I felt like a bad dog as she poured hot water on me from a dog dish that had a handle sticking out of it. She would rub me with foul-smelling soaps and I would stand miserably under the assault, eyes closed and head lowered. The delicious scents I had accumulated over time—dirt and old foods and dead things—would wilt before the bowl after bowl of warm, stinky water. If I tried to escape, my nails would scratch fruitlessly at the walls, unable to gain purchase, and then CJ would grab me.
“No, Molly,” CJ would say sternly.
Bath was the worst sort of punishment, because I never knew what I had done wrong. But when it was over, CJ would wrap me in a blanket and pull me to her, and that was the very best. Being held so tightly made me feel safe and warm and loved. “Oh Molly dog, oh Molly dog, you are a schnoodle schnoodle dog,” CJ would whisper to me.
Then she would take that blanket and rub me up and down until my skin felt so alive and buzzing that when she let me go I would race around the house, shaking myself of any remaining water and leaping over chairs and on the couch and running with first one shoulder and then another scooting along the carpet, drying and massaging myself.
CJ would laugh and laugh, but if Gloria was there she always yelled at me, “Stop!” I didn’t know why she was mad, but I chalked it up to her always being mad, even when punishment Bath was over and we could all celebrate how great it felt to run around and jump on the furniture.
When the daily routine of locking me in the basement became more regular I knew CJ was back to doing school, and I could hear Gloria moving around upstairs before she, too, left the house. I would wander out through the dog door and lie in my usual spot, missing CJ. Sometimes when I slept it felt as if her fingers were still touching me.
We still did art building on a regular basis. Sometimes other people would be there and they would pet me, and sometimes it would just be CJ alone in the building with me. One night when it was just the two of us there was a tapping on the door, an odd sound that made me growl and raise the fur on the back of my neck.
“Molly! It’s okay,” CJ said. She went to the door and I followed. I smelled Shane on the other side, but that didn’t make me any more comfortable.
“Hey, CJ, open up,” Shane said. There was another man with him.
“I’m not supposed to let anyone in,” CJ said.
“Come on, babe.”
CJ opened the door and the two men hustled in. Shane grabbed CJ and kissed her. “Hi, Molly,” he said to me. “CJ, this is Kyle.”
“Hey,” Kyle said.
“You got that key?” Shane said.
CJ crossed her arms over her chest. “I told you…”
“Yeah, well, Kyle and I would like to pass our art history mid-terms, okay? Come on. You know the whole thing is a joke anyway, like we’re ever going to need to know any of it in real life. We’ll make a copy of the test and be gone.”
I couldn’t tell what was going on with CJ, but I could see she wasn’t happy. She handed something to Shane, who turned and tossed it to Kyle.
“Right back,” Kyle said. He turned and walked away. Shane grinned at CJ.
“You know I could be expelled for this? I’m already on probation,” CJ said.
“Relax; who is going to tell: Molly?” Shane reached out and petted my head. He was a little too rough. Then he grabbed CJ.
“Don’t. Not here.”
“Come on. No one else in the entire building.”
“Stop it, Shane.”
I heard anger in her voice and I growled a little. Shane put his hands out, laughing. “Okay. God. Don’t sic the dog on me. I was just kidding around. I’ll go hang with Kyle.”
CJ went back to playing with her papers and her wet sticks. After a while Shane came back and dropped something on the table next to her, bouncing it with a metallic ring. “Okay, we’re out,” he said.
CJ didn’t reply to him.
A few days later Gloria and CJ were watching television and I was asleep when there
“No, Molly,” CJ would say sternly.
Bath was the worst sort of punishment, because I never knew what I had done wrong. But when it was over, CJ would wrap me in a blanket and pull me to her, and that was the very best. Being held so tightly made me feel safe and warm and loved. “Oh Molly dog, oh Molly dog, you are a schnoodle schnoodle dog,” CJ would whisper to me.
Then she would take that blanket and rub me up and down until my skin felt so alive and buzzing that when she let me go I would race around the house, shaking myself of any remaining water and leaping over chairs and on the couch and running with first one shoulder and then another scooting along the carpet, drying and massaging myself.
CJ would laugh and laugh, but if Gloria was there she always yelled at me, “Stop!” I didn’t know why she was mad, but I chalked it up to her always being mad, even when punishment Bath was over and we could all celebrate how great it felt to run around and jump on the furniture.
When the daily routine of locking me in the basement became more regular I knew CJ was back to doing school, and I could hear Gloria moving around upstairs before she, too, left the house. I would wander out through the dog door and lie in my usual spot, missing CJ. Sometimes when I slept it felt as if her fingers were still touching me.
We still did art building on a regular basis. Sometimes other people would be there and they would pet me, and sometimes it would just be CJ alone in the building with me. One night when it was just the two of us there was a tapping on the door, an odd sound that made me growl and raise the fur on the back of my neck.
“Molly! It’s okay,” CJ said. She went to the door and I followed. I smelled Shane on the other side, but that didn’t make me any more comfortable.
“Hey, CJ, open up,” Shane said. There was another man with him.
“I’m not supposed to let anyone in,” CJ said.
“Come on, babe.”
CJ opened the door and the two men hustled in. Shane grabbed CJ and kissed her. “Hi, Molly,” he said to me. “CJ, this is Kyle.”
“Hey,” Kyle said.
“You got that key?” Shane said.
CJ crossed her arms over her chest. “I told you…”
“Yeah, well, Kyle and I would like to pass our art history mid-terms, okay? Come on. You know the whole thing is a joke anyway, like we’re ever going to need to know any of it in real life. We’ll make a copy of the test and be gone.”
I couldn’t tell what was going on with CJ, but I could see she wasn’t happy. She handed something to Shane, who turned and tossed it to Kyle.
“Right back,” Kyle said. He turned and walked away. Shane grinned at CJ.
“You know I could be expelled for this? I’m already on probation,” CJ said.
“Relax; who is going to tell: Molly?” Shane reached out and petted my head. He was a little too rough. Then he grabbed CJ.
“Don’t. Not here.”
“Come on. No one else in the entire building.”
“Stop it, Shane.”
I heard anger in her voice and I growled a little. Shane put his hands out, laughing. “Okay. God. Don’t sic the dog on me. I was just kidding around. I’ll go hang with Kyle.”
CJ went back to playing with her papers and her wet sticks. After a while Shane came back and dropped something on the table next to her, bouncing it with a metallic ring. “Okay, we’re out,” he said.
CJ didn’t reply to him.
A few days later Gloria and CJ were watching television and I was asleep when there
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