Authors: Patricia MacLachlan
White Fur Flying (3 page)
“You cahn't know,” said Lena.
“What are you writing, Alice?” asked Daddy.
“I'm writing a poem called âYou Cahn't Know,'” said Alice without looking up.
Daddy laughed.
I looked over Alice's shoulder at what she was writing.
“She's telling the truth!” I said, surprised.
“Alice always tells the truth,” said Mama, filling Lena's water dish with clean water. “Even if it is fiction.”
Day after day Kodi stood at the fence, looking down the road for May. And day after day Phillip came on his own to stand with Kodi, sometimes getting him to play and run.
“Phillip's good with dogs,” said Mama. “He should have a dog.”
“That won't happen,” said Alice.
“I wonder,” said Mama.
She took her pineapple angel food cake out of the oven.
“Phyllis Croft is coming over for tea today,” she said. “I cornered her this morning.”
She put the cake on a plate and took out teacups. She put a bowl of whipped cream on the table for the cake. She put her rose-colored cloth napkins next to the teacups.
“Here?” said Alice. “She's coming here?”
“Here,” said Mama. “And you and Zoe can find something else to do.”
“She's getting rid of us,” I said.
“Do you think that is parental abuse?” asked Alice.
Mama and I laughed.
And then there was a soft knock at the door.
Mama opened the door, and Phyllis Croft and Phillip and Kodi stood there, like three guests come to a party. Mrs. Croft pulled back a bit from Kodi, who seemed to want to lean on her.
“Kodi,” warned Mama. “Zoe. You and Alice can have some cake and whipped cream with Phillip out on the porch. Take Kodi with you.”
“Bye-bye, Kodi,” said Lena.
Mrs. Croft jumped back.
“He talks!” she said, her voice shrill and high.
“He talks,” shrieked Lena, imitating Mrs. Croft's voice very well.
“She,” said Mama.
“Is she mocking me?” said Mrs. Croft, indignant.
“You cahn't know!” said Lena, as we knew she would.
Surprisingly, Mrs. Croft laughed loudly. It was a little hysterical sounding.
Lena laughed the same way.
“She imitates all of us,” said Mama. “It's her way.”
Phillip looked shocked that Mrs. Croft had laughed, as if he'd never heard her laugh before.
“All right, children and Kodi. You can take your cake and whipped cream out to the porch,” said Mama.
She poured tea in a flowered cup for Mrs. Croft.
We all shuffled out carrying cake, Phillip still staring at Mrs. Croft. After a minute the door opened and Kodi came out too. We sat down at the porch table, Kodi close to Phillip.
We piled whipped cream on our cake.
It was quiet as we ate.
“Yum. I'm not talking,” said Alice.
“Me neither,” I said.
“And Phillip won't talk,” said Alice.
We all grinned big grins, whipped cream oozing over our lips.
“Moo,” said Alice like a calf with a mouthful of milk.
We laughed and laughed so much that Kodi woofed at us, and the sun came out from behind a cloud, creeping across the yard and up the steps to warm our feet.
Kodi was in the yard down by the fence watching over the cows in the meadow when Mrs. Croft came out onto the porch.
“Thank you again,” she said to Mama in the kitchen. “Come along, Phillip!” she chirped.
“Come along, Phillip,” chirped Lena in the kitchen.
Kodi wheeled around when he heard Mrs. Croft's voice. He ran up the yard to the porch.
Phillip waved goodbye and walked down the steps. Kodi nosed Mrs. Croft's hand and, startled, she pulled her hand back. But then she reached out and let Kodi sniff her.
Mrs. Croft looked down at Phillip and said something I couldn't hear. Phillip smiled at her but didn't speak.
Alice was closer to her than I was.
“What did she say to Phillip?” I asked Alice.
Alice smiled. “She said, âIs that really how I sound?'”
chapter 7
“At
least she laughed,” said Alice after Phillip and Mrs. Croft had gone home.
“Kind of a laugh,” I said. “Sounded like Lena.”
