by David Blaze
My uncle Mike and Dana met us at the airport. Dana was so happy to see Fox that she ran up and tackled him. My uncle high fived Fox and flexed muscles with him.
We were all wide awake so we agreed to go back to my house to get something to eat and catch up with Fox. It was like a family reunion and no one would stop talking. You would think we hadn’t seen Fox in years.
My mom wouldn’t let me out of the car when we pulled into our driveway. Uncle Mike and Dana were behind us in their car. She rolled her window down and motioned for my uncle to come to ours.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, standing by her window.
She pointed to the house. “I thought you said you were going to lock up.” I looked at the front door. It was wide open.
“I did,” he replied. He motioned for Dana to get out of their car and into ours. “Roll your window up and lock the doors. I’ll find out why the front door’s open.”
My mom tried to stop him. “Wait,” she begged. “We should call the police.”
He glanced into the back seat where Fox was asleep with his tongue out. Even after all we had done to save Fox, it was still illegal to keep him. “No, we shouldn’t.” He walked past the car and into the house.
A lot of time had passed, and my uncle didn’t come back out. My mom was crying. I feared something bad happened to him. All of this was my fault — everything that happened over the weekend. If I had just written Shane’s homework the way he wanted me to, none of this would have ever happened.
I opened my car door and raced to the house.
“Jonah!” my mom shouted.
I wasn’t prepared for what I found when I stepped inside.
Everything was turned over and broken. The TV was smashed. The couches were ripped apart. The pictures were shattered.
My mom rushed in after me. “Don’t ever do that again! You almost gave me a ….” She didn’t say anything else when she saw the damage.
We both jumped when my uncle came out of the kitchen. “I don’t understand,” he said. “They didn’t take anything.”
We all turned when Dana and Fox joined us. And that’s when we saw it. Painted in big red letters above the doorway were the words GIVE US THE FOX.
I thought all of this was over. But it looked like there would always be people looking for Fox. Like my mom said, good people and bad people. Mr. Connors and Shane were only the beginning.
“This is about me, isn’t it?” Fox asked. He couldn’t read but he was good at figuring things out. He looked through the trashed house. “All of this is because of me.”
None of us could deny it, but no one wanted to admit it.
“Look,” Fox said, “it’s not safe for any of you if I’m here.” He nodded his head at me like I didn’t have any choice but to accept what he said. “I’ve got to disappear. They’ll never stop looking for me.”
“You can’t go,” Dana cried.
My uncle threw his hands up like he hated the idea but couldn’t think of any other options. “Whoever these people are, they’re going to come back.” My mom reminded him that if the police were involved then Fox would be taken away for good. There was no upside. There was no way to win.
Her eyes sparkled. She held up a finger like she did whenever she had a good idea.
She stared at my uncle again in the way they secretly communicated. Why couldn’t I read their minds? I hated being left out of a conversation that didn’t even exist. I had a feeling they were discussing Fox’s future. All I knew was I didn’t want him to leave.
“I don’t like it,” my uncle finally said, “but everyone get into my car.”
I wondered if we were going back to Las Vegas or running away. I didn’t want to do either one. This was my home and the one place I could guard my best friend. “What’s going on?”
My mom motioned for me, Dana, and Fox to move toward the door. “I know someone who can help us.”
Fox tapped her on the leg. “Mr. Awesome Muscles?”
She chuckled and said, “No, Fox. Not Mr. Awesome Muscles.” She redirected her attention to me. “Do you remember how to get to Tater’s house?”
Of course I remembered. He lived with his mom on Brown Street in the big orange house. I couldn’t think of any reason to go there unless we wanted to roast marshmallows over their burning hot fireplace. “Yeahhh… why?”
My mom tried to close the front door after we were all out of the house, but the knob was busted. She sighed and followed my uncle to his car. “Tater may be the only person who can help Fox now.”
MONDAY AFTERNOON
We sat around Tater’s living room with his mom for hours. He hadn’t returned from Las Vegas yet. Even though we sweated from the hot fireplace, his mom asked for a blanket to keep her warm. Her eyes didn’t move.
“He’s a good boy,” she assured us about Tater. “He’d never hurt anyone.” She rocked back and forth in her chair, nodding her head and smiling as my mom placed a blanket on her. “Thank you, honey.”
I doubted Tater wouldn’t hurt anyone. He killed bugs and captured animals for a living. And what about those stuffed animals in his room? It was like he collected them for trophies.
Fox waved his paws at me then rubbed his belly. “I’m starving. Do they have any chicken here?”
Tater’s mom stopped rocking. “We only eat fruits and vegetables. You can have all the broccoli you want.”
Dana stuck her tongue out and acted like she had to vomit. “I vote we get some fast food as soon as we leave.”
Fox agreed with her. “We don’t want slow food. We want fast food.”
The front door opened and Tater the Exterminator stepped in. He had on the same clothes as the night before.
Fox’s whole body was shaking.
“Hey, mama,” Tater said as he closed the door and joined us. “Hey, everyone else. What are you doing here?”
“Christopher Joseph Allen,” his mom said, standing up now. “Where have you been all night? I’ve been worried sick.”
