A Coyote's in the House Part 3

The dad, behind his newspaper said, "What?" and kept reading. The mom, her back to the yard, sipped her juice.

"Stay here," Buddy said to Antwan, "while I go see Courtney. I look around, you come with your head low, like you're telling them they're the boss, you're just a dog."

Cody kept staring at Antwan, squinting his eyes. He said to Courtney, "You ever see that dog before?"

"It's not a dog," Courtney said, "it's a coyote," but didn't know what to do about it. Now Buddy came over to her and began touching her with his nose and licking her hand.

Now he looked up at her little girl face with soul in his eyes. As soon as she started petting him he motioned for Antwan to get over here. He came with the dog collar and Buddy said, "Drop it in front of her. Okay, now you think you can take Courtney's hand in your mouth and put it on the collar?"

"In my mouth?" "Without chewing on it?" Antwan said, "Man, I don't know." "Forget it," Buddy said. "What we have to do is show the child you're a nice doggy." He began nuzzling Antwan- Antwan making a face-and licking him, and now Buddy was making a face. Pretty soon Courtney was reaching out to Antwan.

Her hand touched his shoulder, Antwan's tail shot out, and Buddy said, "Listen to me, wild man," growling the words, "you're a little doggy that wants to be petted. When you look up at her, soften your eyes." Watching him Buddy said, "Yeah, that's good. Now wag your tail."

Antwan said, "Should I lick her?" "Let her make the first move." "I never licked a human before." Cody stood with his toes curled over the edge of the div ing board. He said, "That's no coyote." "It is too," Courtney said. "If it was a real one he'd be eating you by now." Antwan said to Buddy, "Now should I lick her?" "Yeah, then pick up the collar and give it to her."

"What if she won't take it?" "She will, she saw the movie where I do it. Courtney likes to be handed things." "I could get the child a rabbit, even one's not dead." Antwan, he handed Courtney the collar. She took it and sat down in the gra.s.s and then spent some time to buckle it, Buddy saying, "The little girl in the movie was a lot quicker."

Cody, still on the diving board, turned to the patio and yelled, "Dad! Look at Courtney!"

The note of urgency in Cody's voice got the dad to knock over his coffee as he brought the newspaper down, quick, and looked out at the yard. He saw his two children and his two . . . No, there were two dogs, but one of them wasn't his.

"Cody, where'd he come from?" "I don't know. Buddy brought him." "It's the coyote," Courtney said, "that was in the house." Cody said, "She thinks it's a coyote." The mom turned her chair sideways to have a look as the dad stepped out to the edge of the patio. He said, "What's Courtney doing?" "Fixing his collar." "A dog collar?" "It must've come off," Cody said. The mom sipped her juice and said, "Why don't you see if there's a license?" The dad started across the lawn waving his arm at Courtney. "Step away from him, sweetheart. There's no telling where he's been. He could have rabies."

Buddy said to Antwan, "Walk toward the dad wagging your tail. When he says 'Stay,' stop and raise your head. He wants to look at the tag on the collar. Then you come back this way and I bet he calls you by name."

Antwan said, like he was serious, "He's gonna call me Antwan?"

Buddy didn't think it was funny. He said, "You want this to work or not?"

The mom got up and came out on the lawn with her juice. She said to the dad, "I think they're talking to each other." The dad didn't seem to hear her. "They give each other little woofs and snarls," the mom said, "and nod their heads."

Antwan turned from Courtney and walked toward the dad until the dad said, "Stay," and Antwan stopped in his tracks. Then added something of his own to the act. He raised one paw, stuck his tail out and leaned forward pointing his nose, the way he'd seen hunting dogs do it at the park.

The dad looked back at the mom, then hunched down to find the tag on the collar, ready to jump away if he heard a growl. He rose saying, "There's no license, and the I.D. looks like it's been chewed. I can't read the address, only his name."

"Well, what is it?" the mom said.

The dad held a hand up for her to be quiet. He waited as Antwan walked away, got almost as far as Buddy and Court ney before he said, "Timmy?"

Antwan stopped and looked around.

"Sit," the dad said.

Antwan didn't move, not till he heard Buddy, behind him, woof, "Sit down."

Antwan sat. And the dad announced to the family, "Timmy's a dog."

[image]hat they did now was try to decide what kind of was try to decide what kind of dog Timmy was.

"What's the big deal," Cody said, "he's a skinny German shepherd."

The mom said, "I think Cody's right."

"He definitely has some shepherd in him," the dad said. "I would guess there's also a spaniel in his lineage, a pointer, possibly a setter." He said in a thoughtful kind of way, "You know what? Maybe even some basenji."

The mom said, "You know what a basenji looks like?"

"I know they never bark," the dad said. "Have you heard Timmy bark? I haven't."

Buddy, lying in the gra.s.s with Antwan, said, "They're talking about you. You hear them say 'Timmy,' c.o.c.k your pointy ears and look up."

