First Step

“I hate it.” Willy screamed at his mother.

            “Honey, Uncle John got it for you.  He knew you wanted a puppy.  He was just trying to help. “

            “It’s a freak.  I don’t want it.”  Willy pushed up against his headboard, kicking his blanket covered leg at the black lab puppy. 

            “Sweety..”

            “I don’t want it.  It’s a freak like me.  Get it away.”

            “I’ll just put it in its bed in the corner, here.”  Jane MacArthur carefully picked up the struggling bundle of happy black fur and chubby folds of skin and tucked it into the dog bed in the corner.

            “Get it out.”

            “I’ll just leave him here while I get you some soup,” Willy’s mom said and quickly exited the room. 

            “No!”

            Willy fixed a malevolent stare at the squirming puppy.  “Stay,” he grumped at it.  At the sound of his voice, the puppy looked up and noticed him.  Big round eyes fixed Willy with a joyous gleam, a pink tongue popped out between smiling lips and the little mass of fur and folds came to life.  “No!  Stay!” Willy yelled as the pup started into motion.  The pup staggered to get out of its bed and fell tumbling out onto the hard, cold oak floor.  Three legs scrabbled on the slick surface as the young lab labored to reach the human.  He could feel the hurt and wanted to make it better.  Try as he might, the pup couldn’t stand on the slippery floor, so he dragged himself.  He had to reach the boy. 

            The long struggle ended at the side of the bed.  Willy’s protests grew less and less as he watched the puppy’s determination.  Willy looked down over the edge of the bed at watery adoring eyes.  He didn’t move.  He just stared quietly.  Eventually, the puppy whined, and again tried to stand, to reach the boy. 

            “I don’t know what you’re whining about.  You got two more legs than I do,” Willy said.  He continued to stare down.  “Oh, fine,” he said reaching down and grabbing the puppy.  His fingers sank into the warm soft wrinkles, which seemed all the puppy was made of.  He could feel the wriggling excitement travel all the way up his arms. 

            “Here’s…” Willy’s mom froze at the doorway.  A tear dripped down her cheek.  There could be so many reasons why.  For now, relief seemed the most likely cause as she looked at her poor damaged son, asleep with a ball of black fur nestled up under his chin.  She didn’t know how long she stood there, but she finally left the room with the lukewarm bowl of soup.  She had seen the puppy’s nose twitch at the smell of the soup and worried that it would break the magical scene she was looked on.

            “John, it’s Jane, “ she spoke into the phone.

            “Ya, what’s up.”

            “We’ll keep the puppy.”

            “Oh, so you don’t think I’m an asshole anymore?  You decided this isn’t a sick joke?”

            “John, I’m sorry.  I didn’t understand.  You should see them.  They’re so beautiful.”

            “I can imagine.”

            “Thank you, John.”

            “I did it for the boy.”

            “I know, but thank you anyway.”

            “You gonna be all right?”

            “Yes.  Yes, I think we will be.”

            “You want to talk about Bill sometime, you let me know. “

            “I will, but not yet.  I’m not ready for that.  I just want to look at Willy and the puppy for now.  I better go,“ Jane choked.

            “You got it, Sis.  You need me, I’m here.”

            Jane hung up the phone, and shaking, slipped down the wall to the cold linoleum floor.  All of her grief and pain, everything she had held in since the accident, came spilling out as she held her palms to her face.