They Cage the Animals at Night

by Jennings Michael Burch

  We all laughed. I knew he already knew everything he needed to know from my papers and talking to the home. If he knew my name, I thought, he knew everything.

  We talked a little bit while Mrs. Daily fixed me a hamburger. I told them why I ran away from the home. I told them I knew running wasn’t a good thing to do, but I was too ashamed to stay.

  “Listen, son,” he said, “running away isn’t good, but sometimes it’s better to run to find help or safety than it is to stay and suffer hurt or shame. The important thing about running,” he added, “is to make sure you honestly feel you have a good reason.”

  Mrs. Daily placed the hamburger in front of me. My eyes widened.

  “Dig in,” she said. “We’ll talk later.”

  I bit into the hamburger. It was delicious.

  “Aren’t you going to give Doggie a bite?” Officer Daily asked.

  “Doggie? Who’s Doggie?” she asked.

  “He’s my friend.”

  “Well, if he’s as hungry as you are…”

  I reached down and brought Doggie out of the bag.

  “Oh, he’s cute,” she said. “But he’s filthy.”

  I looked at Doggie. He was a bit dusty. “He’s been kind of busy,” I said.

  They laughed.

  They asked me a million questions about my family, the homes I was in, and the people I met along the way. They asked me everything. Sometimes Mrs. Daily’s eyes filled with tears. At other times they both laughed or just stared at me. I couldn’t tell what they were thinking. I told them almost everything. The only parts I left out were about the times I stayed in the zoo. I figured if Mr. Daily was a policeman, he might arrest me for sneaking into the zoo.

  “Tell me a little more about Sal,” he asked.

  “What about him?”

  “Well, he sounds like a very nice person.”

  “Oh, he is. He’s wonderful. He tickles me and makes me laugh.”

  “Did he ever say why he couldn’t stay and take care of you?”

  “Uh…” I tapped my upper lip, trying to think of what Sal had said.

  “Let’s not worry about that now,” Mrs. Daily said. “I’m sure he has his reasons.”

  “Oh, he does,” I said. “I’m trying to think of the words he used. He said he couldn’t…uh. He couldn’t…uh. Well, he said he didn’t want to lie to me and say he was gonna come when he wasn’t. He wasn’t ready to…he wasn’t ready to…”

  “Make a commitment?” Officer Daily said.

  “That’s it! He wasn’t ready to make a commitment. He wanted to change jobs and get things settled.”

  “That’s why I couldn’t find him.”

  “Did you look for him? Did you look for Sal?”

  “Yes, I did,” he said. “But I didn’t have much luck.”

  “He’s in a truck.”

  “I know,” he laughed. “I’ll find him, don’t worry about it.”

  “Why do you want to find Sal?”

  “Well, we thought he might be ready to take care of you.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “He’s not.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “He didn’t come for me. He said he wouldn’t come for me till he could keep me.”

  “Oh,” he said, “I see.”

  “Okay, boys, the grilling is over. Time for a bath.”

  “Are you going to take a bath, sir?”

  They laughed.

  “You are!” she said. She started to tickle me.

  She took me to a small bedroom. It was just off the hallway, near the bathroom.

  “Wait one second,” she said. “Let me run your bathwater.” She ducked into the bathroom and turned on the water. “Do you like bubbles?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Me too.” She smiled. She poured in the bubble-bath soap.

  Mrs. Daily had the nicest smile. Her face was smooth and pretty. Her eyes were blue like Officer Daily’s, and she had the same deep dimples.

  Mrs. Daily showed me into the bedroom. The room was very bright and cheery. The walls were yellow, and so were the curtains and the bedspread. She switched on a lamp next to the bed.

  “Now, let’s see what you have,” she said as she lifted my laundry bag. “May I?”

  I nodded my head yes.

  She pulled Doggie out first and made a face. “One dirty dog.”

  I laughed.

  “One shirt.” She took it from the bag. “One sock. Is that it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “How do you wear only one sock?”

  “On one foot.”

  She laughed. She started me laughing too.

  “What’s so funny?” Officer Daily asked from the doorway.

  “We have to buy this little guy some clothes tomorrow,” she said. “Right now I need a pair of your pajamas.”

  “Comin’ right up.”

  She took me back into the bathroom. She started removing my clothes.

  “Where do you want them?” he asked.

  “On the bed, please.”

  She got off all my clothes down to my underpants.

  “I’ll close my eyes for this last part,” she said. She closed her eyes and faced the ceiling.

  She slipped off my underpants and I jumped into the bubbles.

  “I’ll wash all these things so they’ll be nice and clean for tomorrow.”

  She scrubbed my back and my front. She scrubbed my face and my ears. She washed my hair and cleaned my nails. When she was all done, she held up a giant fluffy towel and closed her eyes.

  “Jump out,” she said.

  I jumped out. She surrounded me with the towel. She was crouched on the floor while she dried me.

  “Gosh, you were a dirty little boy,” she said.

  She closed her arms around me and held me. She held me very close to her for a long time. She sounded like she was crying.

  “Is somethin’ wrong?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “I just got a lousy cold, that’s all.” She stood up quickly.

