Spot and Smudge - Book One

by Robert Udulutch

  Spot and Smudge had stayed at Mimi’s during their recovery. Ben had stayed over as well, of course, with the rest of the family stopping by frequently to check on Mimi and the pups. Not that there was much to do but keep the dogs off their feet, make sure they ate and rested well, and make sure they weren’t showing any signs of pain. They also needed their bandages changed every other day. Ben had mastered carrying them out to the woods and holding up their fronts as they stood and did their business. He looked one way and the pup looked the other, and with a nod they all agreed to not discuss it.

  Aila returned to the picnic table and Mimi said, “Ronnie rang this morning. The poor thing sounded horrific. She’s still not feeling toppers but said I could remove the bandages tonight if all looked tidy. She’s stopping by the clinic later to check on a few things in case we have need of her. I asked her to nip by for dinner but she said she may still be spreading the plague.” Mimi filled plastic cups from the pitcher and said, “It’s right odd that she hasn’t heard from Dr. D yet. Her note said she would be away for a week but Ronnie’s heard nary a word. I offered to help out but she’s leaving the clinic closed for now until she’s on the mend.”

  “That is odd about the doctor,” Aila agreed, and just to Mimi she whispered, “But she’s an odd bird that one, and I’d love to disappear for a week for that kind of a vacation, too.”

  The family chowed down their sandwiches and drinks. As they were finishing up Kelcy grabbed a handful of grapes, looked over at the pups and around a mouthful asked, “They should be fine, right? I mean based on your missing fingertips we know their appetite is still rocking.”

  Mimi looked at her little black dogs lounging in the chairs. She still thought of them as puppies even though they had grown like weeds and at fifty pounds they weren’t easy to lug around. She said, “I have never seen animals heal like our wee dogs. The first time I changed their bandages they looked a bloody fright but when I changed them last time you almost couldn’t tell they’d been hurt. I’m sure they’ll be right as rain in a tick. They just need to take it easy for the first few days when they’re up and about.” Mimi had thought keeping the pups off their feet for a week was going to be a challenge but they seemed quite happy to lounge, and be carried around without raising so much as a whimper.

  A few hours after lunch the family had finished the roof and the trim work. All that was left was to hang the doors and finish the chicken coop wire and some painting. They reused the cinder blocks that held up the original foundation but built the new shed a little wider and taller. The walls were insulated, and Dan had also run new electrical and added some additional lights. Mr. Watt had been skeptical throughout the whole build but seemed to warm up to the shed as it neared completion.

  After dinner it was finally time to remove the pups’ bandages. Mimi brought the tub of warm water over to the kitchen table and poured an eyeball measured amount of antiseptic into it. She dipped the washcloth in and wrung it out as Ben finished unwrapping Smudge’s last few wraps of dressing.

  He whistled and said, “Whoa, look at that.”

  While Mimi started to clean Smudge’s paw the family gathered around the kitchen table. The pup’s foot looked almost completely healed. The fur had grown back all the way up to the shoulder and it was her normal rich, silky black. Her nails looked healthy and needed a trimming. The pup’s paws were much larger than normal from the swelling but the only evidence that Smudge had an injury was a small ridge of puckered skin running from the center of the wrist joint all the way down the center of her foot to the middle of the paw. The scar split her foot into two equal halves, with two toes on each side.

  Mimi probed Smudge’s foot. She looked at her little black face watching for any sign of pain, but the dog just looked back at her and nodded. The skin felt good and firm, with lots of muscle over the bone. Normal for Smudge, aside from the puffiness. Mimi lifted the paw up and looked at the underside. The pads were totally healed and looked firm and healthy. Mimi felt around her toes slowly and watched Smudge’s face but she just looked up at Mimi and nodded again. Mimi laughed, and then she noticed the same median scar running along the bottom side of her foot. It ran between her toes and straight up the back of her foot to the same place on the underside of her wrist as the scar on top.

  “So weird,” Kelcy said, “Is that were the grafts were?”

