Stay by Allie Larkin

translation.
    I read the first one.
    “L’ahni.”
    Joe hit the ground, pressing his chin to the floor.
    “Sadni.”
    Joe sat up at attention.
    “K Nohe.”
    Joe circled me and sat down at my left side.
    “Are you serious, Joe? There’s a command for that?”
    I said it again. “K Nohe.” Joe circled around again and sat.
    “Good boy, buddy.”
    I read the next one. “Štekat’.”
    Joe let out a bark that made my eardrums itch.
    “What?”
    He looked at me.
    “Štekat’.”
    Joe barked again, even louder this time. I stepped back.
    “Okay, Joe. Should we stop with this until I know what they mean?” We went to the garage to get his crate out of the car. I untied the panty hose and pulled the crate pieces out of the trunk. Joe ran ahead of me while I dragged it all up to my bedroom. He sat next to me, watching intently while I put it together. Even with warm fingers it took me a long time to get all the dials turned.
    Joe’s eyelids closed into little slits and his head drooped.
    “Here, buddy.” I walked over to the bed and patted the mattress. He jumped up. “Lie down.” Joe looked at me blankly. “L’ahni.” He plunked down on the bed. I rubbed his head lightly, and he closed his eyes. By the time I finished putting his crate together, he was passed out with his head on my pillow, snoring.
    I changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt and turned off the light. Joe was asleep on the side of the bed I usually slept on, so I climbed in next to him. The bed was already warm. Joe rolled over and pressed his nose up against my forearm, and he sighed like he was letting go of the weight of the world. Something about that sigh and the breath whistling out of his nose made me feel safe. I tried to reach for the remote, but I couldn’t get it without taking my arm away from him, so I just lay there, listening to him breathe until I fell asleep, and for the first time since the wedding, I didn’t dream of Peter, sunsets, or Greek gods for Janie.

Chapter Nine
    J oe woke me up around eleven thirty by whimpering and pawing at me. “Do you have to go out?”
    Joe cocked his head to the side.
    “Out? Outside?”
    He whined.
    “Okay, just give me a minute.” I got up and went to the bathroom to pee and run a brush through my hair. Joe followed me and waited at the door, whining. I pulled some wrinkled jeans and an old sweatshirt out of the clothes hamper. Joe scratched at the bathroom door. “One sec!” I pulled my hair into a ponytail, and opened the door to the most awful stench. Joe’s ears were flat against his head, and his eyes looked big and sad. At the end of the hallway, by my bedroom door, was an enormous pile of poop, right there on the beige carpet.
    “Oh, God!” I yelled. “What did you do?”
    Joe whimpered and got as low to the floor as possible, like he was trying to be invisible. It was like he was completely humiliated, which was understandable. In the same situation, I’d be humiliated too. I should have taken him out before we went to bed.
    I covered my nose with my sleeve and ran down to the kitchen to grab some spray cleaner. I scrambled through the kitchen, looking for something to use to scoop up the poop, but all I could find was a paper plate. I ran back upstairs, held my breath, and used the plate to scrape the pile off the carpet, but as I was doing that, Joe came over and gave the arm I was leaning on a good nudge with his nose. I lost my balance and slid into the pile, smearing the poop into the carpet with my sleeve.
    “Fuck!” I yelled. Joe was completely unfazed. He sat down so close to me that his side was touching my leg, like nothing much had happened, and we were just being chummy in the hallway. My blood was boiling. I was covered in shit from my hand to my elbow. Actual shit. It was the grossest thing that had ever happened to me. I wanted to open the door and let him go. He could go poop on somebody else’s shirt. But when I looked over at him, he cocked his head,