was a knock at the door. I got up, wagging, thinking it would be Trent, but it was two men who wore dark clothes and had metal objects on their belts, so I knew from experience they were police officers. CJ let them into the house. Gloria stood up. I wagged and nosed the officers in a friendly fashion.
“Are you Clarity Mahoney?” one of them asked CJ.
“Yes.”
“What’s going on?” Gloria asked them.
“We’re here about the break-in at the art department at the high school.”
“Break-in?” CJ said.
“Laptop computer, some cash, a silver picture frame,” the officer said.
Gloria gasped.
“What? No, that’s not…,” CJ said. I felt the fear rising in her.
“What have you done?” Gloria said to CJ.
“It wasn’t me. It was Shane.”
“We need you to come with us, Clarity.”
“She’s not going anywhere!” Gloria declared.
“‘CJ’, I go by ‘CJ.’”
I went to her side.
“Let’s go,” the officer said.
“No daughter of mine is going with the police! I’ll drive her down myself,” Gloria said.
“It’s okay, Gloria,” CJ said.
“It is not okay. They can’t come in here like the Gestapo; this is our home.”
It seemed to me that the officers were getting angry. “Yes, well, we need your daughter to come down to the station now.”
“No!” Gloria shouted.
The police offer reached to his side and pulled out two metal rings. “Turn around, CJ.”
Everyone left after that. CJ didn’t even pet me before departing, which made me feel like a bad dog. The house was very empty and alone with them gone.
I went downstairs to my pillow in the basement, full of the need to curl up in a safe place.
I got up when I heard the front door open, but I didn’t go upstairs because I could hear that it was just Gloria and not CJ. Gloria shut the door at the top of the stairs.
I waited all night for my girl to come home, but she didn’t. Nor did she come home the next day. I had a chewy bone to gnaw on, but otherwise, I was hungry because there was no dinner, not all day. Water I could get in the backyard, especially when it rained that morning, but I was sad and lonely and hungry.
I eventually gave voice to my feelings, barking out my fears and empty belly. A lone dog answered me from somewhere far away, a dog I’d never heard before. We both barked for a while, and then he stopped abruptly. I wondered who that dog was and if we would ever play together. I wondered if he had eaten that day.
A day lasts much, much longer when you’re hungry and worried about the person you are supposed to take care of. Eventually, though, the sky darkened, and I went through the dog door and curled up in a tight ball under the stairs, my stomach aching and empty. I was starting to become afraid, and my fear kept me from sleeping very much.
Where was CJ?
ELEVEN
Most of the next day I spent lying in a pool of shade in the yard, watching some birds hop around in the wet grass. The only time I wasn’t thinking of my hunger was when I saw Gloria standing at the glass doors, staring at me as I lay in the backyard. Whenever Gloria looked at me I felt like a bad dog. Otherwise, I was starving.
Wherever CJ was, I knew she wouldn’t want me to go without dinner. Several times I restlessly went into the house to check my food bowl, but it was always empty and there was nothing else to eat unless you counted some socks I found in a basket. I didn’t eat the socks, because I had chewed up similar items before and knew they would offer no real satisfaction. I licked the bowl anyway, imagining I could faintly taste some food there.
Cruelly, I could sometimes smell food on the air, delicious odors that I associated with people cooking. Somewhere, someone was grilling meat. It was probably far away, but I knew my nose would lead me to it if I got out of the yard.
There were two gates in the yard. The one next to the garage was tall and made of wood, but the one on the other side, through which CJ
“Are you Clarity Mahoney?” one of them asked CJ.
“Yes.”
“What’s going on?” Gloria asked them.
“We’re here about the break-in at the art department at the high school.”
“Break-in?” CJ said.
“Laptop computer, some cash, a silver picture frame,” the officer said.
Gloria gasped.
“What? No, that’s not…,” CJ said. I felt the fear rising in her.
“What have you done?” Gloria said to CJ.
“It wasn’t me. It was Shane.”
“We need you to come with us, Clarity.”
“She’s not going anywhere!” Gloria declared.
“‘CJ’, I go by ‘CJ.’”
I went to her side.
“Let’s go,” the officer said.
“No daughter of mine is going with the police! I’ll drive her down myself,” Gloria said.
“It’s okay, Gloria,” CJ said.
“It is not okay. They can’t come in here like the Gestapo; this is our home.”
It seemed to me that the officers were getting angry. “Yes, well, we need your daughter to come down to the station now.”
“No!” Gloria shouted.
The police offer reached to his side and pulled out two metal rings. “Turn around, CJ.”
Everyone left after that. CJ didn’t even pet me before departing, which made me feel like a bad dog. The house was very empty and alone with them gone.
I went downstairs to my pillow in the basement, full of the need to curl up in a safe place.
I got up when I heard the front door open, but I didn’t go upstairs because I could hear that it was just Gloria and not CJ. Gloria shut the door at the top of the stairs.
I waited all night for my girl to come home, but she didn’t. Nor did she come home the next day. I had a chewy bone to gnaw on, but otherwise, I was hungry because there was no dinner, not all day. Water I could get in the backyard, especially when it rained that morning, but I was sad and lonely and hungry.
I eventually gave voice to my feelings, barking out my fears and empty belly. A lone dog answered me from somewhere far away, a dog I’d never heard before. We both barked for a while, and then he stopped abruptly. I wondered who that dog was and if we would ever play together. I wondered if he had eaten that day.
A day lasts much, much longer when you’re hungry and worried about the person you are supposed to take care of. Eventually, though, the sky darkened, and I went through the dog door and curled up in a tight ball under the stairs, my stomach aching and empty. I was starting to become afraid, and my fear kept me from sleeping very much.
Where was CJ?
ELEVEN
Most of the next day I spent lying in a pool of shade in the yard, watching some birds hop around in the wet grass. The only time I wasn’t thinking of my hunger was when I saw Gloria standing at the glass doors, staring at me as I lay in the backyard. Whenever Gloria looked at me I felt like a bad dog. Otherwise, I was starving.
Wherever CJ was, I knew she wouldn’t want me to go without dinner. Several times I restlessly went into the house to check my food bowl, but it was always empty and there was nothing else to eat unless you counted some socks I found in a basket. I didn’t eat the socks, because I had chewed up similar items before and knew they would offer no real satisfaction. I licked the bowl anyway, imagining I could faintly taste some food there.
Cruelly, I could sometimes smell food on the air, delicious odors that I associated with people cooking. Somewhere, someone was grilling meat. It was probably far away, but I knew my nose would lead me to it if I got out of the yard.
There were two gates in the yard. The one next to the garage was tall and made of wood, but the one on the other side, through which CJ
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