I hear a bell. I yip and yelp and the man comes running. "It's okay, Charlie!" I jump off the couch and race for the door. The man stands back and suddenly there are two humans. Its legs are bare. All skin, just like humans are. It's female. A woman. She smiles when she sees me. She has a harder time kneeling on the floor to pet me than the men do. I sniff her hand and lick it. My tail wags. I snort and her hand gets wet. She pets my back and scratches my ears. Her nails are longer than the man's and her scratches feel great.
"Hey there, silly puppy!"
"This is Charlie. He doesn't bite."
"Of course you don't!" Her voice is high and doting. Her fur is long and curly. It's yellow and shiny. I've never seen yellow fur before. It smells like bubbles and fancy spray. The man reeks of it too. "What a cute little boy!"
"You uh...want somethin' to drink?" The woman stands and they leave me. I follow them. I hear more cracking and fizzing and they drink. I'm not thirsty. I'm curious. I hear clinking and swallowing. I hear chairs scraping and laughter. I sit on the floor and listen. I crawl under the table and sniff the woman's feet. They clack against the floor. The bottoms are pointy. I stay away from then when they move.
"You know what kind of dog he is?"
"Smooth fox. He was brought into a shelter after the breeders couldn't sell him."
I sit on the floor and lift my leg. I lick myself. Mum used to lick me.
The humans talk and talk. Sometimes it sounds like they're talking to me. They look at me when they speak anyway. Their voices get higher. I stand on my hind legs for them and they laugh. I love it when my human laughs. I'm happy to make the other one smile too.
I hang around while they eat. The smells are too tempting. They're clean but they may just drop something for me. I drool all over the floor. I make a puddle of drool. Neither of them notice. They clink and they talk and they drink and they chew. I lick my chops. Why won't they drop anything? The man's other friends drop plenty for me!
**********
The man stands by the door where we sleep. "Sorry, buddy, ya' gotta stay out here for now." He closes the door and I'm outside. I sit there and wait for him to come out. He doesn't come out. The woman is in there too and neither come out. I wait and wait. I finally scratch at the door. I whine. I scratch and whine. Nobody comes out. The door stays closed. I lay down and rest my head on my paws and sigh.
Maybe my human will never come out. Maybe he doesn't want me anymore. I always sleep in there with him. He plays music and we sleep. I keep him warm and he keeps me safe. He pets me and I lick his face and wag my tail. I wake him up every morning. Everything is changing!
The food rots in my bowl. I'm not hungry. I close my eyes and try to sleep.
**********
"Mornin', Charlie."
I open my eyes and see my human standing next to me. He steps around me and walks through the house. I leap up and trot after him, limping and wagging. He smells like sweat and different kinds of fancy spray and food and drink. His fur is messy and hangs in all different directions. His eyes are missing the light I'm used to. His voice is scratchy.
I follow him and watch his every move. He pours the bitter dark liquid and my nose twitches. He pours a second cup and yawns. I smell his breath. I want to lick his face but he won't kneel. Standing on my hind legs and I'm still not tall enough to reach him.
"Come on, then." I follow him to the bed and he doesn't close the door on me. I jump on the bed and land on something hard and bony.
"Ow! Oh, hello, Charlie." I stand there watching the woman. Her yellow fur is also messy but not as bad. I see coverings all over the floor. My human wears new coverings. The woman stays bare. She must be freezing. The man hands some bitter drink to the woman and she drinks. I sit there and watch them. They both reek. I'm enchanted by the smell.
"He was waitin' by the door all night."
"Poor little guy!" Her voice is higher again. I climb across the bed and sit on my human's legs. He pets me and drinks. It smells bitter and warm. I wag my tail as the man pets. He hasn't forgotten me! He still wants me! He let me in! He loves me and I love him! "When do you guys go on tour again?"
"Mm, next month. Can you make it?"
"I'm sorry, I've got work. Maybe I'll drop in a couple of times."
I fall asleep to my human's pets.
