Based on 38 community votes, the most popular answer to “He Kept My Seat Warm in the Parking Lot” is “Cross the room and hug him” — chosen by 18% of voters.
Category: heartwarming • Theme: 🐾 Animal Love
I couldn’t make myself walk past the hat rack when I first got home. Eleven hats, all in no order. The Army hat, the fishing hat, the granddad hat I wore the night my son was born. I used to grab one without thinking and head out the door. Then I drove drunk one night. Six years, every visiting day without exception, my boy sat on the curb in the parking lot of the correctional facility. I heard it later from a guard who liked to talk about football. He said my kid always waited with a brown paper bag and that same blue hoodie, even when the wind cut through. My son never mentioned it on the phone. He just asked if I was eating, like an old man. When I walked out for the last time, the first thing I saw wasn’t him. It was a big mutt with one floppy ear, pressed against his leg. The dog’s collar was bright red, with a tag shaped like a bone. I remember the tag being scratched up, like coins that went through the wash. “Her name’s Curb,” he said. “She started waiting with me.” Now I’m home. The hats are still on the rack by the door. Nobody wears them. Last week, he hung Curb’s leash on the empty hook at the end. I keep straightening it without saying a word. What would YOU do?
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