The Art of Wag (22 page)

Rob laughed. “You call your car The Turd?”

“My father named it. But it fits.”

Rob peered through the filthy windows at the torn brown Naugahyde interior. “Are you sure it’s safe to drive?”

“I’m not dead yet.” She opened the rear door. “Just throw the crate in here.”

Rob obliged while Tracy stowed Roxy in the back seat. After an enormous amount of outrage and hysteria at the apartment, the little dog had finally calmed down, so that now she was downright composed. Tracy slammed the door. “Maybe Roxy is finally getting used to you.”

“That’s good news for my eardrums.”

They got in and Tracy started up the car. It coughed itself awake, spewed a plume of exhaust, and sputtered a few times to emphasize that it was cold outside. “Come on baby, you can do it.” She turned to Rob, “It needs to warm up.”

“Along with lots of encouragement.”

“That too.” She turned and smiled at him as she ground the car into gear. The Turd lurched into motion. “All
right
! We’re mobile.”

Later as they bumped down the driveway to Kat’s house, Rob looked back at Roxy. “Your dog copes with the bad roads remarkably well. It’s a good thing she doesn’t get carsick, because this would do it.”

“She’s spent a lot of time riding around on bumpy dirt roads. I guess she’s used to it.”

The car slammed into a deep crater and Rob placed his hand on the dashboard to brace himself against more impacts. “I’m so glad you volunteered your car.”

Tracy turned to him. “Told ya.”

The forest canopy opened up and the house came into view, and Tracy pulled up in front of it. Rob got out of the car and looked up at the massive cedar trees that towered above the house. “It’s beautiful here. Look at the size of those trees.”

“Yeah, growing up, I always wanted a place like this. The woods around here are so peaceful. When you sit outside in the summer, you hear birds singing and bugs buzzing. In the winter, it’s just this envelope of silence. A lot of people never get to experience forests like these.”

“You’re really lucky to have grown up here.”

“I suppose. Most of the time I don’t think about it, I guess. It’s just home.”

The front door opened and Kat walked down the steps, followed by Linus. When the big dog saw Rob, he leaped around Kat and bounded up to greet the new human. Rob looked momentarily startled, but put out his hand so Linus could sniff it. “That may be the largest dog I’ve ever seen.”

Kat pointed at the dog. “His name is Linus. And he’s a sweetheart.”

Tracy nodded. “He is. And at work, he’s famous because he barfed all over Dr. C. It was a spectacular performance.”

Rob bent to ruffle the fur on Linus’s neck. “Aww, you didn’t do that, did you?”

“Yes, he did.” Kat said. “The full Technicolor yawn. But it wasn’t his fault. He was poisoned. It’s kind of a long story.”

Tracy turned to Kat. “Kat, this is Rob. Rob, Kat. Feel free to say ‘hi’ while I get Roxy out of the car.”

Rob and Kat smiled politely at each other, but didn’t say anything. Tracy removed Roxy and put her on the ground. The dog immediately went over to Linus and sniffed a paw. Linus looked down at the small dog with a worried expression and wagged his tail feebly.

Kat walked over to Roxy, picked her up, and stroked the silky fur on her head. “Hi Roxy. Yes, it’s me again. And yes, my mother is still here. You’re probably the only one who is happy about that.”

Tracy handed the leash to Kat and then went to remove the crate from the back of the car. “Thanks for taking her again on short notice. I’ll see you late Sunday afternoon.”

“We’ll be here. You can just leave the crate there.” Kat motioned toward the steps up to the house. “I’ll get Joel to bring it inside later.”

Tracy went around to the driver’s side and she and Rob got into the car. She looked at him. “Be glad you didn’t meet Kat’s mother. Kat is nice, but her mother is seriously unpleasant.”

Rob said, “Instead, I got to meet the cool dog. He was great. I’d love to have a big lovable dog like Linus, but I travel too much.”

Tracy put the key in the ignition and turned to him. “Hey, if we get this contract, you can become a homebody and get your dream canine. Lots of dogs need homes, you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tracy went through the starting and begging routine and successfully convinced The Turd to move. They bumped their way down the driveway back toward town. It was time to get to work.

Kat brought Roxy into the house and put her on the floor. “Okay Roxy, I know it’s part of your heritage, but don’t forget that we have the ‘no burrowing into the house’ rule.” Roxy wagged her tail, looking pleased that Kat had remembered her achievements.

Mary came up the stairs and looked down at Roxy. “Oh, the little dog is back.”

“Yes, Roxy is going to be here until Sunday afternoon. If you’d like to be her caretaker, that would be helpful, since I have to finish my article today and hand it in.”

“No, I can’t. I have things to do.”

Kat nodded. It had been worth a try. Her mother was on some type of mission and was not letting anyone in on what it was. Joel and Mary had moved into a largely silent detente. Kat just tried to stay out of the way. Her mother obviously was intent on finding something in this house, but she refused to say what it was. At this point, Kat was tired of asking. The good news was that Mary was a cleaning machine. The house was probably cleaner than it had been in thirty years. Maria wouldn’t be able to refer to it as Chez Stinky anymore.

After the weather had improved and he’d gotten his chain saw back, Joel spent most of his time out in the forest cutting firewood. At this rate, they’d probably end up with fifteen cords of wood. At dark, he returned to the house dirty and exhausted, so he took a shower and retired to his office. Presumably he ate at some point, but Kat didn’t know when. She had barely seen him in the last few days, except when he was asleep. It had been a long, lonely week.

