“Oh.”
Leggo pushed his nose against the wire door of his crate and it swung open. Freckles watched as he hurried out of the room.
“C’mon, Frecks,” said Marty. “Your door’s open, too. We can go visit Mom while Rin Tin Tin here freshens up.”
Freckles pawed his door open. Then, in the brightening dawn, the two dogs went downstairs into the sewing room.
Vivian was just getting to her feet, holding something white in the air. The dogs blinked up at it. The day-bright lamps were a big adjustment from the rest of the dark house.
“Do I smell sequins?” asked Marty.
“Yes, but only on the back,” said the witch, turning the dress around. A red heart sewn in sequins twinkled.
“Ver-ry nice!” said Marty.
“Thank you. I thought the white would be different for the holiday—and I don’t know, I was feeling like it needed a touch of Marilyn.”
“Yeah, Mair’s a pretty good dresser, and she turned you on to that long ball-thrower thing—”
“Not Marilyn our neighbor, you scallywag—Marilyn Monroe.”
“OK. Is she a good dresser?”
“…Yes, Marty.”
“So, am I getting some new duds to wear too?”
“We’ll probably just do you in your tuxedo again.”
“Aww.”
“I’d love to do up a red velvet version, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time—if I want to have sweater vests to sell at the event, I’ve got to get those pieced together.”
“I really like my sweater, Missus Feng,” said Freckles, looking up from sniffing a fabric box in the corner.
“Thank you, dear, hearing that makes my day! Would you like a hug?”
Freckles wagged his tail. “Yes, please.”
The old woman knelt and the dog padded over to her to receive it.
“Aww,” said Marty. “You know, Frecks, keep working on your food and chew rules and you’ll have a forever home in no time!”
Freckles’ tail went into overdrive. “Really, Marty? You think so?”
“Of course, honey.” The witch rubbed his head. “Any family would love to have a sweet dog like you.” She pushed herself to her feet. “Which reminds me…”
The dogs followed her upstairs, past Leggo digging in the toy bin, and into the kitchen. The witch adjusted the setting on the slow cooker.
Marty took a whiff of the air. “Love potion? Smells a little weak for pandas.”
“Just a little something for the party. I don’t want people pairing off willy-nilly, but a little good cheer and puppy love never hurt anybody.” She paused. “Much. But anyway, since Tom and Alanna Lu will be there…”
“Excuse me, Missus Feng, but didn’t you say love potions weren’t good for humans?”
“Oh, I’d never rely on one to get a marriage together, but at this dilution, it’s like…soft candlelight and violin music. It sets the mood.”
“I thought this party was gonna have a DJ. You know,” Marty lunged onto his hind legs and managed a wobbly dance for two steps, “so we can get our groove on!”
The witch sighed. “Yes, there will be a DJ instead of a band. Which is just the reason for me to spike the punch.”
“Whoa. Spike the punch? Like in football? Won’t that make a mess?”
The witch chuckled. “No, this is a different meaning than in football. I’m just…adding a little something special to the grape soda. No harm, no foul.”
“If you say so,” said Marty. “Can you at least do up some sequins for my tux?”
Vivian peered through the slow-cooker lid. “We’ll see.”
There was a tapping of nails on the kitchen tile. Leggo plodded through, holding his greatly prized antler chew. Frank once told him it had come from one of the biggest elk in the Pacific Northwest and Leggo believed him, spending many a day chewing it and daydreaming about hunting it down.
Freckles followed him out of the room. After a last glance at the witch, Marty followed.
Chapter 10
In the living room, Frank was doing tai chi by light of the exercise video playing on TV. Rhoda sat behind him, watching.
“Hold the ball of chi between your hands,” said the video.
“You have a ball?” Rhoda asked in Human.
“Sure do,” said Frank, shifting to the side.
“But I can’t smell it. Never heard of anything that didn’t have a smell to it.”
“It’s energy, Miss Rhoda. It doesn’t have a smell.” Frank lifted the ball of chi over his head in an arc.
Rhoda squinted, tilting her head. “But…electricity, that’s energy, right?”
