By: Dwayne Parton

Aloe Vera (Cheeseface Part II)

The cheese-faced Gentri lays on Sadies dog bed. Perfectly quiet and unnoticed. Undeterred from her cheesesteak fiasco. Satisfied with the greasy goodness she shoveled into her belly. Perfectly quiet, undeterred, and unnoticed…

Tim may be the only one in the office who cares about the potted plants. I’m lead to believe this because without him, they would just be withered skeletons left thirsty and neglected :( We have several plants, but I don’t know what they are, I just know the Aloe plant. We had a Ficus tree but Tim took that home. He love’s his Ficus.

The plant caretaker(who as a reminder is Tim), has left the office for the day. The plants are now unnoticed by all except the perfectly quiet Gentri. Unnoticed and at rest on the dog bed. Perfectly positioned next to the unnoticed Aloe Vera plant.

I imagine it went something like this:
Gentri…sniff, sniff. Looks around…No one noticed.
Aloe…silence.
Gentri…sniff, sniff. Looks around…No one noticed.
Aloe…silence.
Gentri…grab…grab…garb…garb…garb

The perfect silence broken by the sound of a dog downing an Aloe plant. “GENTRI!” I look over seeing Aloe salad all over the face of the undeterred. “NO! NO!” I run and flip her on her back. “No!” Her face is covered in gooey Aloe blood. She doesn’t lick her lips. Pupils dilated in acknowledgement of her wrong doing. Tail tucked, and trembling. “No. NO. That’s a bad dog.” The “O” sounds are drawn out for emphasis. She still doesn’t lick the Aloe guts. When was the last time you saw a kid complain about about a parent taking away their broccoli. If dogs could cry, she just did.

“Note to self: It wasn’t worth it.” ~Gentri