Lady and the Tramp

chapter 5

After the zoo scam, Tramp walked with Cherry and Lady down the street as it was getting dark. They were getting deeper into the suburbs. As the group walked, Lady was telling Tramp about why and how the muzzle fiasco happened since Tramp had a hard time believing people like Lady's owners would do such a thing to her. Lady was talking about Aunt Sarah though.

"But, when she put that horrible muzzle on me..." Lady was about to finish, but she looked like she had seen enough.

"Say no more," Tramp said cooly. "I get the whole picture. Aunts, cats, muzzles. Well, that's what comes of tying yourself down to one family."

"Haven't you a family?" Lady asked.

"One for everyday of the week," Tramp replied. "The point is, none of them have me."

Lady and Cherry paused. They both looked at each other, sharing the same exchange of confusion and looked back at Tramp.

"I'm afraid we don't understand." Lady said after a long-awaited silence.

"It's simple, you see-" Tramp stopped once he got a whiff of something. He sniffed deeply around him. "Something tells me it's suppertime."

Cherry's stomach weakly growled. She held it and had to agree with the street smart mutt on this one.

"You hungry too? I imagine so," Tramp led the girls to an area with several different kinds of foreign food restaurants. One of which, being a house. "Come on, I'll show you what I mean. Now take the Schultzes here. Little Fritzie, that's me, Pidge, makes this Monday home."

"Monday home?" Lady asked.

"Ah, ja!" Tramp replied with a German accent. "Monday is Mama Schultz cooking Wiener schnitzel! Mmm-mmm delicious!"

"That sounds disgusting." Cherry cringed slightly at that food name.

"Now, the O'Briens here is where Little Mike," Tramp continued, now with an Irish accent. "Sure, that's me-again, comes of a Tuesday."

"Of a Tuesday?" Lady asked.

"Begorra and that's when they're havin' that darlin' corn beef," Tramp then spoke normally to Lady. "You see, Pidge, when you're footloose and collar free you take nothing but the best-" Tramp then heard an accordion play in the background.

"Is there a Weird Al concert in town?" Cherry asked, laughing at her inside joke, then grew quiet as the dogs stared blankly at her.

"Hey, Tony's!" Tramp led the girls to an Italian restaurant. "The very special place for a very special occasion."

"Come on, I'm hungry." Cherry whispered to Lady, then went to the front door with the cocker spaniel.

Tramp stood in front of them to keep them from going any further. "No Pidge, this way," Tramp gestured to the alley to get the girls to follow him back there. "I have my own private entrance."

Cherry and Lady followed to the alley with a backdoor. Cherry felt her stomach growl inside her body through the palms of her hands outside as the smells of Italian foods filled in her brain. The irresistable pasta, the zesty tomato sauce, the gooey, creamy cheese. All she wanted to do was get some food, sit, eat, and relax a while. A very, very long while. Tramp scratched the door to get attention and whimpered a bit.

"Just wait one minute, I'ma comin'," an Italian accent was heard from the other side. There came an Italian man, looking to see who was there, but saw no one there, feeling peeved. "What's a matter? Somebody's makin' an April Fool with-"

Tramp barked to make his existence acknowledged.

The man looked down and smiled at Tramp like the mutt was his own pet like Tramp had said with the other people. "Oh, hello Butch!" the man praised.