A Scrappy Tale - First Love

     The Woman came into the dog-jail cell the following morning and took Dominic out to the front room not to be seen or heard. Curiously the other puppies heard her say to him on their way out in her human gibberish, “Someone wants to see you Dominic! You may get a new owner!”

     “Ace!” the puppy urged in a whisper. “Help me drag ‘dat water bowl beside Dominic’s bed.”

     “Whawt?!” he whispered back incredulously. “Whawt fwor? You gawtta deathwish?”

     “Naw, I know what I’m doin’. I just need a little help wit’ da setup.”

     “Delbert, come ovah heah and helpa us, willya?” Ace inquired. The three pups together dragged the large, almost empty water bowl into the ominous, dark corner of Dominic that none of them had ever ventured into since his arrival. It was another very hot June morning in The Bronx, New York. The bowl was one of two for all the pups. It was big enough for any one of them to sleep in as a bed if it were empty. Each of them could feel Leak watching them unseen in the darkness. They hustled back to their bed hoping the Woman wouldn’t return before they reached safety.

     “Whawt was da pwoint of ‘dat?” Ace asked the puppy. “You know Leak izza gwunna tattle awn us, don’t ya?”

     “Yeah, I know. If anybody asks we just say we’re offering peace to Dominic by letting him have that as his own water bowl, you guys got ‘dat?” They all reluctantly nodded. “Somethin’s gonna happen to ‘dat goon real soon, capice?”

     “Whawtta you tawlikin’ about?” Ace asked very suspiciously.

     “Ace, you gonna find out soon enough. Trust me. Da less you know, da safer you are.”

     An air of discomfort stirred among the puppies but they all felt something genuine about the chihuahua’s word and finally relaxed with a nervous faith. “Don’t fworget about da plan we tawlked about da othah nwight, huh? We gawtta figure out a way ta keepa him awn da othah swide.”

     “I’m workin’ on ‘dat, Ace. I’m really scrappin’ my brain for ideas.”

     The Woman brought Dominic past the cell on the way out to the play yard. She returned to let them all go outside for recreation period. The puppy decided to lie down in an inconspicuous corner of the yard. Daizey and her friends came running and yapping from inside the girls’ cellblock. She saw him and walked near him asking, “Hi, do you mwind if I lie down in frunna you?”

     “That would be nice,” the puppy replied.

     “Why awre you ovah heah bwy yaself?” she queried as she plopped down in front of him.

     “Scrappin’ my brain.”

     “Fwor whawt?”

     “I’ll tell ya if ya promise not to say anything to anyone. And I mean no one.”

     “’Dat bad, huh? You c’n trust me. I prawmise.”

     “Ways to get even.”

     “You mean… ?” She turned and looked at Dominic who was exercising on the obstacle course.

     “I mean,” he answered.

     She stood and and walked over to him. “You need an ownah. You need someone to adawpta ya, nawt stuck inna heah wit’ ‘dat mawnstah. Nobawdy’s gwunna wawnt him. But you… you’re special. You’re cute. You’re kind. You’re a dream puppy! You treat ya friends right,” she encouraged him as she began to lick the inside of his ears.

     Great, he thought. This was just great. Now he was distracted. He felt so special because of her words and cleaning his ears. He was suddenly captivated by her. He was falling in love but he didn’t want to. Yet he couldn’t help it. He had something important to do. He was too busy to fall in love. But she was treating him so special!

     The Woman gathered up all the puppies and led them back to their cells. After a few minutes Dominic got right in the face of the puppy in the gang’s own bed and snapped, “What’sa da big idea puttin’ ‘dat wawta bowl bwy mwy bed?! How dare you invade mwy territory!! I oughta take-a you out right now! Awllaya!” The puppy gagged from the effects of the little white smoke stick hanging out of Dominic's mouth. He'd smelled it before as the Doberman usually smoked them in his corner but this was the first time he'd ever smoked one in plain view.

     “Why do you think it was us?” the puppy asked nervously, struggling to sound brave.

     “I gawt ma ways. Explain!”

     “I thought we’d just do sump’n’ nice for ya. I thought we’d share water bowls and that one could be all yours. No one else’s but yours.”

     Dominic glared angrily at him for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he said in a very low growl, “I’ll accept. But I’m nawt ya friend. I don’t need you. You’re a Chihuahua… a stoopid, ignorant, dumb, lame-brained, waste-of-fur, retawrded Chihuahua!” And with every centigram of energy in his being Dominic said, “ROAF!” blasting cigarette smoke right in the puppy’s face and trudged back to his dark corner of the dog-jail cell.

     The puppy yapped at him, "I see you're still here. I guess you weren't wanted. Again!" He couldn't see Dominic in the darkness of his corner, but he knew the bully stopped walking and looked back at him very angrily. Then the puppy lied down for a nap. He felt another inspiration to return the evils Dominic had been dishing out. That burning cigarette suddenly put a hitch in one of his plans. If the newspaper told the truth then how was he lighting them without freaking out? But he couldn’t focus. He kept picturing Daizey and her pleasant, warming face, and her voice in his mind, and her words giving him hope. He wanted out of this hell hole badly. And he expected that would happen very soon. But, doggonnit! Right now he was stuck on Daizey.

…to be continued…