Elijah

Chapter 2:

We drove for what felt like hours. The car was a bit noisy, but the motion was calming. I kept hearing these little voices but no one was talking. Apparently it was from something called a radio. Emily loved music. She would always have her dad turn on the radio during every car ride. Emily took me out of my crate and placed me on her lap. She had a big brown fuzzy blanket laid across her legs. It was soft and warm. It reminded me of my mom. It smelled very sweet. Kind of like the tulips we had in front of the barn. I remembered smelling them every morning when I woke up. Emily began to rub my back. She had such a gentle touch.

I must've fallen asleep because next thing I knew, we were pulling down this long driveway. Each side was lined with these big tall trees. The rays of the sun were twinkling between each leaf. My eyes kept squinting from the light. The car stopped and Emily's parents got out. Her mom came to her door and opened it. Her dad went to the back. I hadn't even noticed all the bags sitting back there. They were filled with so much stuff. He noticed me looking, my little noise twitching as I was sniffing to see what it all was. "Everything you see is yours Elijah." All that stuff was for me? There was enough for me plus my siblings back there. I wasn't sure what it all was but then John reached into one of the bags. It was shaped like something I had seen on the Brookes tv once. I think it was called a "shark". He squeezed it and it made a loud high pitched sound. I tilted my head to the left. He squeezed it again and I tilted my head to the right. "Look mom! He's tilting his little head!" That made Emily laugh. I liked her laugh. It was soft yet full of so much joy.

Emily carried me out of the car. Though it was smaller than the house I was from but it was still very nice. It was wooden. It had a big wrap around porch with a screen so the bugs couldn't get in. A stone walkway lined with little lanterns, and two flower beds on either side of the front steps. After we walked inside, Emily put me down on the floor. I walked around slowly, sniffing every inch of each room. It was only one floor and a loft with carpeted stairs leading up to it. That was where Emily slept. I wasn't quite sure how to use the stairs yet. My legs were still a little too small for all that climbing. I stood at the bottom step looking up. I could see sunshine coming through the roof. "One day you'll sleep up there with me. When you're a bit bigger." I liked the idea of being close to Emily all the time. She carried me into the living room with her. We sat on the couch together. She wrapped us up in that same fuzzy blanket. She grabbed the remote off the little wooden table in front of the couch and turned on the tv. Hotel for dogs was her favourite movie. We sat there watching it until my nose started to twitch again. I could smell what her mom was cooking in the kitchen. I smelt beef. That was one of my favourites. "Foods ready everybody! Elijah, I made a special little meal just for you." Amelia came over and picked me up off Emily's lap. Next to the dining room table was a pad with two bowls. I sniffed the side that said "Food." It was two chunks of steak with my puppy chow underneath. I threw my little head into the bowl and started to eat. I was hungry from the long car ride.

Me and Emily went back to watching tv. She had eventually passed out on the couch. Her dad carried her up into bed. I followed right behind. "I'm sorry bud but you can't go up there yet." He came back down the stairs, but I couldn't see Emily anywhere. I started to cry a bit. John picked me up and placed me on a round bed in the living room. It had another white cage around it. He went and sat down on the couch and turned the tv on. I kept crying for a while. "Damnit, come here little one." He picked me up and put me against his chest. I could hear his heart beating. He was warm, and kept scratching behind my ear gently. Eventually I drifted off to sleep. I woke up the next morning in my bed, but John was still on the couch. I guess he wanted to make sure I didn't wake up and start crying again and he ending up passing out. Emily came to the living room. "Good morning Elijah." She came over and gave me a pat on the head. John woke up to the sound of her voice. I hadn't noticed her mom was in the kitchen making breakfast. Everyone sat down at the table. "You're forgetting someone dad." John came over and took me out of the cage. We all eat breakfast together and I even got a piece of bacon. I'm going to definitely love it here.