Mama dragged a huge dog crate out into the kitchen. She was packing up the car to pick up two new dogs. Some dogs felt better in crates. Some dogs had lived in crates for a long time. Mama always hoped they'd ride free, sitting in the backseat, looking out the windows, leaving nose prints on the glass.
“Mrs. Croft let Kodi sniff her hand when she walked home,” I said.
“Really,” said Mama with a smile. “That's a good sign.”
“Mrs. Croft doesn't seem to understand many things,” I said.
“Phyllis doesn't know anything about children, that's for sure,” said Mama. “She never had children. Or any dogs or pets. She's had a . . .” Mama searched for words. “She's had an uncluttered life,” she said finally. “Except for her husband.”
“So why is Phyllis the one to take care of Phillip?” I asked.
Mrs. Croft had become Phyllis to us, even Alice and me, at least in private.
Mama carried two old blankets out to the porch and dumped them.
“She cares about Phillip,” said Mama. “In her own way she cares about Phillip. She just doesn't know what to do with him.”
“Phillip laughed on the porch,” said Alice. “He likes us.”
“He laughed,” I said. “But he's sad.”
Mama looked at me for a moment. Alice was quiet.
“He's sad,” I repeated. “And something sad is happening at his home for him to be with Phyllis and Mr. Croft.”
Mama put a packet of dog snacks in her pocket.
“You know, under all that fuss that is the outside of Phyllis I think she's nice,” said Mama.
“Good thing they moved here,” said Alice, writing in her journal.
Mama smiled. “You're right. There's a whole summer for Phillip and Phyllis to work on that.”
Mama took the cover off Lena's cage. “Hello, Lena.”
“Hello, Lena,” said Lena.
“I'll be gone for most of the day, Zoe. You can call Daddy if you need to,” said Mama.
“How come I'm not in charge?” asked Alice.
“How come?” repeated Lena, making us laugh.
“You're in charge of you, Alice,” said Mama.
“Are you taking Kodi?” I asked.
Sometimes Mama took Kodi when she picked up new dogs. It made the dogs feel more calm to have a peaceful dog in the car with them.
Mama walked to the window and looked out. Phillip had come through the gate and was sitting under a tree with Kodi.
“I think I'll leave Kodi here,” Mama said. “They can spend the day together.”
Mama packed up the car with water and dog bowls, food, and the crate and blankets.
“Remember,” she called to us, “there will be a young dog. Make sure everything is up off the floor!”
Mama got in the car and was gone.
“We haven't had a young dog here in a long time,” said Alice. “Remember? Billy was a bad puppy. He ate all my pencils.”
“Bad puppy!” said Lena.
Lena liked saying that. She said it more.
“Bad puppy!”
“Bad puppy!”
“Bad puppy
!”
chapter 8
It
was a warm summer day. Alice and I moved Lena's big cage out under the tree with Phillip and Kodi. There was a breeze, and some of Lena's feathers rippled with the wind.
Lena slid up and down her perch and peered at the cows behind the fence. There were four of them today, two mothers and their half-grown calves, red brown with white faces. They looked bright and newly washed.
Lena made a sound, like a squawk, a sound she'd never made before.
“She doesn't know what the cows are,” said Alice softly. “She has no words for them.”
Alice peered at Phillip.
Phillip didn't say anything.
“Cows, Lena. Those are cows,” said Alice finally.
Lena was silent.
She squawked again and slid down her perch closer to Phillip.
Phillip stared at her for a moment, then at me.
A breeze came up again.
“Alice, would you go get the cookies in the kitchen? And the glasses? I'll come in a minute and get the lemonade.”
“Sure. Be right back,” said Alice.
I watched her walk slowly up the hill.
Phillip still looked at me, as if he knew I had something to say.
I leaned over closer to Phillip.
“Lena wants you to talk to her. And you can talk to her in private, just like you talk to Kodi. You don't have to talk to us, Phillip. It's all right.”
I got up.
“It means a lot to Kodi,” I said.
Kodi lifted his head when he heard his name.
“It means a lot to Lena, too.”
Phillip looked at Lena, then back at me.
“I'm going to get the lemonade,” I said.
I ran up the hill to catch up with Alice.
