Tranquil Acres in Decatur, Alabama, is a neighborhood that lives up to its name—comfortable homes and spacious lawns, but not so spacious as to keep neighbors from being friends. That’s what kept Bill Hughes and his family in the area even after his kids were grown, and why retirees Ronald and Carolyn Harris moved there to grow their prizewinning roses. For a rambunctious mutt named Shadow, however, Tranquil Acres was more than a place to call home. It was his calling.
He arrived through the classified section of the Decatur Daily newspaper. Becky Hughes, Bill’s youngest daughter, was a college student living at home. One morning at breakfast, she flipped through the paper and an ad caught her eye—“FREE puppies to a good home!” A puppy? That’s what I need, Becky thought. She’d grown up with four sisters and three brothers, but they’d moved out and started families of their own. Her friends had gone away for school. It was just her and her parents in the big house, and she was feeling a bit lonely. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a furry friend to greet her when she came home from class late at night?
Becky went to look at the litter of puppies. One little guy stood out from the rest—he nearly jumped out of the box. He wasn’t the cutest of the bunch, but there was something about his big, soulful eyes. His fur was the color of midnight lightening to blond, especially in the back, like a shadow had been cast across half his body.
“You sure you can take care of him?” Becky’s parents asked their daughter, eyeing the pup skeptically when she returned.
Their skepticism was justified. Shadow would run off as soon as Becky went to classes. But invariably, when her car came up the drive at 8:00 p.m., he would reappear. He’d hop up on the porch, wagging his tail, waiting for Becky to throw her arms around him. Bill had no idea what Shadow was up to all day, but when Becky was home, the dog didn’t leave her side.
Shadow had just turned five when Bill took a fall at work and had to have hip surgery. The doctor recommended walking every day to speed his recovery. Bill dreaded it. He was shaky on his feet; even getting around the house exhausted him. He stepped outside, and the driveway looked a mile long. He’d never make it. Then Bill heard a bark. Shadow. The dog scampered up beside him as if to say, “Let’s go.”
Shadow accompanied Bill every morning, bounding a few steps ahead. Now and then he’d turn to check on Bill and patiently wait for him to catch up.
Becky was glad Shadow and her father had bonded. She was about to finish school. Soon she’d be moving out. It felt almost like Shadow wasn’t her dog anymore. He was Bill’s. The neighbors grew accustomed to the tap-tap of Bill’s walking stick against the asphalt and the sight of his ever-present Shadow.
Ronald and Carolyn Harris often waved at the duo trotting by while they were outside tending to their rosebushes. They’d raised two sons of their own and had dreamed of a quiet retirement in the country. That’s how they’d ended up on a three-acre plot half a mile down the road from Bill.
Carolyn had never been a dog person. But there was something wonderful about the way Shadow walked with Bill, as much companion as pet.
“I’ll tell you something,” Carolyn said to Ronald one morning. “If ever I’m on my own, I’d want a dog just like that by my side, a real devoted dog.”
She had no reason to think anything would happen to Ronald. While he’d had some heart trouble in his fifties, he’d been in good health ever since. They were still young and active. But three days later, Carolyn was getting ready for bed when Ronald began gasping. He suffered a massive heart attack and died en route to the hospital. Just like that, he was gone.
All of Tranquil Acres rallied around Carolyn, attending Ronald’s funeral, filling the house with flowers and comfort food. Their sons came up for a spell, but they couldn’t stay forever. Soon enough, Carolyn found herself alone. She’d never been alone. It was deeply unnerving. What was life without her beloved Ronald?
On a misty night, a week after Ronald’s death, Carolyn glanced into the backyard and spied a dark shape hovering in the shadows. Her heart hammered until the figure came closer to her deck.
What was Bill Hughes’s dog doing there at nine o’clock at night?
“Shoo!” Carolyn said. “Go home!”
The dog stayed put. Carolyn picked up the phone and dialed Bill.
“Your dog is at my house,” she told him. “He doesn’t want to leave.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Bill said. “He’ll come home on his own. If he doesn’t, I’ll get him in the morning.”
Really? In the morning? Still, she couldn’t bring herself to invite Shadow in. She checked on him several times that night. He was still there. In the morning, she fed him some scraps and gave him a bowl of water out on the deck. Around 10:00 a.m., Bill stopped by as he made his regular turn around the cul-de-sac. Shadow dutifully followed Bill. Carolyn felt a bit sad to see him go. It’d been nice to have company, even if it was just a neighbor’s dog hanging out in her yard.
Half an hour later, though, Shadow was back. He bounded up her driveway, Bill giving chase. Carolyn stepped out her front door. “Leave poor Mrs. Harris alone,” Bill called. But Shadow planted himself at Carolyn’s feet and refused to budge.
“It’s fine,” Carolyn said. “I don’t mind him being here.”
He stayed all day and through the night once again.
Shadow was busy. He still walked with Bill every morning. He still met Becky when she came home from school. The rest of the time he took up residence on Carolyn’s deck. Carolyn called the Hughes family, apologetic. She felt like she’d stolen their dog.
“I just can’t get him to leave,” she told Becky.
“Mrs. Harris,” Becky said, “is Shadow a bother?”
“Not at all, dear,” Carolyn said. “He’s such a comfort to me.”
“Then I won’t force him to come home,” Becky said. “Invite him in. That’s what he wants. Shadow knows where he needs to be and who needs him to be there. Always has.”
Becky eventually got married and moved away from Decatur. Shadow remained behind. He was a fixture in Tranquil Acres. He belonged there, roaming the subdivision, finding people who needed him, following like a shadow until each mission was complete.