Ellie's Story (13 page)

Wally ran off while Belinda and Maya sat down at a picnic table.

“So how are you and Wally doing?” Maya said.

I sat, but it was hard. My legs were twitching with eagerness to be up and running. If we went after him now, we could Find Wally right away.

“He's taking me to meet his parents over the Fourth, so.…,” Belinda replied.

“That's good.”

I groaned. Humans could do so many amazing things—why did they sit still and make words so often? They were not even interesting words, like “Find” or “Come” or “walk” or “good dog.”

“Down, Ellie,” Maya said. That was not an interesting word, either. I flopped down with a sigh, looking pointedly in the direction Wally had taken.

Maya and Belinda kept on making their uninteresting words. Finally
,
just when I was about to burst from impatience Maya looked up with a smile.

“Okay, Ellie. You can't wait, huh, girl? Find!”

I took off. It was marvelous, being able to run, and Maya was able to keep up with me now. There was nothing better in the world than this.

Wally had gotten much better at hiding! It was strange. I couldn't find his scent at all. I checked the grass, and then I lifted my nose, searching for any trace of him. There weren't many other smells today to distract me, but I still couldn't find the familiar scent that was Wally.

I ran back and forth, checking the grass and the air, turning my head into every breeze. Nothing.

I dashed back to Maya, to make sure we were still Working. “Find, Ellie,” she said again. I could hear a little worry in her voice, but she didn't need to worry. I was good at Work. I liked Find. Wally was just being extra clever this time, but he could not fool me for long.

Maya let me Work for a while, and then she called me. We moved to a new area of the park and I tried again. Grass, nothing. Bushes, nothing. Wind, nothing. No Wally anywhere.

“What's the matter, girl? You okay?”

I snapped my head around, startled. It was Wally!

How could that have happened? How could Wally have snuck up on me? The wind was behind him, blowing from him to me. And yet I'd heard him before I smelled him. I rocketed toward him until, at last, my nose picked up on the smell I'd been expecting. Then I dashed back to Maya. I didn't need to Show her where Wally was this time, though. She was already talking to him.

“We're having sort of an off day!” she called out as he came toward us.

“I guess so. I've never seen her fail before. Hey, Ellie, how are you doing?” Wally asked me. He held out a stick to me and we played a little, tugging each other across the grass.

“Tell you what, Maya. You focus her attention away from me. I'm going to go over that ridge, there, and double back a little. Give me about ten minutes,” said Wally.

“You sure?”

“She's been out of action for a couple of weeks; let's give her an easy one.”

I may not have seen Wally leaving, but I heard him, even though Maya had offered me the rubber bone and was now (in that way humans had) trying to get it back from me. I could hear him and I knew he was hiding again. I wrestled happily with the bone, shaking my head to tear it loose from Maya's grip. We were going to Find again!

“Okay, Ellie!” Maya pulled the bone loose from my teeth. “Find!”

I took off eagerly, heading in the direction I'd heard Wally go. I ran up a small hill and stopped, not sure what to do next.

How was Wally doing it? How was he hiding his scent? Not even the breeze was bringing me a hint of it.

I ran back to Maya for direction. She sent me off to my right. I snaked back and forth, searching.

No Wally.

Maya sent me left. Again, no sign of Wally. I dashed back to Maya and stared up at her face eagerly, excited but a little anxious, too. Was there a clue? Something I was missing? Would she tell me? We had to Find him!

Maya sent me left again and followed me this time. She walked with me around the base of the hill I'd climbed earlier. I searched in grass and scrubby bushes, lifting my nose to the wind. But Wally had been very clever. I had no idea where he was.

Then something moved.

It was just a ripple in the grass, but it caught my eye. I jumped, focused on the place. Wally sat up. I'd done it! I'd Found him! But there was no need to run back to Maya; she was already standing there.

“This isn't good, is it?” Maya asked. “The vet said she should be fully recovered by now.”

“Well … let's give it another week, see if she gets any better,” Wally said. He felt sad, for some reason, so I nuzzled his hand. He was usually very happy to be Found. I didn't know why this time it was different.