“Right,” said Frank, continuing the form.
“But I’ve smelled electricity before. When I was a puppy I licked a wall socket—it hurt! But I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t smelled it first. Mom and Dad and Tom were really worried!”
“Glad you’re OK,” said Frank, transitioning to a new form. He pushed his arms out, then brought them back in.
“Thank you,” said Rhoda. “But I’m still not sure about your ball of chi. Can you throw chi, like a tennis ball?”
“Forget it, dollface,” said Marty, entering the room. “I’ve had this convo before. Chi balls don’t smell, and humans think garbage smells nasty instead of a-ma-zing. We love each other, but face it, we come from different worlds.”
“Right on,” said Frank.
Marty plopped down next to Rhoda. Freckles moved in a little ways to watch Frank, but when Rhoda saw him, she whined and yipped for joy.
“Freckles! You’re still here?”
“Well, sure,” said Freckles, getting his face licked by Rhoda as he answered.
“You were so great on the trail! Thanks for getting me back home to my Tom! Thank you, thank you!”
“Aw, shucks, I was just doing what Missus Feng told me to do if I got lost in the woods.”
Rhoda lay down, then leaned her head on Freckles.
Leggo, bringing up the rear, saw this and his jaw dropped. The antler he had been holding in his mouth bounced off his paw and landed on the carpet.
But nobody saw. After a second, Leggo grabbed his antler and hurried out the living room just as Vivian walked in.
“Where’s he going?” Her tea sloshed in its cup as she dodged him.
“Dunno,” said Marty. Hypnotized by Frank’s motion, he hadn’t seen a thing. The witch took her place on the couch. The dogs moved camp to surround her, but Rhoda got invited onto the couch.
“All right, sister,” said the witch. “Spill. How does Tom feel about my niece?”
“Oh!” said the setter. She leaned back to scratch her ear with her foot, thinking. “Well, he jumps up very fast to get to his phone when he hears her phone music.”
“Has a special ringtone for her, does he?” The witch sipped her tea, eyes narrowed.
“Oh, yes,” said Rhoda. “One of his favorite songs.”
“Nice,” said Marty.
“What’s a ringtone?” asked Freckles.
“S’like a bark, you hear it and you know if it’s a friend or a stranger.”
“Oh.”
“Go on, my dear. What else about her?” said the witch.
“Um…well, he smells happy when she comes by or calls—like, the same kind of happy he had a year ago when this one girl, Phoebe, used to call. They used to spend hours on their phones together…but not Tom and Alanna Lu.”
The witch lowered her tea. “What?”
“At least, not talking on their phones. Maybe they’re clicking?”
“Texting,” said Marty. He turned to Freckles. “It’s like wagging tails, you can talk long distance to someone without making noise.
“Oh!” said Freckles and Rhoda together. Rhoda grinned at Freckles.
“Jinx!”
“Hey!” said Freckles. Rhoda wagged her tail.
“Okay, so they’re talking and may be texting.
What’s he like when they’ve gone out?”
“I’ve never been with Tom on one of his dates before,” said Rhoda. “But he changed his shirt three times before we came here.”
The witch smiled into her cup. “Did he think he’d be seeing Alanna Lu?”
“He smelled hopeful. I just don’t know about what.” The dog furrowed her brow. “Missus Feng, do you want my Tom and your Alanna Lu to have puppies?”
The witch guffawed, spraying tea into the air. Frank stumbled in his tai chi routine and had to wait to catch up with the tape.
“Maybe!” said the witch. “Maybe someday. But first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby with the baby carriage!”
“Preach it!” said Frank during an exhale.
Rhoda sighed, bowing her head. “I miss being a puppy with Tom. We used to play a lot, and hike. We go to work now, and hike only sometimes. It’s fun, but not the same.”
The witch nodded solemnly. “Nothing quite like the puppy stage. Never could have any ourselves. Babies, I mean. Not puppies.”
Rhoda turned to Freckles. “Freckles, do you want to have puppies someday?”
The spaniel thought about it a moment. “No. Right now I just want my forever home, so I gotta work on my food skills and such. You’re lucky you already got your forever home, Rhoda.”
