a Coyote's in the House (2004) (2 page)

Weird. Antwan saying to himself, You know what that homey's telling you? He's inviting you in the house.

Yeah, but what if it was a trap and that German dog had a bunch of his brothers in there waiting?

This came to Antwan's mind 'cause he knew you should never trust dogs. Then was gone from his mind 'cause he had no respect for them, either. All they did mostly was bark and fuss, get excited. Dogs gave Antwan a headache.

He wondered should he howl for the Howling Diablos, tell 'em leave whatever you're doing and get over here. Not Antwan or any coyotes he knew of had ever been inside a house. The closest was when they looked in windows to watch TV.

Uh-unh, he couldn't wait too anxious to see what it was like being inside and not afraid to go in alone. He said to himself, Then do it, man.

With no idea of what he might find going on in there, Antwan pushed through the door flap and stepped into a house for the first time in his life.

He smelled the dog right away but didn't care or even look to see where it was. Antwan had caught the scent of peanut butter cookies, sitting right on the kitchen table. He hopped up there and ate every last one of the cookies and didn't think of the dog again until he was right there, sitting on the floor, licking his lips as he looked up at Antwan licking his, Antwan thinking there was something wrong with this dog.

He said, Homes, can't you smell?

Of course I can smell.

You know cookies are sitting here and you don't eat none?

We're not allowed cookies, the big German dog said, sounding like a wimp. He turned his head to point to two dog dishes sitting on the floor, each with a name on it. Buddy on one, Miss Betty on the other.

Antwan said, Which one's yours, homes?

Buddy was giving him a cold look now, serious. He said, You don't know who I am, do you?

I see you like to wear that hankie around your neck and play catch with your owner. Why should I know who you are?

Buddy was standing now. All he said was, Follow me, and started out of the kitchen.

Wait, Antwan said. Who's Miss Betty?

She lives here too. Betty freaked seeing you in the yard. I had to settle her down.

She happen to be a show bitch poodle, Antwan said, with a creamy-colored coat?

He could tell from the surprised look on Buddy's face he had it right, Miss Betty the one at the dog park with the two kids.

Where she at, homes? I like to meet her.

You promise not to mess with her?

I haven't messed with you, have I?

You know better, Buddy said. What do they call you? Antwan told him and Buddy said, Come on, Antwan, but you have to behave yourself.

Antwan hopped down from the table to follow, walking on his toes the way coyotes do, and the next thing was slipping and sliding on the tile floor. Like a pond frozen over in the winter. They entered the family room and his claws dug into carpeting, soft and deep as grass. He looked around and saw different kinds of chairs, what humans sat on to watch TV, brought his gaze up to the walls and saw a German shepherd in a row of big movie posters, and in every one of them the dog was wearing a red bandana around its neck.

That's you, Antwan said, amazed. I been coming to this house for the fine garbage, it turns out you're the movie star lives here?

I made those movies and a few more, Buddy said, till I retired. Buddy to the Rescue, Buddy Goes to War, Buddy and the Kidnappers, Buddy on Safari it was supposed to be in Africa, but they shot all my movies on the backlot of the studio. I played a drug sniffer in Traffic but the scene was cut.

I think I saw you in one of 'em, Antwan said, trying not to sound impressed. Was either on TV or at the drive-in we go to over by Encino. We sit up on the hill in the summer and watch the movies.

Buddy said, What do you do in the winter?

Same as all year, we hunt. There people that put out food, but not many.

And you take it, don't you?

It's just sitting there, Antwan said. He raised his nose and sniffed, catching a scent that seemed part dog and part human, with a soft, powdery smell of flowers thrown in, a scent you'd catch from humans that were female. He started toward the sofa.

Buddy said, Betty, he knows you're there. Come on out.

Antwan stopped in the middle of the room. He watched Miss Betty appear in a timid way, coming out from behind the sofa. Yes indeed, it was the same creamy-colored poodle from the dog park, all trimmed and tricked out with a blue ribbon and a puff of hair on top her head, pom-poms around her ankles and one on the tip of her tail. Antwan had to admit, this was the prettiest dog he'd ever seen. He started toward her and Miss Betty backed away, her pom-poms shaking, her big black eyes in that creamy cute face staring at him.

He knows better than to hurt you, Buddy said. This is Antwan, our first coyote. Let him come over and say hi.

Betty held still while Antwan approached, came nose to nose with her, the way he had seen humans do it, and said, Mmmmm, girl, you smell good enough to eat.

And Betty was out of that room like the pom-pom on her tail was afire, gone.

Buddy called out to her, Betty and then turned to Antwan with a mean look. What'd you say that for? I had her settled and you scared her to death.

It surprised Antwan. I was being nice.

Saying you want to eat her?

What I told her was she smelled fine. Same as I tell a sister I think is looking cool.

Buddy kept staring at him now. The dog didn't get it. Dumb from living with humans. Now he walked over to a front window and stood there looking out for about a minute before he said, The family will be home soon, the mom and dad, Cody and little Courtney. Cody plays lacrosse they're picking him up.

What should I do, Antwan said, act dumb and pretend I'm a dog?

You leave before they get here. What I do sometimes when I know the dad's coming home the way you know things? Buddy said. Doesn't matter when. I go sit by the door. The dad walks in, sees me waiting and can't believe it. How could I know he was coming just then?

I know humans can't do that, Antwan said. Or tell what another human's thinking. They always asking each other questions. 'What'd you do that for?' But still they the ones in charge of things. Tell us where we can live That's what I don't understand, Buddy said, when we're smarter than they are.

What's this we? Antwan said. You're more like them than like us. You sold your soul, homes, for some dog food.

