t there and saying words I’m not allowed to use. “Goddamn it. I told you to shut up. SHUT UP! Now you’re gonna get it. Shit. Shit. Shit.” Afraid of what he might do if he sees me, I hide behind the lilac bushes and spy on him until it’s safe to come out.
Ann-Christine Vevera is a Swedish-American writer who lives with her husband, Matt, and two dogs, Breeze and Zuzu, in a small coastal town in Florida. Substack: Wait a minute!