  “I assume so,” Mimi said, “Looks like Dr. D did a belter of a job. There is plenty of flex in the skin and no discoloration. It’s an interesting scar. Of course our pup’s rate of healing should probably take some credit.”

  She said to Smudge, “Let’s have us a look at your other hoof, shall we?” and Smudge placed her other paw in Mimi’s hand.

  Ben laughed, “That’s a yes.”

  Ben unwrapped Spot’s dressing and Mimi cleaned both of his front paws as well. When she was done the family stood back and looked at them. The pups were lying side by side like a pair of Sphinx with their big feet hanging over the end of the kitchen table. They were flexing them carefully and checking them out. They licked their own feet, and then licked each other’s.

  “So odd,” Dan said, “Identical big feet, and front to back scars. Once the fur grows in all the way you won’t even notice, but I doubt they’ll be paw models.”

  “You’re so strange,” Kelcy said to her Dad. To Mimi she asked, “Can they get up?”

  “Aye, they should try,” Mimi said.

  Both pups slowly sat up, and then stood up at the exact same time. They took a few backward and forward steps together and then circled around the kitchen table, wagging in sync with each step.

  “Show offs,” Kelcy said as she scooped up their heads into a big hug.

  Much later that night as the pups were lying at the foot of Ben’s bed, Smudge played with the pads of her feet.

  They bloody itch, she said as she nibbled at them.

  Leave them alone, Spot said without looking up, You’ll go blind.

  His head was resting on the window sill and he watched the moon poke through the dwindling clouds. The last tendrils of the Nor’easter clouds were breaking up and drifting south.

  Patience, sister, Spot said, Three more days. We’ll be healed and we can take care of...

  He trailed off as he watched a shadow moving through the trees.

  She’s here, he said.

  Smudge joined him at the window as One Ear walked into a patch of broken moonlight and nodded to the pups. She circled a few times and gestured that all was quiet.

  Spot and Smudge had the coyotes patrolling both houses and the rest of the neighborhood since the night of their surgery.

  One Ear explained how she and Weasel One had observed the vehicles and the strange meeting at the abandoned factory.

  Smudge thanked the big hunter and sent her back to the den to get some rest.

  After the coyote darted away Smudge turned to her brother and he read her worried face.

  No, Spot said, I don’t know what it means but there’s nothing we can do about it yet. We need to heal.

  Chapter 64

  The next evening as Mimi prepared dinner Ben filled the pups’ bowls with dog food mixed with raw egg, some boiled chicken pieces, and the last of the high protein paste from the meds that Dr. D had provided. He also dropped in an antibiotic pill and a vitamin C tablet. The pups descended on it just as he pulled his hands out of the way.

  As they wagged their tails in sync like windshield wipers he watched them chow down and said, “I think that’s what pro football players eat.”

  “Away and raffle yourself lad,” Mimi said, “You don’t know what a proper football match even looks like. Come, sit and have your haggis.” Ben knew she was kidding and wouldn’t really bring haggis within twenty feet of him.

  After dinner Ben helped Mimi clean up the dishes. He headed off to do some homework, and as she put on the kettle for tea he called for the pups.

  “Leave the beasts with me a wee minute,” she said, “I want
to check their hooves. You go on ahead and they’ll be along.”

  Ben shuffled off around the corner and a moment later Mimi heard his radio turn on and then go quiet as he closed his door.

  Mimi spread out a big folded towel on the kitchen table and patted it. “Ok, let’s have a peek,” she said.

  Spot and Smudge looked at each other. They didn’t like the sound of that. Mimi had checked their paws just a few hours earlier.

  They each jumped up on a kitchen chair and then onto the table. Mimi brought over the table lamp from the side board and clicked it on as Smudge went first and sat in front of her, offering a paw. Mimi put on her reading glasses and raised her eyebrows as she concentrated on Smudge’s foot. The large leather pads felt good. They were soft and smooth, and they were very muscled. She felt around the toes and carefully inspected the pads, and nodded. There was no tenderness or pain. She tapped the paw and Smudge switched so Mimi could perform the same ritual on the other foot. Mimi confirmed what she suspected earlier. The pup’s feet weren’t swelled from the surgery, they were completely healed and were just bigger and more muscular than normal.

