One Moonlit Night

So there I was, just about to herd the two dogs into the car for a rare ride out, when the phone rings, it's Mum and she wants to talk to me.

"Mark was just here," she says rather cryptically. "He was looking for you."

Now I know many Marks. But none of them would be going to our house in JB to visit my mother and looking for me there. Not the singer. Not the strategic consultant. Then I think of an obscure second cousin by that name. The one who's going to be a priest.

"You mean your nephew, Mark?"

"Chi! Nolar. Why would he be looking for you? That dog's owner. Apparently he drives by quite often with his dog to see if you're there. He wants to see if the fellow still recognises you."

"Oh..." I break into a smile.

This is Ronnie's Mark. You can read about Ronnie here. He was the cutest little Irish terrier and we found him at our doorstep and he was in hairs breadth of being lost in the no man's land land of an animal shelter forever.

So Mum chats about Mark who stayed awhile and talked to her. She told him I'd be coming there next week. It's a three-day weekend. Was supposed to go there this week but a late night and waking up at two in the afternoon put paid to that notion.

I am touched. I thought they forgot me. Apparently not. So I get to see the little doggie again and hang out with Mark and Angela.

So then I get off the phone and herd the two pups into the car. Arnold settles down in a corner...the perfectly behaved dog. And Maggot scrambles here and there and moves onto the gear box to gaze out at the windscreen, tongue hanging out, bright lights, big city, where in the world are we going?

Arnold gets up once or twice to look out of the window, but as long as it's a long ride, he doesn't care really. He's used to this sort of thing.

I have my iPod on and I think of the other doggie and sing along untunefully. Arnold and Maggot are quite easy to please. They listen silently without attempting to howl along.

I can feel my heart
And it's fit to burst
Try to clean it up
but it just gets worse
wish I could fall
on a night like this
into your loving arms
for a moonlight kiss

And:

if you feel lost and on your own
and far from home
you never alone, you know
just think of your friends
the ones who care
they all will be waiting there
with love to share
and your heart will lead you home

And:

Oo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Oo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside

And we return home and beguile the moonlit hours with a late night walk. The moon's a fingernail in the sky, the air is fragrant, there's nobody about, the streetlights illuminate, the park at the back of the house beckons, friendly and inviting...and God is in His heaven and all is right with the world.