Four Steps Up

A heavy wooden chalkboard menu sat propped at an angle against the cedar planter, forming a steady ramp. I paused to test the incline with one front foot. The rough, unvarnished pine held firm under my pads. Instead of pushing it aside, I leaned my weight forward into the slope. One deliberate step, then another. My stout legs pushed against the rise until my front paws rested squarely on the planter's flat cedar rim. From up here, the entire patio opened out, the red pavers stretching away in neat rows. I rested my chin on the sunlit timber, taking in the wide, quiet space.