Maya and I Worked a few more times after that, but Wally kept on fooling me, somehow. He'd disguise his scent so that I couldn't pick it up until I was nearly standing on him.

Then Maya and I stopped going to the park at all.

 

16

“What does it mean that Ellie is decertified? Does it mean you will lose your job?” Al asked one night. I'm not a big fan of feet, but I'd allowed Al to take off his shoes and rub my tummy with his because they didn't smell as bad as usual.

“No, but I'll be reassigned. I've been on a desk for the past several weeks, but I'm not really cut out for that. I'll probably request a transfer to go back out on patrol,” Maya answered.

Without letting Maya see, Al dropped a tiny piece of meat on the carpet in front of me. It was one of the main reasons I liked to lie in front of him at meals, even if it meant I had to put up with his feet. I silently licked up the treat while Stella gave me a dirty look from the couch.

“I don't like to think of you being out on patrol,” Al told Maya. “It is so dangerous.”

“Albert.” Maya sighed.

“What about Ellie?”

I looked up at my name. More treats? No. Al didn't hand down any more meat.

“I don't know. She can't work anymore; her sense of smell is too damaged. So she'll be retired. She'll live with me. Right, Ellie?”

I wagged. I always liked the way Maya said my name, even if she didn't drop down anything from her plate. You could hear how much she loved me in the simple sound.

“Let's go to the beach,” Al suggested. “No, leave the dishes for later. Come on, while it's still light.”

“Let's bring Ellie.”

“Of course, let's bring Ellie.”

*   *   *

Al had brought a blanket to the beach, and he spread it out on the sand. The sun was going down, and the breeze took on a chill. He wrapped an arm around Maya's shoulders and they talked while the little waves came in.

“It's so beautiful,” Maya said.

I figured they probably wanted to play with a stick or a ball or something, but she had my leash on so that I couldn't go and Find them anything. It was too bad. They had nothing to do.

Al got my attention by becoming afraid. His heart started to pound so loudly I could hear it, and I could smell the sweat that broke out on his palms and his forehead. I could sense the nervous tension that was tightening all his muscles.

I looked around anxiously. What was going to happen? I moved a little closer to Maya, ready to save her if she needed it.

“Maya, when you m-m-moved here…,” Al stammered. “So many months I wanted to talk to you. You are so beautiful.”

Maya laughed. “Oh, Al, I'm not beautiful; come on.”

Some boys ran down by the water, tossing a thin plastic saucer through the air. I watched it alertly, in case it turned out to be the thing Al was so nervous about. It didn't look dangerous; it looked like it would be fun to chase, actually.

“You are the most wonderful woman in the world,” Al said. “I … I love you, Maya.”

Maya was starting to feel afraid, too. I nudged my nose under her hand, in case she needed comforting. She always petted me when I did that. But this time she didn't.

“I love you, too, Al.”

“I know I'm not rich, I know I'm not handsome…,” Al said.

“Oh my…,” Maya breathed. Her heart was beating fast now, too.

“But I will love you all my life, if you will let me.” Al turned on the blanket, rising on his knees. “Will you marry me, Maya?”

*   *   *

It wasn't too long after that day that Maya and Mama and all of the people we saw so often at Mama's house came together in a big white building and sat quietly to watch me do a new trick Maya had taught me. I walked very slowly down a narrow path between long wooden benches, climbed up some carpeted stairs, and stood patiently while Al took something out of a little pack that he'd already tied on my back.

Maya whispered, “Good girl, Ellie!” She was wearing a big, fluffy dress, so I knew we weren't going to Work afterward or to the park for a run. But I didn't mind, because everybody seemed so happy. Mama was even sniffing back tears of joy. I must have done the trick really well, I thought, sitting down to wait while Maya and Al and another man in a dark suit talked and talked and talked.

Then we went to Mama's house and the children ran around and fed me cake.

