by Ali Standish
And then there were the people Bella passed on the sidewalk every day—on their way to work or coming home from school—who stopped to pet her and say what a wonderful smile she had. Bella was always smiling those days. There was so much to be happy about.
They usually ended their walks in the park, where Bella often saw her friend Zoey. Some days, they wrestled together, and other days, they dug holes. Zoey was the best digger Bella had ever met.
“Aren’t you ever scared your owners will take you back to the pound?” Bella asked one day, after she and Zoey were done with their wrestling for the afternoon. Zoey’s owners were standing at the edge of the park, talking to Alice and Andy while their children played in the playground.
“No,” said Zoey simply. “My family loves me too much to leave me.”
“But they have children to take care of. And besides,” Bella said, repeating what Leo had told her, “humans always choose their children over their dogs.”
“But the children are my best friends,” said Zoey. “They would never let my mom and dad abandon me, even if they tried. Which they won’t.”
Bella considered this.
Zoey chased her tail in circles until she fell over.
Bella thought about Hazel, who had also been adopted by a family with children, and hoped that she was all right.
“ACHOO!”
Zoey’s sneeze was so enormous that it caused Bella to leap into the air in surprise.
Zoey had sniffed too hard at a patch of daffodils, and her nose was covered in yellow dust.
Bella sighed as she watched Zoey try to wipe the dust off her nose with her paws. She hoped Zoey was right and that her family would always take care of her. Zoey would never make it on her own.
One morning, the Roses led Bella out to the car. Even though Bella trusted the Roses, she always got a nervous feeling in her belly when they took her driving. But they were usually very good about telling her where they were going.
“We’re going to see a special friend of yours!” Alice announced today.
“It’ll be a great day for all of us,” Andy added.
Andy took Alice’s hand and kissed her on the cheek.
Once she knew where they were going, Bella usually focused on getting her head as far out the window as she could. Today, though, she was busy wondering who the special friend could be. All her friends lived here, in the neighborhood. Except, of course, for Runt, Hazel, and Leo. But the Roses didn’t know about them.
They took a short drive toward the edge of the city and slowed in front of a little blue house with a white picket fence around the yard.
A woman waved from the porch, and as Andy pulled into the driveway, Bella saw who it was.
Leslie.
Bella pinned back her ears and began to tremble as Leslie walked toward the car. Were the Roses leaving her here?
Is Leslie taking me back to the pound?
“Don’t worry,” Alice said, ruffling Bella’s ears. “No one is going to take you back to the pound.”
Bella felt herself relax. She liked how Alice so often seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.
“Hello, Bella!” Leslie called. She bent down, kissed Bella’s nose, and rubbed behind her ears in just the right place. Then she hugged Andy and Alice.
“Come in, come in,” she said, leading them through the door.
The Roses sat down on a green sofa in the living room. Then Leslie opened the back door so that Bella could play outside and also do some very important business in the backyard, which was surrounded by the picket fence. The grass was covered with white flower petals that rained down in a soft shower from a tree above. There were interesting bugs to chase in the pretty flower beds and even a few sticks that were the perfect size to gnaw on.
As she sniffed a particularly smelly plant, Bella heard a great whistling sound nearby and ran to the back of the yard. She poked her head between two loose pickets in time to see a train trundling by across a field. Bella watched until it was out of sight, wondering where it was going, before turning her attention to chasing after a fat cricket.
When she was tired of playing, she trotted back inside.
Leslie was holding Alice in a tight embrace, and Andy stood behind them, a huge grin on his face.
“I’m so happy for you!” Leslie said. “I have to start knitting little hats and scarves!”
Bella looked from Leslie to Alice and Andy.
“Bella must be very happy, too!” said Leslie.
“What do you say, Bella?” asked Andy. “Does our big news make you happy?”
Bella could tell that the right answer was yes, so she thumped her tail.
She wondered briefly why everyone was so happy, but she knew that sometimes humans got excited about strange things, like boring TV shows with no animals in them or getting a new vacuum cleaner, and it really was past her nap time already. She found a sunny spot on Leslie’s carpet and circled around it until she plopped down in the perfect place. She fell instantly asleep.
As she slept, she dreamed of Leslie wrapping colorful scarves around her neck and taking her out to play in a snowstorm of flower petals. Zoey and Leo were there as well, jumping up and down and chasing one another through the white blossom blanket as a train whistled in the background.
When Alice woke her up to go home, Bella wasn’t altogether sure she hadn’t dreamed the entire afternoon.
Eleven
The Nursery
As the days grew longer, Bella became even more contented with her new family.
Andy took Bella for long runs each morning, before the sun became too hot. Once or twice, Bella even let Alice coax her onto the foot of the bed for her after-running nap, though she still always slept on her own bed at night.
Bella found that she thought less and less of the McBrides, though she still sometimes dreamed of a giant tree toppling down on her, and hearing their voices yell out “BAD BELLA!”
It was just a nightmare, she would tell herself in the morning. You live with the Roses now, and everything is wonderful.