Rhoda leapt off the sofa. “Maybe you can come live with us!”
“Now, Rhoda,” said Vivian, “you don’t know if Tom can afford another dog.”
“Can he afford Alanna Lu?”
“Snrk!” went Frank.
Vivian straightened her shoulders. “It’s different for humans. Alanna Lu has a job and can bring in money. Do you know what money is, Rhoda?”
The red dog sighed. “Yeees.”
“Thought so. You’ve lived around people long enough to understand. It was a nice thought, though. Whoever adopts Freckles, if they live here locally, I’ll put a bug in their ear to take him to your dog park and you two can visit there, all right?”
“Thank you, Missus Feng.”
Freckles leaned over to Marty. “Missus Feng isn’t really going to put bugs in peoples’ ears, is she?” he whispered.
“Dunno. She is a witch.”
Freckles shuddered. He opened his mouth to ask something else, but Vivian stood up and said, “Breakfast, anyone?” and the dogs tumbled into the kitchen.
Chapter 11
Rhoda fell asleep after breakfast, and Freckles decided that a nap wasn’t a bad idea and joined her on a fleece dog bed they dragged into a sunny spot under the window.
Vivian went downstairs, skipping her morning workout to clatter away at the sewing machine.
Marty had other plans. After all, Leggo hadn’t shown up for breakfast.
He trotted through the house, trying to pick up a recent scent, but it was difficult since they lived there and traveled through the house all the time. Leggo wasn’t at the toy box with his favorite chew, he wasn’t next to Frank, snoring in his recliner, and he wasn’t anywhere in the yard.
Where could that wrinklebrow be?
Marty had just come up from the dungeon when he caught the brown flash of his brother’s pelt. Marty galloped after him into the kitchen.
Daylight lay in squares across the floor, but Leggo was nosing his food bowl into a shadow underneath the island where the barstools stood.
Marty had perfected his kitchen sneak-walk long before he was a witch’s dog. He used it now to walk across the tile without clicking his nails.
“Hey!”
Leggo skittered on the floor, looking every which way.
“What gives?” said Marty.
Seeing his brother alone, Leggo scowled. “Cat-footed tail-chewer.”
“What are you doing?”
“Eating breakfast.”
“Breakfast was twenty minutes ago, man. Unless you were in the garage, I know you heard the microwave.”
“Maybe I was.”
“In the garage? Whatever! Dad was finishing up his tai chi tape, so you couldn’ta been out there.”
Marty bounded between Leggo and his bowl. He jutted his white chest out. “Why weren’t you at breakfast? Was it ‘cuz of Rhooooooda?”
“No,” said Leggo, hanging his head. “Freckles.”
“Freckles?! What’d that guy ever do to you?”
Without moving his head, Leggo gave his brother a baleful glare. Marty huffed, puzzled for a moment, then his ears perked in realization. “Oooh! Jealous of the hero, are we?”
Leggo mumbled something.
“What was that? Couldn’t hear you over your mope-face.”
“RrrROWF!” Leggo barked, and Marty jumped back, stepping into the cold breakfast meat.
“Whatever,” he said. “I’m your brother. I know you’re all bark and no bite. Listen, I’m sure Rhoda’s great, but—she’s like, nine times taller than you, and a looker.”
“So?”
Marty sighed, then dropped his voice. “It ain’t like we ever been in the biz of making puppies, bro. The vet got us when we were pups!”
“But she smells like—and her fur! What a lady! And now she likes Freckles!”
“Well, he did keep her from being killer kitty chow.”
Leggo gave him another Look.
Marty groaned. “OK, OK, took it too far, my bad.”
He looked over his brother’s face. Gravity seemed to be pulling all of his wrinkles into heavy frowns.
“All right little bro. I’ll help you out with Rhoda.”
Leggo’s tail stub went upright. “Really?”
“Yeah…yeah… You like her enough to give her onna your antlers to chew, that’s sayin’ something. Just get that sad sack look off your face, you’re clouding my fabulosity!”
Leggo slurped him on the face. “What do I have to do next?”