Cody said, "I think he's a junkyard dog."

"Whatever he is," the mom said, "what do we do with him?"

Courtney said, "I don't care what he is," and came over and got down next to Antwan and put her arms around his neck, tight, like she would never let go.

Antwan squirmed and Buddy said to him, "Easy, boy." "What's she doing?" "Letting the mom and dad know she loves you," Buddy said. "Telling them if you don't get to stay here it will break her heart. She'll cry and carry on, won't eat, won't do what she's told, until the mom and dad say to her, 'All right, but he's your dog, you'll have to take care of him.' "

Antwan said, "Her hugging me says all that?"

"It means you have a home," Buddy said. He paused now to look at the family on the patio having their breakfast and then at Antwan again.

Something on his mind. Antwan could tell. "What's wrong?" Buddy said, "You know what it means they say a dog is housebroken?" Antwan said, "No, what?" Buddy said, "Uh-oh."

FIVE.

[image]ll day long Buddy kept asking Antwan if Buddy kept asking Antwan ifAhe had to pee, and Antwan would say, "No-quit bothering me."

"When you do, be sure you go in the backyard." "But that's your ground out there, you marked it." "You can mark over my mark, it's okay. Just don't go in the house."

"Why would I? I don't go in my den."

After that Buddy quit asking him.

Antwan complained about the dry dog food. "There's no taste to it."

"It's good for you," Miss Betty said, like that would make it taste better.

[image]

"Why don't they let us eat the garbage," Antwan said. "Then the maid won't have to take it outside."

Miss Betty said, "Yuck," making a face, like eating garbage was the worst thing she ever heard of.

Antwan said, "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. You too used to food comes out of a bag. That's what I'd call being housebroken, not the other thing, peeing on the carpet. You been in the house so long you've lost your taste for regular food."

What Antwan had the most trouble with was knocking over things. b.u.mp a table and the vase sitting there would fall on the floor and break. Hear a sudden noise, a radio turned on, his tail shot out, hit a bowl of flowers and got water all over the carpet. Anything he did like that, Buddy would give him a lecture on being careful.

It didn't make sense to Antwan. What you had to be careful of were live things, not vases and bowls. See you don't step on snakes or get skunks looking ugly at you.

He had trouble catching on to human speech, what the words meant when he was told not to do something. It would surprise him that they'd act mad and he'd think, What-what'd I do? "You keep hearing them talk," Miss Betty said, "you'll start to pick it up. Listen to the tone of voice and how they move their bodies. But don't let on you know everything they're saying."

"Just obey the easy commands," Buddy said, "and that'll make them happy."

"I haven't been told yet to roll over," Antwan said and looked at Miss Betty. "I'll roll over for you if you'll check me for fleas."

Trying to be funny-but dogs didn't always understand coyote humor.

Miss Betty said, "I have a lady who grooms me," still snooty but starting to come around, interested in helping him become a dog.

"I get good at obeying," Antwan said, "I'll enter the dog show with you, the beauty contest."

Miss Betty stuck her black nose in the air saying, "You have to be purebred."

"I'm pure lean and mean coyote," Antwan said. "When you're ready for a run in the woods, lemme know."

She never said she would, but Antwan was pretty sure now she was thinking about it.

The kids played with him the first few days. Courtney would hug him and the next thing they'd be wrestling in the gra.s.s, the child not realizing Antwan could clamp his jaws around her throat and drag her into the shrubs. Antwan had to keep telling himself to act like her little doggy.

Buddy said, "They'll get tired of you and start playing tricks," and told Antwan what to look out for.

So one time when he was in the kitchen with Courtney and she said, "Stay," and walked away, Antwan did too as soon as she was gone. He watched out for her then, made sure he knew where she was. He went outside twice that morning to leave his mark. And when he saw her heading for the kitchen, Antwan got there first and put himself in his "Stay" position. Courtney came in and yelled to her mom, "Mom, Timmy never goes to the bathroom!"

Outside with Cody-this happened a couple of times- Cody throws the ball in the pool and says, "Fetch."

Antwan doesn't move. He says, "I got your 'fetch.' You want the ball, kid, go get it yourself."

And Cody yells to his mom, "Mom, Timmy's growling at me!"

The mom said, "Growl back at him."

One time Cody pushed him in the swimming pool while he was getting a drink of water, Buddy sitting there watching. He said to Antwan later, "You don't drink out of the pool, it's full of chemicals."

"It's easier than lifting the lid on that bowl," Antwan said, "and then raising the seat with the big hole in it."

"You dummy," Buddy said, "that's where humans go to the bathroom. You don't drink out of that, either." He showed Antwan a dish in the kitchen the maid always kept full of water, and said, "That's your water."

