Opposite But Identical

Chapter 10: Velma the Dog

"I'm going for a walk," Mike announced after Richie had beat him at Super Mario Bros. for the third time.

"I'll go with you, Mikey!" Richie said, pulling on his converse. Mike sighed. The whole point of the walk was to get away from Richie, but it was the last day of summer, and they only had one class together this year.

"Okay," Mike said reluctantly.

It was a beautiful day out. The sun was bright, and there was a slight breeze that rustled through the trees of Hawkins, Indiana. "So, how is everything with Mom?" Mike asked.

Richie shrugged. "Fine, I guess. It's been a little awkward since I came out. I think she wants to talk to me about it, but she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"Sounds like Mom. She makes a big deal out of everything. Remember before the Snow Ball, when she took like five hundred pictures of me?"

"Yeah, I remember," Richie laughed, "Why do you think I didn't go?"

Suddenly, a dog bolted around the corner and down the sidewalk, a dog catcher following. It was a small, black and white chihuahua puppy. The dog stopped at Richie's feet, begging him to pick it up. Of course, Richie did.

"Is this your dog?" The dog catcher asked.

"Uhhhhh..." Richie looked at Mike, who shook his head no, giving him don't-you-dare eyes. The dog didn't have a collar, and was extremely skinny.

Going against his better judgement, Richie responded, "Yes. Yes it is."

Sighing, the dog catcher responded, "Next time, on a leash. With a license."

Richie nodded as he walked away.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Mike yelled as soon as the dog catcher was out of earshot, "Little Orphan Annie? You can't just go around adopting stray dogs! It probably has fleas, and ticks, and- ugh! Richie, what were you thinking?"

"C'mon, Mike," The dog started licking Richie's face, "It's giving me kisses!"

"What it's 'giving you' is worms," Mike retorted. "We can't keep it."

"Tell you what. We take it home, wash it, feed it, let it go. Please, Mike," Richie and the dog gave Mike puppy dog eyes.

Mike groaned. "Fine. But we're not keeping it. And Mom can't find out."

Richie grinned and held the dog close to him. "I'm gonna name you Velma," he said as he booped the dog on the nose.

Mike gave him an incredulous look. "You can't name it! You're getting attached already! And besides, how do you even know it's a girl?"

"Ah, good point." Richie lifted the dog up above his head, "It's a girl," he confirmed.

"Oh my god." Mike rubbed his temples. This was really how he was going to spend his last day of summer.

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"Hey, boys!" Mrs. Wheeler said as soon as they came in, "How was you walk?"

"Good," Richie responded shortly, holding the tiny dog under his shirt. He ran upstairs quickly to give her a bath. "I'm taking a shower!" He yelled awkwardly. Velma then sniffed his stomach, causing him to laugh out loud. He was kind of ticklish.

"Um, okay?" Mrs. Wheeler responded. He's a strange boy, she thought.

Richie sprayed Velma with water, then put some of Holly's baby shampoo on her. Once he rinsed her off, she shook and sprayed water all over his face, fogging up his glasses. "Ahhh!" He yelled, then groaned and whispered, "Velma!"

"What's going on up there?" Mrs. Wheeler asked. Richie could hear her steps coming up the stairs.

Shit.

He opened the door just enough to slide out, then said, "Hey, Mom!" awkwardly.

She rubbed her forehead and said, "Look, Richie, I know this is a very confusing time for you. It's confusing for me, too. And I know it's none of my business what you were doing in there, but if you ever need to talk to anyone about...you know..."

Richie quickly caught on to what his mom was talking about. "Oh my god, Mom, no, I wasn't doing anything like that in there... I, uh... turned on the water... and it was really hot. Like, almost-burn-your-skin hot. That's all." His face turned bright red.

"Oh, okay," Karen looked more embarrased than Richie had ever seen her. "It's just, since you came out... I feel like you don't want to talk to me about stuff anymore. I just want you to know I'm always here to talk."

"I know, Mom. I love you." He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Then Velma whined from inside the bathroom. "Is that a dog-?" Karen asked, opening the door slightly.

Richie slammed it shut. "Nope. It's not. It's the... the shower head!" he lied. "Yeah, the shower head. It's been making that noise lately."

His mother knitted her eyebrows together. "Huh. I'll have your father look at it when he gets home," she laughed, "And I thought it was a dog!"

Richie joined in, laughing robotically. "You're so silly, mother, dear!" He said in a British accent, ducking back into the bathroom. Once he heard his mother's footsteps go back down the stairs, he sighed and sat next to the tub.

"You're a lot of work, you know that?" He said to Velma sarcastically.

Mike ran into the bathroom. "Everything okay? Did Mom find Velma?"

Richie pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Nope. She did think I was doing something dirty in here though."

"Ewww."

"Yeah. Just imagine being in my position."

"I'd rather not."

They snuck Velma into Richie's room and gave her some dog food that Mike went to pick up from the store. She finished it really quickly.

"Jesus, she finished that in like, ten seconds!" Richie said, impressed.

"Yeah, she eats like a pig. Reminds me of someone else I know," Mike said, glaring at Richie.

"Wow. Screw you, too, Mike," Richie grinned.

Suddenly, the door burst open. "What the hell is that? Are you using my hairbrush to brush it?" Nancy yelled.

"You should be at college right now! What are you doing here?" Richie asked.

"I came home to get my hairbrush that you're using on a dog!"

Then, Mrs. Wheeler walked in. Richie picked up Velma and muttered, "Oh, no..."

"There was a dog!" Mrs. Wheeler yelled. "I knew it!"

"Her name is Velma, and I'm emotionally attached." Richie said.

"Jesus Christ," Karen rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"

"Very seriously."

"We'll talk about this when your father gets home."

Richie grinned. "So that's a maybe to keeping her?"

Mrs. Wheeler ignored him.

Long story short, Holly ended up meeting Velma and, surprise, surprise, became even more emotionally attatched than Richie. That day, Velma became a part of the Wheeler family.