  She took me into the bedroom and helped me on with Officer Daily’s pajamas.

  “They’re a little big,” she said, “but I’ll fix ’em up.”

  She rolled up the sleeves and the legs. She put me in bed and laid Doggie in next to me. She made another face. I laughed.

  “Is it all right to turn off the light?” she asked.

  I nodded my head yes.

  She brought the blanket up to my chin and kissed my forehead. “In case you have an accident, honey,” she said, “there’s no penalty here for wetting the bed. It can happen to anyone.” She started to leave.

  “Mrs. Daily.”

  “Yes?”

  I reached my arms up to her. She came back to me and I hugged her. She hugged me back and kissed my ear.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  I lay with Doggie cuddled close to me in the darkness of this new place.

  “Aren’t the Dailys nice?”

  He thought they were.

  “I think if I didn’t want to be with Sal so much, I wouldn’t mind being here.”

  I hugged Doggie and went to sleep.

  I was jolted awake. When I turned over and felt for Doggie, he was gone. I switched on the lamp to see if he fell on the floor. He didn’t, he was gone. I got out of bed and opened the door. As I stepped into the hallway, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. I started to return to the bedroom, when I heard my name. I got closer to the kitchen door.

  “I don’t understand that rule,” Mrs. Daily said.

  “What’s not to understand? The rule states no member of the force shall become personally involved in any case. Period.”

  “But it ain’t fair.”

  “Look, the captain went way out on a limb as it is, giving me three days.”

  “Poor little thing. He’s been through so much.”

  “Don’t you think I know it? After all, I’m only the guy who called you when I found him.”

&
nbsp; “I know, I know. I just wish there were something we could do.”

  “I can keep trying to find Sal. He left his last job. Now only God knows where he is.”

  The room became quiet. I started to back up in case they came into the hallway.

  “Couldn’t we take him?” she asked.

  My eyes widened.

  “I’d love to take him. The problem’s in the system.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Unless a guardian files for him, he has to remain in an institution until they process the paperwork and make a ruling.”

  “How long does that take?”

  “Maybe months.”

  “Months!” she said.

  Once again the room became quiet. I heard the water run and some dishes being put in the sink.

  “So even if Martha wanted him…” she started to say.

  “Same thing,” he said. “The only one who could get around all that is Sal.”

  “Why?” she asked. “He’s no more his guardian than we are.”

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t have a residence. If Sal wanted him,” he said, “it’s no problem for him to give Jennings’ last address as his residence. If he claimed to be his guardian, who’s gonna argue with him?”

  “It sounds so complicated,” she said.

  I agreed with her. I leaned against the wall.

  “Look,” he said, “if we can’t find Sal in the next three days, and it seems unlikely we will, we’ll take him ourselves, okay? It’ll mean he’ll have to go back,” he said, “at least for the time it takes to process the papers.”

  “The poor little thing,” she said. “He won’t believe we’ll really come back for him.”

  Oh yes I will, I said to myself. I won’t have any choice.

  “Well,” he said, “I don’t know what else to do.”

  I slid along the wall, then backed into the bathroom. I reached in and flushed the toilet. I started down the hall.

  “Is that you, honey?” Mrs. Daily called. She came to the doorway. “What’s the matter?”

  “I can’t find Doggie,” I said as I reached the kitchen door.

  I looked up, and there he was. He was hanging by his ears from a clothesline. He was dripping wet, but clean.

  “I gave him a bath,” she said. “I was hoping you would stay asleep till he was dry.”

  “I turned over and missed him.”

  She hugged me around the neck. “I should have known you might do that. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I guess he needed a little bath.”

  “Well, just as soon as he’s dry, I’ll give him to you. All right?”

  “All right.”

  I went back down the hall and into the bedroom. I climbed into bed. A little while later, Mrs. Daily switched the light on. I covered my eyes with my hand until I got used to the brightness. She came over to the bed and placed Doggie down beside me. He was all wrapped up in a big thick towel.

  “He’s a little damp,” she said, “but he’ll be all right till morning.”

  The next two days were really wonderful. There were times when I almost forgot I had to go back. Officer Daily took off from work so we could all do some things together. We went shopping. They said whatever they bought me was mine, and mine to keep. They bought me pants and shirts, underwear and socks. Mrs. Daily said they had something new now, “two socks—one for each foot.” We all laughed. They bought me pajamas and my first pair of slippers. They were blue, with pictures of Hopalong Cassidy and Topper on the sides.

  Officer Daily took me and Doggie to the movies, while Mrs. Daily stayed home to cook. She said she was making something very special for dinner. I couldn’t wait to see what it was. The movie we saw was The Crimson Pirate. I loved the way Burt Lancaster and his little friend who couldn’t talk swung around like monkeys. One time when they were trying to get away from the soldiers, they hid in a barrel of fish. Doggie and I laughed and laughed.

  The dinner Mrs. Daily had made for us was turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce. She said it was a special Thanksgiving for all the ones I missed. Officer Daily sliced the turkey and gave me a drumstick. Before we ate, he said a prayer:

  “Bless us, O Lord, for the gifts we are about to receive, and for letting us see through Jennings just how blessed we really are.”