Buddy was helpful, but less friendly and patient as the days went by, starting to call Antwan a dummy and a numbskull when he was slow catching on to a dog's way of living-most of the things not making sense to him. Antwan was getting all the attention now-from the kids, from Miss Betty, even the maid-and he wondered if maybe Buddy was jealous. The former movie star was spending more time by himself, lying on the floor in the family room watching Buddy to the Rescue Buddy to the Rescue and the other ones over and over. and the other ones over and over.

Antwan liked the maid. She spoke a different way than the family, using words he and the Howling Diablos would sometimes hear when they went down to the streets at night and checked out the trash behind grocery stores and restaurants. Antwan would see the maid wrapping table sc.r.a.ps to take out. He'd lick his lips and give her that soft look he'd learned if you wanted to be petted or get a treat, and she'd put the sc.r.a.ps in his dish that had Timmy Timmy on it. She looked at him and said things like she knew it wasn't his name. Antwan offered his table sc.r.a.ps to Buddy one time and Buddy said, "I don't eat garbage." on it. She looked at him and said things like she knew it wasn't his name. Antwan offered his table sc.r.a.ps to Buddy one time and Buddy said, "I don't eat garbage."

"Then you'll never make it as a coyote," Antwan said. "We love garbage, movie stars' the best."

He told Miss Betty about the change in Buddy, how he was keeping to himself and watching his old movies. Miss Betty said, "I know," and Antwan could tell she felt sorry for the old German dog. "As they say in s...o...b..z, he's over the hill," Miss Betty said. "His name doesn't sell tickets anymore."

"Like coyotes that get too old to hunt," Antwan said, "and just lie around."

"If he could act in movies again," Miss Betty said, "he'd be a happy dog. You know, know, he only wants to be a coyote because he's bored. And he's bored because he's not acting." he only wants to be a coyote because he's bored. And he's bored because he's not acting."

Wait now-that didn't make sense to Antwan.

"You think pretending to be somebody else is better than being who you are?"

"What you do do becomes your life," Miss Betty said, "and that's who you are." He caught a glimpse of her snooty look again, like she knew everything, the showgirl saying now, "That's what you're doing, isn't it?" becomes your life," Miss Betty said, "and that's who you are." He caught a glimpse of her snooty look again, like she knew everything, the showgirl saying now, "That's what you're doing, isn't it?"

"Only to help Buddy get out of the house," Antwan said. "There's no way I want to become a dog, live trapped like this? I'd bite off a paw to get out."

"You could've fooled me," Miss Betty said.

[image]he day the groomer arrived in her Pooch Caboose and parked in the driveway, there was even more of a change in Betty. arrived in her Pooch Caboose and parked in the driveway, there was even more of a change in Betty.

Buddy went in first. He came out in thirty minutes looking the same. Betty went in. She came out in an hour looking pretty much the same, but smelling like the mom when the mom got dressed up to go out. It hid her real smell.

"Ready?" Buddy said to Antwan. "It's your turn."

No, he wasn't ready. He'd never had a bath in his life, or even knew what a bath was. He went in the Pooch Caboose a coyote and came out forty minutes later feeling like, not quite a b.i.t.c.h, but a girlish dog.

"It's amazing," Betty said, with a look on her face Antwan had never seen before. "You look different, not quite, you know, so wild. Mmmmm and you smell"-she began to grin-"good enough to eat."

It got Antwan thinking that the Pooch Caboose wasn't a bad deal. He thought the groomer in there was going to drown him, but her hands felt good rubbing him, and he got used to the scissors sniffing at him from nose to tail. He said, "You don't think I look funny?" "Check it out," Miss Betty said, now and then sounding like him.

They went inside the house to a full-length mirror and Antwan looked at himself, Miss Betty watching. He saw a coyote in the mirror that looked close enough to be taken for any coyote he'd ever seen.

He said to her, "What looks different about me?" She said, "You were shampooed, combed out, trimmed, scented, your Timmy collar shined-" "It didn't turn me into a dog." "I said you don't look as wild, that's all." "But what's different?" "I just told you." "I can see I'm still a coyote. How have I changed?" "Maybe it's just something I feel," Miss Betty said, "that we've become more alike." "Uh-unh," Antwan said, "we can't be more different.

Girl, you're tame and I'm wild, I run in the woods." She said, "Have you ever thought of eating me?" He said, "No. Well, maybe for one second." "You said you wanted to." "I know, but I was just being friendly. I'd never been close to a showgirl before." "Let me tell you something," Miss Betty said. "Before any of us were show showgirls-as you call us, thinking you're cool-and you look back at our ancestry-"

"I bet way back."

"What I'm trying to say is, my breed started out born retrievers. It's in our blood."

"Dressed like that, with the pom-poms?"

He couldn't get her to smile.

She said, "I'm doing something else now, shows, and it's an honor to be chosen."

"It's your life," Antwan said, "so it's who you are. You told me that yourself."

She said, "All right, you want to run in the woods? Let's go run in the woods."