  When the kettle steamed Mimi got up to pour the hot water into her cup, and she waved for Spot and Smudge to switch places. She did the same foot prodding routine with Spot and then announced, “You two are fitter than a butcher’s dog.”

  Mimi went to the counter and wrapped the string from the tea bag around a spoon to squeeze it into her cup. As she was adding a splash of milk the pups turned to jump down from the table.

  “Not so fast,” she said without turning around. The pups looked at her back and then at each other as she said, “Stay for minute whilst I talk to you both.”

  Spot and Smudge circled around each other and came back over to her as Mimi returned to the table. She was eye level with them and put her reading glasses back on.

  “Okay, so show me,” She said.

  The pups looked at each other again, and then they looked back at Mimi. No one blinked.

  “Well, come on you wee scunners,” she said as she took a sip of tea, “I wasn’t born a fortnight ago.”

  The pups continued to stare. Smudge shuffled her feet some and then looked down at her paw, pretending she had an itch. Spot didn’t flinch, he just stared at Mimi.

  A few slow seconds passed.

  Mimi took a long, slow, slurping sip from her tea cup as she eyeballed them. Still nothing from the pups.

  “All right then,” she said, and reached behind her to open one of the kitchen drawers. She pulled out a clean folded dish towel and tossed it at their feet. It was the dish towel from the basement. Spot looked at the towel, and back to Mimi. Smudge was suddenly very interested in a blank section of the kitchen wall.

  “Would you like me to fetch my tablet?” Mimi said, “You know, the one Ben uses. The one you’ve been using.”

  Spot looked at his sister.

  Smudge nodded.

  Spot lifted his front leg and extended his foot towards Mimi.

  He flexed, and his paw split in two right up to the wrist.

  Chapter 65

  Doug pulled the dented van into the island of light surrounding the convenience store’s gas pumps. He stopped on the far side, and as he started to open the van door he froze. A police car had come up the street and slowed down as it passed. The cruiser hit its lights and screamed into the parking lot. It looped past the first row of pumps and sped off back the way it had come. Doug let out his breath and washed another Adderall down with a slug of Guinness. He hopped out of the van as he shielded his eyes from the bright overhead lights.

  He took three large gas cans from the back and set them down near the pump. Doug was just putting the gas nozzle into the first can when Liko’s SUV pulled into the lot and parked next to him. Aside from the police car scare it was a quiet night in town and they were the only two cars in the lot.

  Liko joined him at the side of the van and said, “Fucking shit Hoss, you look like crap. You gonna be okay tonight?” he said.

  “Fucking have to be,” Doug mumbled.

  Liko looked around and then dug into his pocket. He handed Doug a black thirty-eight revolver and a handful of extra shells. “It’s loaded,” he said as he headed towards the front door of the store. He called over his shoulder, “Want anything?” but he didn’t wait for an answer.

  Doug put the gun into his belt and then struggled to pull out his wallet. He was still wearing his gloves and was afraid to remove them. He didn’t want to see his hands. Last time he looked at his fingers he swore they were talking to him and his thumb had asked him to bite the other fingers off.

  Doug shivered and dropped his wallet. He cursed and picked it up, and it took him another minute to get out his credit card. He was hit with another wave of chills and dropped both the wallet and the card.

  “Fuuuuuuck!” he yelled and kicked one of the gas cans.

  He bent back down and picked at the edge of the card but couldn’t pick it up with his gloves on. He closed his eyes, pulled off one glove and grabbed the card and the wallet before putting the glove back on. His fingers felt very strange and he didn’t want to look at them.

  He stood again, swooning from the head rush. The overhead lights seemed to have gotten brighter and were pressing his eyes into slits. He leaned against the van for a moment and then slid the credit card into the slot on the pump.