He rushed over to her. “It’s okay, mama. Sit back down.” He looked around the room at all of us. My uncle stood like a statue with his chest out. He was ready to protect us if Tater tried to hurt anyone.
Tater faced me and Dana. “Shouldn’t you kids be in school?” Making sure Fox was safe was more important. And I can’t lie — I was afraid to go back to school. I had no idea if Shane would be there or not. I wanted to see Melissa and tell her what happened, but that would have to wait.
“What’s going to happen to Shane and his dad?” I asked him. I figured he knew the answer because he was the one who made sure they were taken away.
He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “It’s up to the courts. For animal cruelty, they could be fined six thousand dollars and go to prison for a year.” Mr. Connors had plenty of money. He had given Tater ten thousand dollars just to capture Fox. I wondered what happened to the money Tater dumped on the stage and left behind. If I was lucky, Shane would go away for a year.
He looked at Fox’s body shaking next to mine. “It’s okay,” Tater promised him. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Fox calmed down a little but Dana wanted answers. “What about all those animals in your room? You hurt them. All of them!”
Tater shook his head. “I bought those years ago on the internet. They remind me why I do what I do.” He smiled at Dana. “I do everything I can to save them.”
I was confused. I thought for sure Tater was a bad person who hurt animals. Sure, he was crazy. But maybe I had misunderstood him the whole time. After all, he did help us get Fox back.
“I was right about you,” my mom said. She stood by his side. “We need your help.”
Tater took his hands out of his pockets and laughed. “I’m not sure I can help anyone. I shouldn’t have given that money back.”
His mom stopped rocking again and said, “It was the right thing to do. We’ll find another way.”
My mom looked at both of them like
she had no idea what they were talking about. I explained it to her. “They’re going to lose the house. They needed that money.”
Tater hung his head and scratched it. “Life is funny when you try to do the right thing. I can’t win.”
My mom cleared her throat and nodded at my uncle. I wasn’t sure if they were talking to each other in their heads or not. “How much money do you need?”
“To stay here?” Tater asked. “About five thousand dollars. But that’s not going to happen.” He looked like he was about to cry. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll make it. We always do.”
My mom took a deep breath and stared at Fox. He wasn’t shaking anymore. “How much would it cost for you to do pest control at my house?” she asked Tater. “I hate ants and roaches.”
He shrugged. “Your house is pretty big. I could do it for forty dollars a month.”
My mom grabbed her purse off the floor. She pulled out her checkbook and wrote a check, then handed it to Tater.
He looked it and whistled. “I can’t take this,” he said, handing it back to her. “It’s for four thousand and eight hundred dollars. I don’t accept charity anymore.” His mom nodded her agreement.
My mom wouldn’t take the check back. “It’s not charity. You said you could provide my house with pest control for forty dollars a month.”
He nodded. “Yes ma’am. But even if you prepaid me for a year, that would only be four hundred and eighty dollars for all twelve months.”
She pushed his hand with the check back towards him. “We’re going to be living in that house for a very long time, Christopher. I’ve prepaid you for ten years.” His mom smiled wide. “And you have a beautiful name. You should use it.”
Tater — I mean Christopher — was speechless for the first time. He finally said, “There’s no way I can thank you enough for this.”
Dana jumped up from her seat. “You can start by getting some real food for us.”
Fox nodded vigorously. “Fast food. Not slow food.”
My mom held her hands out. “Just a minute. Christopher, we came here because we need your help. Fox is in danger and we have to find a safe place for him.”
He stuffed the check into his pocket and nodded. “There’s a wildlife sanctuary about thirty minutes from here.” He looked at Fox. “I’ve taken foxes there before.”
My mom looked at me and nodded. “Then that’s where we’re going. We’ll get some fast food on the way.”
Fox jumped off the couch and stood on his hind legs in front of my mom. “Chicken is fast. Broccoli is slow.”
MONDAY EVENING
I felt sick when we arrived at the wildlife sanctuary. It was a huge place with acres of land and buildings for sick, injured, or orphaned animals. Christopher said he had brought all sorts of animals here for help, from skunks to bears. It was the right place for Fox, but I didn’t want to let him go.
“Got another orphan, Christopher?” a lady in white shorts and a red t-shirt asked when we arrived. She had a pair of latex gloves on.
“Yep,” he replied. “This one’s special.”
“They’re all special,” she said. “Let me have a look.” She bent down and inspected Fox’s hairy body. He was standing on all four paws in an attempt to blend in. She laid him down so she could check everything. The lady froze when she looked into his eyes. “His eyes are bright blue. I’ve never seen anything like this.” She was about to see and hear a lot more things she’d never seen or heard before.
“Foxes are known carriers of rabies,” she told all of us as she stood back up. “Have any of you been bitten or scratched?”
We all shook our heads. I didn’t know what rabies was but Fox never even had a cold.
“Okay then,” she said. “We’ll take him.”
My heart dropped. There was a huge part of me that hoped they wouldn’t take Fox. I wasn’t sure when I could see him again. Christopher said visitors were only allowed in the afternoons when I was at school and on Saturdays when I worked with my mom at the farmers market.