Twice a day, Buddy said, and a warm, dry place to sleep. Nobody ever shooting at me.

He had a point there. But you're missing the fun of being wild, Antwan said, run around, do anything you want.

Would you trade places with me, you had the chance? Buddy sounding serious. It surprised Antwan.

He said, Would I have to play catch? Sit up and roll over? Be told when I can go outside? Eat pet food?

Buddy came closer to him saying, You think being wild means you can put me down?

This German dog was half a head taller, way heavier, and had those big teeth.

He said, You think I can't run you off, your tail between your skinny legs?

Antwan stared at the dog thinking of what to do. He said, Lemme hear you growl.

It stopped Buddy. You want to know can I growl? I know you can, I want to hear you.

What kind of growl?

A mean one.

Buddy lowered his head at Antwan and growled, man, like he was ready to tear Antwan apart.

Antwan said, Dog, that's a growl. It's the scariest growl I ever heard. But . . . do you think you can make me run if I don't want to? Tail between my skinny legs?

He paused, ready to answer his own question either way, with a yes or a no, as he looked into Buddy's eyes to judge the dog's temper.

Then didn't have to say anything. They both sensed the car coming at the same time.

They're here, Buddy said, sounding both excited and nervous about it. It's too late to go out the back. Any second now they'll be pulling up to the garage. You'll have to run upstairs and hide under a bed. I'll come for you later and sneak you out of the house.

Antwan, showing he was cool, didn't move. He said, Dog, I thought you wanted to trade places. Saying it didn't mean Antwan wanted to. But now he was curious about living in a house instead of a hole in the side of a hill, where if it rained, he'd spend the day in his den nibbling on spiders for something to do.

I don't want them seeing you for the first time in the house, Buddy said, still acting twitchy, like he had worms or something. It's better they see you outside, get used to your hanging around. You understand? They see us together, see we get along Like we friends? Antwan said.

Like they think you're a cross-breed mutt, part some kind of skinny hound and a few more breeds in your ancestry.

Wait now, Antwan said. Hold it right there. You want these humans to believe I'm a dog?

A coyote is a dog, Buddy said. All you have to do is behave yourself, act like you've had some training.

So you can have a coyote around the house? Let your doggy friends think you tamed me?

I told you, I'm talking about trading places, Buddy said. You stay here as long as you want. I go up in the hills and join the pack. He said, Antwan, with a pitiful kind of look on his face, I'm tired of being a pet.

Th i s German dog gave you a lot to think about but no time to do it in. Buddy took Antwan to the front hall where a carpeted staircase curved upstairs, Buddy saying, Go on now, quick. Hide under a bed.

You have your own room up there?

Betty does. I like the kitchen.

Close to the food, huh? Get hungry in the night, have yourself a snack.

You got to stop thinking about food all the time, Buddy said. When you know you're gonna get fed you don't worry about it.

Would I have my own room, like Betty?

Buddy, acting nervous again, said, Will you please get upstairs? I'll come find you.

See you when I see you, Antwan said, and went up the staircase in a few bounds, nothing to it. He roamed along the hall now looking into rooms at the way humans lived, at the big beds they slept on, saw all kind of toys and stuffed animals in two of the rooms some animals that looked like little bears. But weren't humans afraid of bears? It didn't make sense. Buddy going up to join the pack, thinking he could walk right in and be one of them that didn't make sense either. He ever went up there alone they'd jump him before he could say hi. This trading places would never work in a million years.

Antwan smelled water and went into a little room with a slippery floor and a big white bowl had a lid on it against the wall. The water was inside there. Antwan lifted the lid with his nose, then had to lift what looked like a seat, except it had a big hole in it. All this work to stick your face in there and get a drink of water, Antwan thirsty after eating those peanut butter cookies.

There was a big tub in here. Why didn't they fill it with water? Be easier to get a drink, just jump in the tub. Otherwise you'd have to go out to the swimming pool any time you were thirsty. It tasted funny, but it quenched your thirst. Antwan had drunk from many a swimming pool. Every house up in these hills had one.

He sniffed along the hall again. Stopped and felt his ears cock as he heard human voices. Then hurried to follow the sound, into a room where the window was open.

Antwan looked out to see the backyard and the garage, the mom and dad and the two kids coming toward the house. Cody, the boy, looked a few years older than his little sister, Courtney. Antwan could never tell about kids. Some offered you things to eat and others threw rocks at you.

He watched the family reach the patio that stuck out into the yard, the roof over it just below this window. He could hear them in the house now, the human voices. One of the kids yelling, the boy, Cody. Sounding like a kid who'd throw rocks rather than feed you.

Antwan had raced through this room to the window without noticing what was in here. Now he looked around, catching a familiar scent, and saw the display of trophies and ribbons and pictures in color of Miss Betty posing and knew he was in her room.

He turned toward the bed, like the ones in the kids' rooms, tiptoed over to it sniffing the air, finding that familiar scent stronger here. Now he stretched out on the floor to check underneath and there she was: Miss Betty's big black eyes looking at him from out of the dark.

Antwan said, Hey, girl, in his nicest tone, what're you doing under there?

Chapter
Three.

THEN Buddy was working in movies, running his tail off doing dangerous stunts all day, he'd come home from the studio worn out, and the kids would be all over him wanting to play. Now that he was retired, hanging around the house all day with Cody and Courtney, they hardly ever wanted to do anything.

When they did, it was to pull tricks on him.

Cody would throw a ball in the swimming pool and say Fetch. Buddy would jump in, get the ball in his mouth, crawl out of the pool and Cody would be nowhere in sight.