  It didn’t register.

  He pulled it out and slid it in, and out, and in again. Nothing.

  He looked at the mag stripe and whispered, “Fucking ass shit,” under his breath and flipped the card around. Just as he was slamming the card into the slot the gas pump clicked and the display switched to read PUMP OFF.

  A moment later the lights above the pumps went out. The rest of the parking lot and the store were still lit.

  Doug could see Liko inside the store walking to the counter with a large bag of chips and a two liter bottle of soda. Doug waved to get Liko’s attention but the fat squinty Chinese fuck didn’t see him. He hit the call button on the pump but it just hissed at squealed at him. He yelled another string of obscenities and stormed off towards the gas station.

  Doug walked through the sliding front doors and the welcome chime was like a punch to the eardrums, and the bright lights of the store drilled holes in his temples. He staggered a few steps into the store and in as calm a voice as he could manage addressed the kid behind the counter, “What the fuck is wrong with the pumps asshole?”

  The kid was ringing up Liko’s snacks and counting the change. He didn’t look up. “Pumps don’t have assholes,” he said, “Closing time. Good night.”

  Liko whistled and smiled when he saw the look on Doug’s face. He grabbed his chips and soda and took a step back as Doug cocked his head and walked towards the counter. The kid dropped Liko’s change on the counter and half of it rolled off the edge and onto the floor.

  Liko couldn’t help but stare at the kid’s hands as the teen picked up his phone again and started playing a game. It looked like the very tips of all of his fingers had turned black.

  “Turn on the fucking pump before I pull your virgin pecker out through your mouth,” Doug said as he leaned on the counter. His eyes were slits and he blinked like there was something stuck in them.

  Liko laughed and opened the bag of chips.

  “Pumps are off dude, it’s almost closin’ time,” the kid said without looking up, “Good night.”

  Liko dug into the bag with a crunch and a big smile. He pulled out a handful of chips and stuffed them into his mouth as he waited for the floorshow to start.

  Doug pulled his pistol from his belt and shot the kid through the shoulder. Blood sprayed on the cigarettes and lottery scratch tickets behind him as he dropped his phone.

  The kid stood there for a moment, staring at the pumping wound before he grabbed his shoulder and let out an extremely high pitched scream, and then he collapsed behind the counter. Doug and Liko looked at each other. Liko gra
bbed his shoulder, and with chip crumbs flying out of his mouth did a really good impression of the kid’s scream. Even Doug laughed at that and went around the end of the counter as Liko put down the bag and his soda. He took another handful of chips and walked to the back office.

  Doug pointed his gun at the kid’s head and said, “Put eighty bucks prepaid on pumps two, four, and six, please,” and motioned for the kid to get up.

  The kid wasn’t avoiding eye contact now. He got to his knees and punched a few buttons with his good hand. “All set,” he mumbled.

  Doug said, “Good night,” and shot him in the head just below his left eye.

  As the kid collapsed Doug snatched two lighters and two replacement gas caps from a peg board display at the end of the counter.

  Liko came out of the back office with his shirt sleeves pulled over his hands. He was carrying the security recorder with the cables dangling, and stopped to pick up his soda and chips.

  He looked at the kid who had pulled down a rotating stand of air fresheners with him as he fell. The kid had his arm around it like it was his date. Liko laughed and said to Doug, “Can you grab my change?”

  Doug’s van and Liko’ SUV were rolling through the stoplight at the south end of town when the gas station went up in a fireball. The force wobbled the van. In his rear view mirror Doug saw orange flames shoot horizontally across the road and ignite the front of the houses on the other side of the street.

  Chapter 66

  Mimi went down the hall to check on Ben. He had fallen asleep with a textbook on his face again so she placed it on his night table and kissed him on the forehead. She pulled the comforter up to his shoulders and paused to look at the sweet face of her sleeping grandson. She smiled. He looked just like his grandfather, and Ben was now about the same age Papa had been when Mimi first saw him hunting with his brother Hamish in Inverclyde more than sixty years ago.