Soon after that, Maya and Al did something strange. They took everything in Maya's house and stuffed it all into big boxes. Then they did the same with all of Al's things. I didn't understand why they needed so many things anyway; I was content with just my dog bed and my food dish. Maybe they'd decided that was all they needed, too.

But it didn't turn out that way.

“Come, Ellie!” Maya called the day after all the boxes had been carried into a big truck. “Car ride!”

I still loved car rides, even though we never got to go to Work anymore. I bounced into the backseat. But Maya did something I didn't understand at all; she came out of the house carrying two big cases, and then she went back for a third. When she put the cases in the back of the car, I heard angry and frightened meowing coming from inside. Stella, Emmet, and Tinkerbell were in there!

Cats did not come on car rides! Car rides were only for dogs. I barked at Maya to let her know she'd made a mistake.

“Calm down, Ellie. Cool it, cats!” Maya said, getting into the car and shutting the door. “It's a short ride. Don't worry. We'll be there soon.”

“There” turned out to be a new house.

I approved of the house. It had a much nicer backyard than our old one. And there was a big bed, too, which Maya let Al share with her. That wasn't fair; she had never let me share!

So that first night I made a plan. After Maya and Al had been quiet for a while, I crept up to the bed and worked my nose under the quilt. Nobody stirred. My plan was working!

I wiggled up so that my front legs were under the covers, too. Then it was just a matter of jumping so my back legs could make it as well. I jumped.

“What's— Ellie!” Al shouted.

“Oh, Ellie!” Maya was groaning and laughing at the same time. “Oh, Al, I'm sorry. She never did that before.”

“Oh, whatever. Let her stay.” Al reached down and scratched my ears. “But on
top
of the quilt, Ellie! Not under the blankets!”

At last! I curled up at Maya's feet and she tucked her toes under me to keep them warm.

But after a few nights, I decided that sleeping on the big bed was not as much fun as it had seemed. There wasn't that much room, and the cats didn't get the message that they belonged on the floor now that I was allowed on the bed with Maya and Al.

I jumped down and decided that I'd much rather sleep on the fuzzy rug on Maya's side of the bed. That way I was able to get up and follow her if she woke up in the middle of the night and wanted a glass of water or went to read a book in the living room.

Maya still took me for car rides. Sometimes we went to the beach to run and Al came with us now and then, but he had trouble keeping up. Maya and I went to the park for long walks, too. But I began to understand that we were not going to do Work again.

We must have Found all the people who needed to be Found. And maybe Wally and Belinda just didn't want to play anymore. I didn't really understand it. I missed Find, and I missed the sense that Maya and I were doing something important together. That we were a team, the way Jakob and I had been.

But if Maya didn't want to Work anymore, I guessed we would not be doing it.

So I was surprised the day that Maya, dressed in her uniform, called to me. “Ready for work, Ellie?” she asked.

My ears perked up.
Work? Really?

I nearly knocked her over, dashing to the car.

One thing puzzled me. Maya was relaxed, not tense. She was smiling, not serious. She had never been like this before when we were going to Work. I wondered why.

She pulled the car up in front of a big building and took me up to the front door.

“It's a school, Ellie. You're going to like it here. Lots of kids, just like at Mama's house.”

Maya opened the big doors and we went inside.

There were lots of kids in the building, many more than at Mama's house! Maya took me into a big, noisy room with a stage up front and rows and rows of children sitting in chairs. They started laughing and calling out as soon as they caught sight of me.

“Dog! Look at the dog!”

“Can I pet her?”

“She's so
cute
!”

Maya and I walked up some stairs to the stage. She told me to Sit, and I did it. Someone must have told the children to Sit as well, but they were not very good at it yet. They wiggled and bounced and got up on their knees to see better.

A woman got up and talked to the children. I wasn't paying much attention to her voice, since I didn't know it well. “Use your listening ears,” I heard her say, and “best manners, please,” and “a real welcome.” Then all the children clapped. The noise startled me, and they laughed.

I wagged. The joy that I could see in their faces and hear in their giggling voices made me happy, even though there didn't seem to be much to do here.