She allows herself to be petted, but she is obviously not in her sucky mode. And she is not begging to go out. Nor is she hinting to be allowed up on the bed. She is there to watch the action. No action around here, Pepper, he whispers to the dog.
Pepper looks away.
If ever there was a guy born to inaction, he is lying in this bed. Hamlet with a live dad and nothing much rotting in the state of Denmark. Twenty-one years ago he lost a battle to stay forever in his mother s womb. And then he tumbled out into the river of life. It was late October when he was born.