The Fly Who Started it All - Sue

One morning in Chicago, a street vendor was selling vegetables out of a cart. A fly buzzed by his face so he waved it away, and in so doing, accidentally hit his cart, causing a sweet pea to drop to the dusty concrete. A mouse happened to be staring out of the drain grate, and looking around to make sure the coast was clear, darted out to grab the sweet pea.

A cat was lying in the doorway of a shop and saw the mouse dart out. The cat was a calico and had long hair. It leapt into action towards the mouse, but the mouse had seen it coming and ran back to the safety of the drain grate.

It just so happened that Mrs. Pierce was walking her poodle up to the vegetable cart to get some fresh sweet corn. The poodle saw the cat leap out for the mouse, and jumped forward to chase the cat. Mrs. Pierce hung on tightly to the leash, but the sudden jerk made her lose her balance and she fell, breaking her right hip. The street vendor heard the crack.

He dialed 911 and tried to comfort Mrs. Pierce. He put the poodle up to her face so that she could see that her dog was alright, which was what she was worried about for the most part, though the pain felt like a hot stab in her hip. Soon a crowd gathered around, and a policeman had to make everyone back away to give her some air, and also to let the emergency medical technicians load her on a stretcher. The put the poodle in with her because she started screaming when they said they were going to leave him with the street vendor. On the way to the hospital, Mrs. Pierce called her son and told him to come to the hospital, and he would have to take care of the dog until she was able to come home.

The problem was her son was just on his way to a special presentation for a large account. His boss had told him that if he didn't get that account, he would be fired, because it had been two months since he had sold anything. His wife was due to have their first child any day, and he couldn't lose his job, not now, especially when he needed the insurance. But he was a good son, and he told his mother he would be there just as soon as the presentation was over.

Dogs aren't allowed in hospitals, of course, but for Mrs. Pierce, they made an exception. The reason was her father had built a wing of the hospital, and she said she had every damn right in the world to bring her dog in when what was she supposed to do? Let her dog run loose in the street and get run over by a car? Then where would she be with a broken hip and a dead dog?