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    Rufus
    Rufus
    Rufus
    Ebook168 pages1 hour

    Rufus

    By Terry R Barca

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    About this ebook

    Rufus is an observer of life, his own, quadruped and human. He loves his life and he knows his place in the world. From solving a murder to confronting a crab, from time with good friends to saving a life, Rufus is the kind of person you would like to spend some time with. If your dog biscuits suddenly go missing, Rufus will solve the mystery. If you need a new home but you don't realise it Rufus will quietly solve the problem. He will remember you when you are gone and he will share his wisdom with you while you are making your way in the world, but above all else, he will steal your heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTerry R Barca
    Release dateDec 19, 2015
    ISBN9781311728241
    Author

    Terry R Barca

    I’m an author who lives and works in the Dandenong Ranges, on the eastern edge of Melbourne Australia.I take one day at a time but occasionally I’m attacked by several days at once.My amazing wife and I have lived in The Hills for forty-three years.My favourite colour is green and so is my favourite car.I started my working life as a Primary School Teacher in the early 1970s.Since then I have been a stained glass craftsman, furniture restorer, restorer of Player Pianos and music rolls, author (twenty one books so far, seventeen audiobooks, another on the way), photographer, basketball trading card manufacturer, basketball coach, basketball player, basketball referee, part-time shop assistant, newspaper columnist, homeschool dad, husband, father, grandfather, and a few other bits and pieces, and not in this order.I’m fascinated by people, but I prefer the company of dogs.I’m not frightened of dying, but sometimes life scares the hell out of me.I think that birds are cool but I don’t believe that they spend any time thinking about me, even though I give them lots of stale bread, and the occasional pizza crust........ ungrateful bastards!

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      Book preview

      Rufus - Terry R Barca

      Introduction

      This collection of short stories, told from a small black Scottie dog’s perspective, is written for anyone who is young at heart. These are not necessarily children’s stories but I know from experience that children like them. I think that the stories would appeal to teenagers as well as adults who have not yet had the wonder of life knocked out of them.

      Rufus started life as a minor character in ‘Rufus Goes To The Country’. The story was meant to be about his mistress, but right from the start Rufus made it clear that he was not going to be ignored. A while later, ‘Rufus Finds a Body’ and ‘Rufus and the blue Smoke’ finished off what ‘Rufus goes to the Country’ started. Even then, he kept popping into my mind so I wrote a few more adventures for him, and then a few more, until I got to the point that I looked forward to his next story. He got a good reception on my dog based blog page so an anthology seemed like a logical progression. This is subtitled ‘Book 1’ because I’m pretty sure there will be more to come, I enjoy his company, and as long as that continues you will be hearing more from Rufus.

      Rufus Goes To The Country

      After the War, everything changed.

      If we learned anything, it was that life is precious and fleeting, and there isn’t a moment to lose.

      I was only a little girl, but I remember being told that many of the young men from our town would not be coming home. I remember the tears when my three older cousins were killed.

      But that was then and this is now.

      My parents think I’m just a little bit scandalous; at least my father does.

      I think my mother secretly approves.

      I live my life by my rules.

      I make my own money.

      I drive my own car.

      The car is packed and my faithful companion Rufus is by my side; we are heading to the country house of Sir William McInnes.

      He’s my publisher.

      I write those ridiculously lurid romance novels which my publisher sells by the thousands. Everyone wants a bit of naughtiness in their lives, even if it only comes on the pages of a book.

      I bought the Lagonda with the proceeds from my second book, ‘Hearts Afire’. It’s still in print and its success means that my publisher takes my calls. Not that I telephone him all that often but it’s nice to know that I’m important.

      Rufus loved me even before I got a publisher.

      Our favourite game — every time I got a rejection letter I would give it to Rufus and he would tear it to shreds.

      It was cathartic for both of us, but it came to a halt when I noticed the words ‘unfortunately’ and ‘regret’ appear in Rufus’s poo. I love this dog and I would not like to think that shortsighted publishers were damaging him as well as me.

      When I’m writing a new book I read each chapter out loud to Rufus and as long as he doesn’t fall asleep I know I’m on the right track.

      I swear to God he howled when the heroine in ‘The Flame and the Flower’ met her untimely end.

      Rufus isn’t my muse but he is the best judge of what works and what doesn’t.

      Once, I tried something new. I wrote a ‘whodunnit’ in the style of Agatha Christie.

      Rufus walked out of the room.

      I went back to what I was good at.

      I run my ‘chaps’ past Rufus as well. If he doesn’t like them, they have to go.

      I’ve lost a few very yummy chaps that way but what’s the good of having a dog and barking yourself?

      My favourite ‘chap’ is Desmond.

      He isn’t very exciting but he is bright and Rufus loves him.

      We sort of grew up together; sort of went to the same schools. He knew me and liked me before I became a success. I love my freedom, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep on saying no to Desmond’s proposals. A girl has to settle down sometime; but not just yet.

      I mentioned the Legonda.

      I bought it off a young chap who works in the city.

      He lost his shirt when the market turned down.

      He’d been trading his own account, which is very naughty for a stockbroker. Penny stocks; they’ll get you every time.

      My grandfather warned me against them.

      He made a fortune when he shorted the market just before the crash of 1907. Made an absolute bundle then frittered it away on women, fast cars and slow horses.

      Drank like a fish as well.

      Broke my grandmother’s heart and by the time my father came of age there was nothing left except for the house and a collection of broken down cars.

      Despite all the mayhem, I really liked my grandfather, and I think he liked me.

      This weekend is going to be very interesting.

      Desmond was supposed to be coming with me but he got called away. He works at the Foreign Office and he often gets called away. He never tells me anything about his work because he knows I can’t keep a secret.

      Among the guests for this weekend is an American film producer and I think that Sir William is trying to sell the film rights to one of my books. He is probably hoping that my pretty face will clinch the deal.

      I don’t need the money but seeing my name on the silver screen would be very pleasant indeed.

      Rufus loves going anywhere in a car, particularly the Legonda. All I have to do is open the little wooden box I keep the keys in and Rufus starts to dance.

      He’s an excellent passenger. Sits quietly. Rides the bumps and leans into the corners. He never falls over, no matter how fast I go. I had a set of goggles made for him and he looks really cute when he wears them. They stop the bugs from getting into his eyes. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring them on this trip.

      It’s not a particularly long trip to Sir William’s country house, but I like to break the journey up by stopping at Beaufort. It’s one of the few country towns that is right on the main road. I have to slow right down when I drive through it so I might as well stop.

      Curiously, it has a small French cafe.

      Not the sort of thing that you expect to find out here in the back of beyond, but there it is. The cafe is run by a French chef who moved to this country a few years ago after falling in love with a local girl. The townsfolk have no idea how lucky they are to have such an excellent chef running a small cafe in their tiny town. His Quiches are ‘to die for’ and his Patisseries are ‘out of this world’.

      I’m gaining weight by just typing these words.

      A cup of excellent coffee to round off the meal and I take Rufus for a walk so that he can have a sniff around and relieve himself. Rufus is an excellent cafe dog. He sits quietly and doesn’t beg for food, but I usually give him a bit of what I’m eating. He even behaves when other dogs walk by with the single exception of Dachshunds. It must be something to do with those stumpy little legs. He really can’t stand them.

      From Beaufort, it takes less than two hours to reach Sir William’s

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