Negligence

The family dog had disappeared three weeks ago, but I didn’t notice until fairly recently. The children were distraught, but I (conveniently) had no time to notice; the nanny could handle anything the girls threw at her. My hands were full trying to handle a situation with the neighbours, their apples, and my wife. I was also trying to find a suitable husband for our eldest daughter- the sooner she was married the better; a peaceful, happy house is one with no children in it.
Despite trying all I could to avoid a court session, it happened anyway. Blasted neighbours, they really had it in for us. At least we didn’t have to pay for a lawyer, as I am one - well- was one... The issue of a daughter’s marriage had sufficiently distracted me from the court business for some time. Enough for me to forget about my not owning a proper wig for the occasion, until the morning of the hearing. I thought my only choice to get one on such short notice would be to go to a black market, down one of the alleyways of the city. The wig had to be cheap, because I’d promised to quite a few men I found acceptable, that I would pay them… a certain sum, if they agreed to marry Clare.
The lane with the not so legal shops was not far from our house, four blocks and then a turn to the right. Shack number 15 was the shop where, apparently, you could find anything. The first wig I saw was at the front of the filthy shop, it seemed clean at the time, but perhaps the condition of its surroundings were so bad that they could make mud seem clean. I decided it would have to do, I bought it for 10 pounds, and deposited the money in a box held out by a repulsive hand. I left as quickly as I could, put the wig on my head, and walked in the direction of the courthouse. It absolutely poured with rain, cold fat round droplets, ricocheting and soaking into everything I wore and had on me. I’d put on the wig before leaving the alleyway, hoping that if I was seen coming from there, people would just think I had gone to talk to a client. Then when I got to the main street, I hoped they would see I was lawyer in a rush and get out of my way.
The rain continued to menace me all the way to the entrance of the courthouse, where I felt the wig sliding from my head. I noticed a strong smell of wet dog wafting around me, I let the –wig, slide off the back of my cranium, and turned to inspect it. I had not seen it in proper light yet, the result was not pleasing. I forgot all evidence and arguments I had memorised, but I did learn what had happened to our dog.

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