Free The Bog by Michael Talbot

just depressed over the move. Dogs get depressed over things like that, you know.”
    Melanie gave him a skeptical glance.
    “Okay, okay,” David conceded. “If he’s not better in a day or two we’ll take him to the vet.”
    “Is he sick, Dad?” Tuck asked.
    “I don’t think so, but if he is we’ll see that he gets better.”
    Tuck looked back down at the dog and tenderly stroked his head. “You get better,” he ordered gently.
    “Tuck, come finish your breakfast,” Melanie said, pulling his chair out at the table.
    “It’s soggy now,” Katy murmured from behind her book. Seeing that that didn’t seem to make any difference to Tuck, she added another barb. “And there’s a bug in it.”
    Tuck looked horrified.
    “Katy!” Melanie broke in. “Why do you say things like that?” She turned to Tuck. “There’s no bug in it. Come on.”
    “Well, I think I’ll be going,” David said.
    Melanie looked at him, dismayed. “But you haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”
    “I know, Mel, but it’s my first full day at the digs. I’m kind of excited to get there.”
    “But I cooked the bacon especially for you.”
    “I thought it was for the kids.”
    “The kids have cereal. You can see that.”
    “I’ll have some bacon,” Katy offered.
    “Me too,” Tuck chimed in.
    For a moment David thought it might be his out, but when he saw the look on Melanie’s face he realized that if he knew what was good for him, he’d better have some also. He sat down at the table.
    “There are eggs too,” Melanie said in a stern monotone.
    David watched as she whacked two rubbery yellow eyes down on his plate.
    “She makes us eat them too,” Katy said dryly from behind her book.
    Melanie turned around holding a spatula aloft threateningly. “Remember the movie The China Syndrome ? Well, Mom’s about to have a meltdown, so watch it.” David took a large bite of egg and bacon, grinning widely and chewing with gusto. Mollified, Melanie turned back around.
    Trying to change the subject, David noticed that she had been looking through the copy of The Little Telegraph that he had left on the counter for her.
    “See any ads for housekeepers?” he asked.
    “There’s a classified section, but no ads for housekeepers looking for work. Looks like I’m going to have to place an ad in myself.”
    “Are you going to ask for live-in, or just days?” Melanie looked around her at the house. “Well, this place is big enough for a live-in. What do you think?”
    “I’ll leave it up to you. I don’t really care either way.” Melanie smiled and David secretly felt pleased. He knew she liked it when he left such judgments completely up to her.
    He quickly wolfed down his breakfast, kissed Melanie good-bye, and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, Tuck ran up to him.
    “Dad, can I come with you?”
    “No, Tuck.”
    “Why?”
    “Because Daddy’s going to be there all day long, and you’d get bored.”
    “Can I come for a visit?” Tuck countered.
    “Not today. Maybe sometime.” He noticed Melanie looking at him reprovingly from behind. They always made it a point not to discuss the bog bodies in front of Tuck because Melanie deemed it a subject unsuitable for a six-year-old’s consumption. Personally, David recalled all of the ghastly and lurid things he had been into as a young boy and thought that Tuck would have been able to deal with it. After all, they had allowed him to see the mummies at the British Museum. But to this Melanie always countered that the bog bodies were far more frightening than mummies because they were unshrouded and much more perfectly preserved, and with this David had to agree—although he still thought Tuck would be able to deal with it.
    He was just about to leave when Tuck looked up at him again.
    “Dad?”
    “Yes, Tuck?”
    “I’ll finish the dolphin book today, okay?”
    “That would make me very proud of you, Tuck.”
    Tuck smiled jubilantly and padded off.
    Melanie came