One day, when the sun was just beginning to set, Andy took Bella out to the park to play. Zoey was nowhere to be seen, and neither were any other dogs. The only other people there were two children throwing a Frisbee back and forth.
Luckily, Andy had brought a tennis ball.
“Ready, girl?” he said. “Go get it!”
The tennis ball soared from his hand to the far corner of the park.
Bella pumped her legs as hard as she could and flew after the ball.
When she ran like that, she was sure she was the fastest dog who had ever lived. Faster, even, than the wind.
But when she got to the fence, there was no ball to be found.
There was, however, a hole in the chain link.
Bella’s heart sank. If her ball had rolled through it, she couldn’t bring it back to Andy. Going outside the fence on her own was against the rules.
“Looking for this?” called a gruff voice.
Except it sounded like “Ookinordis?”
A huge shadow stepped out from behind a tree on the other side of the chain-link fence.
Leo!
Her old friend wagged his tail. He dropped Bella’s tennis ball from his mouth and grinned.
Bella stepped closer to the fence so that she could kiss him hello.
“Leo!” she cried. “What are you doing here?”
“I move around a lot,” Leo said. “My whole pack does. Otherwise, the dogcatchers will find us and take us to the pound. What are you doing here?”
“I’m with one of my new humans,” Bella replied. “He’s on the other side of the park.”
Bella looked over her shoulder. Andy was standing with a hand on his hip, looking curiously at her.
“How are you?” Bella asked.
“Great!” Leo said.
Bella considered this. Leo did not, in fact, look very good at all. He had a long scratch across one of his cheeks, and hi
s left eye was swollen. He was so skinny, she could see the shape of his ribs through his fur.
And he smells like a dumpster.
Bella did not say this, of course. She wouldn’t want to hurt Leo’s feelings.
“Bella!” Andy called. “What are you doing over there? Come, girl!”
Bella didn’t like ignoring Andy, but she suddenly had a very good idea indeed.
“Leo,” she said, “my humans and I live in that tall building over there. Why don’t you come back with me to meet Andy? I’m sure he would take you home with us.”
Leo’s face scrunched up, like he had just been bitten by a flea. “I’m glad you’re happy, Bella,” he said, “but you know I don’t do humans.”
“But they have ice cream and tennis balls and National Geographic! And I’m sure they would love you.”
Leo shook his head. “No thanks.”
“Well, hi there, buddy,” said Andy. Bella turned around to see that he had crossed the park and was standing close behind her, staring at Leo.
“Gotta go!” yipped Leo. “See you around!”
Leo galloped off before Andy could even hold his hand out to be sniffed.
“Stay here, Bella,” said Andy. Then he ran to the nearest gate and out onto the street. He looked both ways for any sign of the big, skinny dog.
But, as usual, Leo had already disappeared.
As it turned out, the Roses might not have had time to take care of another dog anyway.
Even when they weren’t at work, they started keeping themselves busy doing things around the apartment.
First Alice cleaned out her study. Andy painted it yellow, and then he and Alice slowly filled it with boxes. Bella did not know what was in the boxes. She was not allowed inside the yellow room.
“I don’t want you breathing those paint fumes,” Alice explained. “And there are too many tools and sharp things in there right now. You could hurt yourself. Besides, this way, the nursery will be a surprise.”
Bella felt a little curious to know what the nursery was. But she also felt quite grumpy. When the Roses were working in the nursery, they couldn’t be with her.
And for the first time in a long while, she was beginning to feel afraid again. Some nights, she lay awake, puzzling and worrying about the way things seemed to be changing.
The McBrides’ last “surprise” for me ended with a trip to the pound, she thought.
Bella was not fond of surprises. Not at all.
Twelve
The Awful Truth
As the days grew cool again and the leaves turned crimson and gold, things in the apartment went from bad to worse.
Andy and Alice seemed busier than ever. They never forgot to take Bella for her walks, or feed her breakfast and dinner, or even kiss her on the head at bedtime and tell her they loved her.
But even so, things were different.
She often heard the Roses talking about their savings account and about how Alice was feeling. Andy helped Alice up off the sofa, even though she seemed perfectly capable of helping herself up. And when they walked down the stairs, Andy held her arm as if he were afraid she might fall. Bella had even heard them talking about the hospital, and this made her feel very worried indeed.
Bella knew that the hospital was where you went to see a doctor—a kind of vet for humans. She remembered Hazel’s story, about how her human went to the hospital one day and never came back. She quivered to think of Alice having to go there.
One misty morning, while Alice stayed in bed, Andy walked Bella over to the park. When they got there, Zoey was already waiting.
“Wanna play wrestling?” she asked, wagging her tail and swiping a playful paw at Bella.
Bella flopped onto her belly instead.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” said Bella. “I think one of my humans is sick.”
“Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!” cried Zoey, zooming in a nervous circle. “What’s wrong with her?”
Bella told Zoey about Andy and Alice’s strange behavior. To her surprise, when she finished, Zoey switched directions and gave a joyful yip as she turned and began to circle the other way—a happy circle.