Marty stepped away. “Eat your breakfast. I’ll come up with a plan.”
The slow cooker’s lid rattled on the pot.
Chapter 12
At the foot of the stair, Marty halted. “You remember my tips?”
Leggo set down his lawyer voodoo doll chew.
“Yeah, yeah!”
“Good. Stick with ’em and she’ll warm up to you in no time.”
Leggo picked the toy back up and nosed the door to the sewing room open. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the color-tru lights. His nose told him Rhoda was up on the table getting fitted. Freckles stood up from his corner, tail wagging. “Hey, guys.”
“Now turn around, please…oh, yes, that’s got some nice movement to it,” said the witch.
“Hey. Mom,” said Marty. “Hey! Mom!”
“Mm?” said the witch, flouncing the tennis skirt.
“Can you put Leggo up there? He wants to see what you made for Rhoda.”
Leggo was not one to be interested in his mistress’ fashion work. So after a quick-dying flash of elation, the witch wrinkled her nose, trying to figure out Marty’s angle.
Probably going to get him to lobby for a sequin heart on the back of his tux. Actually, that might not be a bad idea…!
“Mom. Mom!”
“Sorry—all right.” The witch set her things down and picked up Leggo, still holding the lawyer chew toy. She set him on Marty’s stool. After checking to make sure he wasn’t going to fall off, the witch returned to her tools. Leggo leaned over and dropped his chew on the table.
“Here, Miss Rhoda. For you.”
Rhoda sniffed it, but didn’t pick it up. “Um, thank you.”
The witch raised her eyebrows at Leggo. “ ‘Miss’ Rhoda, huh?”
Leggo looked away. From beneath the witch’s chair, Marty made some loud coughing noises.
“You OK, Marty?” asked Freckles.
“Yeah, uh—hey, Frecks, you patrolled the yard today?”
“No! No, I meant to, but—is there something good out there?”
“Dunno, let’s go see!”
The spaniel
followed the Frenchie upstairs, muttering, “Imagine! Afternoon and I didn’t patrol the yard yet. That nap just threw off my whole day!”
Now it was just the witch, Rhoda, and Leggo. Leggo suddenly wished he was out patrolling the yard.
“So, Miss Rhoda, do you like your new dress?”
“It smells nice.”
The witch hummed I Think We’re Alone Now to herself. Fortunately, Leggo did not know the words.
“Yeah, uh. Well, you look great in it!”
“Thanks,” said Rhoda, but her tail only wagged once.
“You excited for the party?”
Now she looked at him. “Kind of? A lot of my office pack will be there. I hope they won’t laugh at me in this dress.”
“If they do, I’ll bite them!” said Leggo.
“What?!” Rhoda’s tail stiffened. “You will not bite any of my pack!”
Leggo whined. “Sorry.”
“I think what Leggo meant to say,” said the witch, “was that the opinions of other people don’t matter. You’re wearing a garment of quality and have nothing to be ashamed about.”
“Yeah! Uh-huh! That’s it!”
“Oh. Well, I still hope they don’t laugh. Missus Feng, you don’t think they’ll laugh, do you?”
“Hm. Hard to say. Some people laugh when they see a friend of theirs dressed up especially nice. Especially if it’s unusual for them.”
“Why do they do that?”
“Because it delights them!”
“Oh. Well, I like delighting people.”
“Then that’s settled,” said the witch.
Ding dong.
“That must be Alanna Lu.” The witch began removing the dress from Rhoda. “Rhoda, dear, you must need to use the yard, I’ll send Leggo up in a second to show you the way. Off you go, now.” She gestured to the floor. “You’ll have to jump. No way I’m strong enough to lift you.”
“OK,” said the setter. After a moment to gauge the distance, Rhoda leapt down onto the carpet. Leggo whined at the beauty of her motion, as easy as a bouncing ball.
“Go on up, Rhoda. There’s a girl.”
Rhoda checked over her shoulder once, then left the sewing room. After a moment of listening, the witch turned to Leggo.
Leggo looked between the staircase and the witch, puzzled.
“What?”
Love Potion Commotion! Page 4