Fortunately, before Joel had disappeared into the depths of the forest, he had moved Kat’s computer upstairs for her. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have had a prayer of finishing her article. All that was left was one more editing pass and she could hand it in.

She sat down at the table in front of her computer and looped Roxy’s leash under a chair leg. “Sorry, but you’re not going anywhere. And your favorite caretaker has ditched you for the time being.” Roxy wagged once and curled up at Kat’s feet, settling in for her morning nap. Kat finished her article and sent it off to the editor. She stood up and stretched. Roxy did the same and Kat looked down at the dachshund. “We have learned that you don’t like the long walks. I’m definitely not carrying you through the forest again. So you are getting your own special walk first.”

Kat picked up Roxy and took her out to the front yard. After about ten minutes of wandering, Roxy indicated she’d had enough of the great outdoors. They went back inside. Now it was time to muster everyone else for the big walkie.

Kat picked up Roxy and carried her down the stairs to the hallway where the other dogs were enjoying their morning naps. Mary was still attacking boxes in the room formerly known as Kat’s office.

Kat walked to the doorway, followed by a parade of yawning canines. Her mother was sitting on the floor, rummaging through boxes in the bottom of the closet. She clearly had not found the object of her massive quest yet, and she didn’t look pleased about it.

Kat put Roxy on the floor and knocked lightly on the door jamb. “I took Roxy out separately since she can’t handle the long walk, but the other dogs really need some exercise. All that bad weather made them a little squirrelly. We haven’t reached canine equilibrium yet.”

Mary sat back on her heels and wiped her hands on her apron. “I noticed.”

“Could you watch Roxy while I take everyone for a long walk? Maybe you could keep her in here again on the bed? That worked out okay before and she seemed happy.”

Mary sighed dramatically. “Fine. If you must do that, I’ll take care of her.”

“Okay, we’ll be back in a little while.” Maybe a long while.

Kat picked up Roxy and placed her on the bed. Having successfully handed off her charge, Kat got the other dogs ready for the walk amid great enthusiasm, cavorting, and expressions of canine joy. Maybe she’d go for a really extra-long walk. Everyone seemed enthusiastic about the idea of getting out of the house.

She opened the back door and Linus and Tessa charged out. Lori leaped around them, performing great feats of border-collie acrobatics. Kat and Chelsey followed along more sedately to the trail that went into the forest.

It was a crisp, sparkly fall day. The air was cool and the wind sighed through the trees. As her feet crunched through the twigs and brown fallen leaves, Kat smiled up at the brilliant blue sky. The article was off into the Internet ether and all was right with the world. Well, except for her mother still being there. A member of a flock of Canada geese flying overhead honked for emphasis.

Kat felt her muscles relax as she walked along the trail, absorbing all the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest. After so much rain, it was good to feel sun on her face again. When the weather finally decided to behave, it was often stunningly beautiful and Kat wanted to drink it all in.

She looked down at Chelsey, who was happily toddling along, her tail waving behind her. “Are we going to have a house guest forever?” Chelsey looked up with worried eyes. “I know. You’re right. This can’t continue. But you and I are the same as far as our deep dislike of confrontation. I hate starting something that’s going to make my mother angry, but I can’t have her rummaging through my house indefinitely. For one thing, I think Joel will move out. And none of us want that, do we?” Although Chelsey looked sympathetic, she didn’t seem to have any wisdom to impart. “Yeah, I know. It’s my fault this has gone on so long.” Chelsey’s ears cocked and she turned her head, looking ahead on the trail, where the dogs were now playing with Lady, who had emerged from an opening in the forest.

Joel came down the hillside, stopped on the trail next to the group of dogs, and put down his chain saw. “I see you all decided to go farther afield than usual.”

Kat scampered up to him with Chelsey leading the way. “Fancy meeting you here.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him hard. “It’s so good to see you. Even if you are coated in Kevlar.”

He returned the hug. “You see me every day.”

“Not lately. I just made a promise to Chelsey that I will talk to my mother today. Now I’m promising you too. I’ve been a wimp, avoiding what will undoubtedly turn into a huge, horrible fight. She obviously hasn’t found whatever mysterious thing she’s looking for. But it’s
our
house. She needs to go.”

Joel released her and looked down into her face. “Way to be forceful.”

“It all sounds good, but I haven’t done anything yet. I could still chicken out. I left Roxy with her.”

He removed the hard hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s a start. I guess our small yappy guest has returned?”

“Yes. Tracy was with some guy named Rob. I guess it’s the guy she’s working with. He’s kind of cute, in a way.”

“Oh really?”

“Well, not to-die-for handsome like Jan’s boyfriend. Or like you.”

He grinned. “Nice save.”

Kat waved toward the trail. “You and Lady seem to be on the high road home. Are you done?”

“No. But the chain saw ran out of gas and I forgot to bring the gas can with me this morning.”

Kat took his hand. “We’ll escort you home.”

“It’s always nice to have an entourage.”

Kat opened the back door to the house and the dogs rushed into the hallway in a great furry flurry, followed by Joel. Kat bent down to remove the harnesses from Linus and Tessa.

Mary ran out of the bedroom and up to Kat. “You have to do something! I can’t find the dachshund!”

Kat stood, glanced at Joel and looked back at her mother. “I thought you were going to make her another pillow fort.”

Mary frowned and waved in the general direction of the room. “I did and she was happy for a while, but you were gone so long. She started trying to break out. I thought she might hurt herself if she tried to jump off the bed. She was being so good, so I just put her on the floor, so she could walk around a little.”