“What’s wrong with you?” said Bella. “My human could be sick!”
“I’m sorry, Bella,” said Zoey. “But she’s not sick. It’s so exciting!”
“What is?!” Bella cried. She was so very tired of not knowing what was going on.
“Your humans are having a child!” Zoey exclaimed.
“What.”
“A child! A baby!”
“No.”
No, no, no. It can’t be true, can it?
“Yes! A nursery is a place to keep a baby. And Andy just wants to make sure Alice and the baby are healthy.”
If Bella had not already flopped down on the ground, she would have thrown herself there now. She began to tremble, and she buried her face in her paws. Leo’s voice echoed in her head. Humans always choose their children over their dogs.
That’s why you have to find humans with no children to adopt you, Runt had yipped.
Then it was Hazel she heard, the voice gentle and kind, but the words so cruel. A dog can simply never be a human’s child.
“Bella? What’s wrong?” Zoey asked.
Dogs do not cry with tears like humans do, but a lump stuck in the back of Bella’s throat all the same. She let out a small whimper.
“What’s wrong?” Zoey repeated, nuzzling Bella.
“You’re wrong!” Bella growled. “They aren’t having a child. They wouldn’t do that to me!”
“But Bella, they aren’t going to—”
Before Zoey could finish, Bella heard Andy calling her.
“Bella! Time to go. Sorry girl, but I have a busy day today!”
Bella turned her back on Zoey and trudged toward Andy.
“Bye, Bella!” Zoey barked cheerfully. “Congratulations!”
Bella was too angry to say goodbye.
When Bella and Andy got home, Alice was standing in the kitchen, where something sizzled on the stovetop.
“I’m making an omelet,” she said when they came in. “Anybody want a bite? I put some extra butter in today.”
Bella accidentally inhaled a big gulp of hot buttery air. It smelled for all the world like . . . popcorn. She felt a sudden tug in her stomach, like she was going to be sick.
“Is Bella okay?” Alice asked.
Before she could stop herself, Bella felt her breakfast in her throat, and soon it was lying in a puddle on the kitchen floor.
When she saw what she had done, Bella dashed into the bedroom and threw herself under the Roses’ bed. She knew what was coming. The Roses would be upset at her for dirtying their floor and ruining their morning.
She waited to hear them yell, “BAD BELLA!”
Or maybe even, “VERY BAD BELLA!”
But there were only low voices talking in the kitchen. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming into the bedroom.
“Bella?” Alice called.
“Where is she?” asked Andy.
“I don’t know,” said Alice, her voice climbing with worry.
Then Andy’s head appeared beside Bella’s. “You’d better come look.”
Alice’s head appeared, too. “Why is she curled in a ball like that?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Should we take her to the vet?”
Nothing is wrong! Bella wanted to tell them. It was just Zoey stuffing silly ideas into my head. And the smell of extra butter makes me feel sad and scared and angry all at once. And I do not want to go to the vet, even if there is a talking bird and even if Paula does give me lots of treats. I just want to go back to the way things used to be!
But Bella did not know how to say all these things, so instead she uncurled herself a little, lifted her snout from the floor, and licked Andy’s palm.
“She seems better now,” he said. He reached under the bed and took hold of Bella’s shoulders where
they met her chest. Then he gently pulled her out.
Alice looked her over and stroked Bella’s tummy. “She should lie down up here,” she said to Andy, patting the pillows. “Where it’s comfortable.”
Andy helped Alice to her feet. Bella looked up. For the first time, she noticed that Alice’s stomach seemed bigger than usual. Just like Mrs. McBride’s stomach had before the tree arrived.
Bella let out a low moan.
“Can you get her onto the bed?” Alice asked Andy.
But no matter how they tried to convince her, Bella would not move from her spot on the carpet. Not even when Alice brought her a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.
As winter drew closer, the days grew darker, and so did Bella’s moods. Zoey had been right after all. Bella knew the awful truth now.
Alice and Andy are going to have a child.
Alice’s stomach got rounder each day, just as Mrs. McBride’s had. Andy’s face looked more and more tired, just like Mr. McBride’s had. The only difference was that Bella understood what was happening this time.
And the other only difference was that the Roses were still pretending like nothing was going to change. They still petted Bella and kissed her on the head and threw her tennis ball.
But that’s the way it had started with the McBrides, too.
It’s only a matter of time before everything changes, Bella thought.
And this time she was right.
Thirteen
The Tree Returns
One morning, Bella awoke to find lacy frost covering the grass. Little white puffs huffed from her nose when she and Andy went for their walk together.
“You have to take care of Alice today,” Andy said. “Keep an eye on her while I’m gone.”
Bella wondered where he was going without them. It was Saturday, which usually meant that Andy didn’t have to go to work. Probably he had to do something related to the baby. Everything was about the baby nowadays.
Leslie had even thrown the baby a party, which Bella thought was very silly, considering that the baby had not even been born yet. And especially considering that no one had ever thrown Bella a party.