“I’d like to make a donation,” my mom said. She pulled out her checkbook and wrote another check. The lady’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head when she saw how much money it was.
“Fox is different from other animals,” my mom continued, nodding her head slowly to make sure the lady paid attention to every word. “His favorite food is chicken. He likes to sleep in a tent or den. And he loves to watch wrestling.”
The lady raised her eyebrows.
“Exactly how much money was under my lumpy mattress?” I asked my mom. We had found enough money under my mattress to save our house months ago. I wondered how much was left over.
“There was enough, Jonah,” was all she would say.
I tried to be happy for Fox because he had a chance to be with his own kind. He was lost without his parents and nothing would ever make up for that. But maybe this place would help him.
The lady stepped away to talk to Christopher. “Don’t leave me here,” Fox begged me. “I don’t want to do this. I’m scared.”
Dana ran over to Fox and hugged him. “I’ll never forget you.” She kissed the top of his head and went back to my uncle, crying.
My heart was being ripped to pieces. I wanted to grab my best friend and run away with him. I was leaving him behind in a world he wasn’t familiar with. Were we doing the right thing? I didn’t want to say goodbye. I was completely numb. How was I supposed to live my life not knowing how Fox was? How was I supposed to live without him?
“Maybe it’ll be okay,” Fox said, rubbing his side against my leg. “They don’t serve chicken pot pie here, but I’ll survive.” He smiled and looked up at me with his bright blue eyes.
He was trying to make me feel better. He was the one whose world was being taken away from him, but he wanted to make sure I was okay. He had caused more trouble than anyone else in my life. And he was the best thing that ever happened to me.
He held out his arm with the bracelet. I held out mine. “Best friends,” we said together. I tried not to cry. Fox stood up on his hind legs and hugged me. I never wanted to let him go. Mr. Awesome Muscles.
“He’ll do well with the other two foxes,” the lady said when she returned with Christopher. I could see the foxes partially hidden in the tall grass in the field across from us. They were bigger and older than Fox. “They’ve come a long ways since you brought them to us a few months ago.”
Christopher nodded like he was impressed. “You did a good job. I wasn’t sure they’d make it.”
She smiled. “It’s what we do. They were in bad shape after those hunters shot them.” She paused and shook her head. “It still amazes me. They got away somehow and refused to die. It’s like those foxes were fighting for something. Or someone.”
Fox turned away from me and looked towards the other foxes. Then he said the two words I never thought I’d hear him say.
“Mom? Dad?”
He raced off toward them without looking back and leaped over the fence. The older foxes ran together toward Fox at the same time. Fox shouted their names over and over. “Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!”
Fox had always believed he would find them. My heart was going to explode.
Fox and his parents jumped all around each other. They rubbed their sides together and licked each other’s faces. Fox finally had everything he was looking for. Seeing them so happy made me miss my dad at that moment.
My mom hugged me from behind. “I’m here for you, Jonah. Mom’s here.”
“I miss dad,” I confided in her.
She held me tighter. “Your father loved you very much. And he would be proud of the man you’re becoming. He’ll always be with us. I can see him in you.”
I took a few deep breaths and cleared my throat. “You’re the best mom ever.”
“I know,” she said. “That’s what it says on my mug at home.” We both laughed.
The lady with the red shirt stepped up to us and handed me a
shirt exactly like hers. “This is the only one I have. I’ll order some more in your size.”
I didn’t understand. “What is this?”
My mom smiled. “It’s for your after school job. Uncle Mike will bring you here and I’ll take you home after work.”
My head spun for a moment. Did I hear that right? I could come here to see Fox after school every day? No way!
I ran to the fence Fox had leaped over and shouted his name. “Fox!” It sounded odd because they were all foxes, but only mine could talk. “I’m not leaving you here alone! I’m coming back tomorrow! I got a job here!”
He ran back to the fence with his parents. He grinned and wagged his tail when they reached me. “Guess you’re stuck with me.”
I grinned back. “I guess so. Nothing can keep us apart.”
His mom and dad stood on all four paws on each side of him and looked up at me from the other side of the fence. They were tall and majestic. I could tell right away they couldn’t talk or move like him. They sniffed my pants and licked my hands through slits in the fence. It tickled.
Fox leaped back over the fence and stood next to me with a serious look on his face. “You know what we should do? We should go to China.”
I couldn’t keep a straight face. I remembered when we first met and he convinced me it was possible to dig a hole to China. And when he came back a few days ago and we laughed about it. I don’t know how I ever lived without Fox. “You’re my best friend, and the brother I never had.”
“You welcomed me into your family,” Fox said. “Now I welcome you into mine.” I couldn’t stop smiling.
My mom yelled my name. She was with my uncle, Dana, and my new boss at a table they set up outside. “We have cake!” she yelled. “Let’s celebrate!”
“Cake?” Fox asked, licking his lips. “I want cake.”
I remembered the last time Fox had cake. It had given him that nasty fart that smelled like tuna and broccoli and onions and vinegar and dirty feet and dirty underwear all mixed together.