  “I didn’t know my name was in a prayer.”

  He laughed. “Well, I just sort of slipped that in.”

  “Oh, thank you,” I said. “Can we eat now?”

  The following day we went to the Museum of Natural History. They asked me if I would like to go to the zoo, but I said no.

  “I thought all kids liked the zoo,” he said.

  “They do, but I…I seen the zoo.”

  “Well, you can see it more than once, can’t you?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve seen it more than once. In fact, I seen it so many times, it’s almost like I lived there.”

  That night dinner was altogether different from the night before. The Dailys were very quiet. I was sure they were thinking about sending me back. The phone rang.

  Officer Daily nearly jumped out of his skin. The phone bell reminded me of the clicker back at the Home of the Angels.

  “Yes, Captain,” he said into the phone. “But…” He stopped to listen. “Yes, sir, I understand. But…” He again stopped to listen.

  “Do you want something else?” Mrs. Daily asked me.

  “Oh, no, thank you.”

  “Does Doggie want a bone?”

  “No.” I laughed. “He has to watch his weight. He’s gettin’ real fat.”

  I knew she was trying to keep me from overhearing the phone call, and she did.

  “All right, sir. Five o’clock,” he said, and hung up.

  He came back to the table but said nothing. It was almost like the phone call had never happened. I was sure they were going to talk after I went to bed. I decided to help that along a little.

  “I’m very sleepy,” I said. “Could I go to bed now?”

  “Sure you can,” she said. “You don’t have to ask permission.”

  I got up from the chair.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “All right,” she said. “Why don’t you get ready, and I’ll come and tuck you in.”

  “Okay,” I said, and left the room.

  I went down the hall to the bedroom and opened the door.

  “I’m sorry about this, Doggie, but I just got to know what’s going on.”

  He understood. I placed him on the bed and doubled back down the hall.

  “It could mean your job,” she said.

  “I know. But I just can’t see sending him to Martin Hall.”

  “And nothing from Sal?”

  “Nothing. I’m sure if he knew, he would take him. Look,” he said, “if it’s all right with you, we’ll just keep him and weather the storm.”

  “Oh, I love you,” she said.

  I backed down the hall and slipped into the bedroom.

  “Whew,” I breathed out. “He’s gonna get in trouble if we stay, Doggie. What do you think?”

  Doggie didn’t know.

  “This is a fine time for you to stop talking to me. Now, let me think.” I tapped my upper lip. “Let’s see, now. She said, ‘It could mean your job.’ What does that mean?”

  Doggie didn’t know.

  “You’re no help,” I said. “I think it means they won’t let him be a policeman anymore if he keeps me. What do you think?”

  He agreed.

  “Officer Daily said the important thing to think about when you run away is to be sure you have an honest good reason. I think this is an honest good reason, Doggie.”

  I looked through the bed chest for a piece of paper and a pencil.

  “Aren’t you ready for bed?” Mrs. Daily asked as she came into the bedroom.

  “Not yet.”

  “Can I help you?”

  “I was just looking
for some paper and a pencil.”

  “Whatever for? Do you want to write to someone?”

  “Uh…no. I wanted to draw a picture.”

  “Now? Aren’t you tired?”

  “A little, but I wanted to—”

  “You don’t have to explain,” she said. “If you want paper and a pencil, you’ll have them.” She left the room.

  “Gosh, Doggie,” I said, “I sure wish we could stay here.”

  Mrs. Daily brought me the paper and pencil, then helped me change into my pajamas. When I was finished in the bathroom, I got into bed. Officer Daily said good night from the doorway.

  “Sir.”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for everything.”

  “Anytime, son. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Now, little fella,” she said as she brought the blanket up to my chin, “tomorrow afternoon I’m going to find a school for you to go to. What do you think about that?”

  “That would be nice.”

  “Now, get some sleep. If you want to draw, the paper is there. But there’ll be plenty of time to do that tomorrow.”

  “All right.”

  She kissed me and started to leave.

  “Please don’t go.”

  She came back and sat down. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “Are you frightened of something?”

  “No.”

  “You look upset.”

  “No, I just wanted to hug you, that’s all.”

  She put her arms around me and hugged me. I tried to loosen the words in my throat, but I couldn’t. She rocked and hugged me for a few minutes before she left.

  I lay in the dark, thinking. There was no other way. I couldn’t let Officer Daily get in trouble over me. I got out of bed and put on the lamp. I wrote:

  Dear Officer and Mrs. Daily,

  Thank you for wanting to keep me. I don’t want to get you into bad trouble, so I have to go. Thank you for the turkey and the movies and the other stuff.

  Jennings and Doggie

  I lay awake for hours until I was sure they were asleep. I got up and packed my things in the laundry bag. I got dressed, slipped Doggie into the bag, then climbed out the window.

  I walked in the same direction they walked when they took me shopping. I ducked in and out of doorways. I didn’t want to be spotted by anyone and taken to jail. I remembered the upstairs train station near the zoo, when I saw another one just like it. I went up to the man in the change booth. I asked him how to get to Boston Road and Tremont Avenue. I knew it was better to ask him that than how to get to the zoo, especially in the middle of the night.