“Kids, this is our new house,” David Evans declared proudly as their car pulled up in front a large two story Victorian style home. “This is it,” David said to no one in particular as he gazed up at the house.
His twelve year old twins hopped out of the vehicle, with their miniature schnauzer following close behind. His fair haired wife, Lora Evans, exited the car last while calling out to the kids to be careful.
“It’s so big,” Riley said, his ocean blue eyes widening as he looked up at the house. He climbed up the stairs quickly to the verandah and peered to the back of the house. “The back yard is huge, Kiley!”
“Our old house didn’t even have a yard,” Kiley agreed as she came up behind him to look at the yard herself. She turned to the schnauzer and got down on one knee to its level. “Bruno also likes it. Don’t you boy?” The dog whimpered softly as it lowered its head. “That’s odd.”
“Maybe he needs to go play in the yard before he likes it,” Riley suggested.
“You guys can play later, we have lots of unpacking to do,” Lora said, interrupting Kiley before she had a chance to vouch her opinion.
“We’ll do it later,” the twins said in unison, as they looked at their mother with matching, pleading eyes.
“Your school starts in a week and I want everything settled before that. Now go get some boxes out of the car because the rest will be here in the next thirty minutes.”
“Yes mom,” both kids said together.
“Come on Bruno, let’s get inside,” David said as he opened the front door, fully expecting Bruno to run in before he could even set foot inside. He scrunched his eyebrows as the black, furry dog sat to the side of the door, ears drooping, as it whimpered softly. “What’s the matter with you?”
“What happened, David?” Lora stood next to David trying to balance the two boxes in her arms.
“Bruno won’t go in.”
“Let me try, dad,” Kiley offered, maneuvering between her parents to get inside the house. “Come on, Bruno. Come here boy!” Bruno simply went to lie down on its tummy as it watched Kiley with what could only be a sad expression. Kiley reached into the pocket of her jeans for a tiny bag of treats which she liked to keep close. “Come, Bruno.” She held out the treat but Bruno didn’t move a centimeter.
“Now that is weird. Bruno, the bottomless pit, is refusing a treat.” Riley laughed to himself as he carried a large box past his parents.
“Just pick him up and bring him inside!” Lora said with an exasperated sigh as she let herself in.
Kiley offered to carry him in, to which Bruno protested greatly by whining loudly and squirming in her arms.
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“Why won’t that dog stop barking?” Lora asked for the fifth time that night. She rubbed small circles into her eyebrows to ease her frustration. “I don’t know what has gotten into it. This afternoon, it broke most of my chinaware. I asked the twins what happened and they started swearing up and down that there was an earthquake!”
Mr. Evans chuckled lightly. “He’s probably just scared of the new house and needs time to adjust. We can’t do much about him; the kids adore him.” He threw the covers off of him and turned on the bedside lamp. I’ll go check on them,” David assured and left the room, following the sound of Bruno’s barking to the living room.
“Bruno has been acting weird ever since we entered the house,” Riley complained, upon noticing his father’s entrance.
“Let’s just put him in the yard for tonight,” David suggested after a moment of thought. He lifted the dog with ease to bring him to the back yard.