I tapped her on the arm.
“Don't look back yet,” I said to her.
We didn't look back.
“Cows!” said Lena loudly behind us. “Cows!” she said again, sounding happy with herself.
Now Lena had a word for what she saw. And the word from the person she wanted to talk to her.
Alice and I turned and walked backward to the house.
“How did you know?” Alice asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Phillip knows he doesn't have to talk to us. I knew if he talked to Kodi, he could talk to Lena.”
“Funny how Lena wanted Phillip to talk, don't you think?” Alice said.
“Lena likes talk,” I said. “It makes her nervous when Phillip is silent.”
Behind Phillip and Lena and Kodi the calves butted heads, their mothers patiently moving aside and chewing green grass. We walked up the porch steps.
“Phillip will talk when he has something important to say, I suppose,” said Alice as if I had asked her the question.
Which I hadn't.
I had thought about it, though.
Daddy came home with pizza for an early dinner. Pepperoni for me. Anchovies for Alice.
“Mama should be home soon,” said Daddy. “With your new siblings.”
“You really
like
anchovies?” I asked Alice.
“I do. I bet Kodi likes them too. Kodi will eat anything.”
“You can't know,” said Lena all of a sudden.
“She's talking more like us now,” said Alice.
“That happens,” said Daddy. “She is living here, so she sounds like us.”
It turned out that Kodi didn't like his anchovy. He dropped it on the floor, stared at it, then rolled in it.
“You lost that bet,” Daddy said.
Kodi stopped rolling and sat up, listening. He ran to the window.
“Mama,” I said.
Kodi wagged his tail. He wagged at Mama getting out of the car with a big dog who looked like him, and a younger spotted dog. They were both on leashes.
We all went out, and Mama let the dogs loose in the yard.
“The big girl is Callie,” said Mama. “Jack is the smaller one.”
“Quite a big puppy,” said Daddy.
“Adolescent,” said Mama. “Probably a year old. One day he'll be a big dog like Callie and Kodi.”
We knew, from all the dogs who had come and gone, to be quiet and let the dogs come to us. Kodi went over to Mama to be petted. Callie leaned close to Mama.
“It's okay, Callie,” said Mama. Kodi and Callie sniffed each other. Kodi wagged his tail.
Jack rolled over on his back.
“Submissive,” said Daddy. “Jack's way of saying âYes, you're big and I'm not.'”
Callie came over to Alice to be petted, then me. She looked up into my eyes and sniffed my face. Her nose was soft. I could feel her breath.
I bent down, trying to get Jack to come. It took him a while, but he came to me.
“Jack's the nervous one,” said Mama. “He'll need a little work.”
Mama looked tired. I knew that rescuing dogs was hard work. She had driven across the state and back to pick up the dogs from another driver, who had picked up the dogs from
another
state. The rescue association didn't always have much money, so drivers from every state volunteered. Callie and Jack had come all the way from Georgia.
Jack, in a sudden burst of energy, jumped up and ran down the yard.
Phillip stood at the fence, watching. He opened the gate and came in, walking down the yard to sit in the grass under the big tree. Kodi went down the yard, Callie following. They ran along the fence together.
Jack walked up and sat in front of Phillip.
Phillip didn't reach out and try to pet Jack. He just sat quietly. After a moment Jack went to sit next to Phillip. Still Phillip didn't touch Jack.
“Look at that,” said Mama softly. “What a pair.”
Phillip and Jack sat quietly, watching the cows move in the green grass of the meadow, under a blue cloudless sky.
It is dark, with only a slice of moon. Kodi and Callie sleep together on the living-room rug. They don't move when I get a drink of water and pad back to my bedroom. The house is quiet. Alice is sleeping. Mama and Daddy are sleeping. The cover is over Lena's cage. Callie and Jack will meet Lena tomorrow.
When I pull back the covers on my bed, there is Jack, curled up on my sheets with the red poppies on them.
“You,” I whisper. Jack lifts his head as if to say, “Yes, it's me.”
Then he turns over, and when I lie down next to him, all through the night, I feel the soft rise and fall of his breaths.
