by Larry Levin
While the boats have similarities, as do the boys’ lives, there are also differences that distinguish them from each other. The boats are different colors. The prow of one is adorned with a dove, which is both the bird that Noah let out of the Ark to find land and a symbol of peace, representing our hope that there will be peace for the boys throughout their respective journeys. On the prow of the other is a bee, the symbol of hard work and achievement; they have both been long aware of the necessary connection between the two.
An observation by Graham Greene is carved on the bottom of each boat: “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”
Oogy has been and always will be an important and integral part of their lives, and thus their journeys, and they have always been appreciative of the unique and exceptional experience of having him in their lives. The love they have shared has not only been its own reward, Oogy’s love for the boys has always been as meaningful to them as their love for him has been important to him. As a result, Oogy sits in each boy’s boat; he will be with them forever. He sits in front of them, his right ear alert, staring ahead just as they do because, without fear, he is watching out for them, just as he always has and just as he always will.
Behind him, the boys are also watching over him. Just as they always have. Just as they always will.
Jennifer and I made a conscious decision not to include ourselves in the boats. The boats are intended to symbolize the boys’ explorations that are starting now that they have graduated high school. Everything that has happened before has simply led them to this point. Jennifer and I have brought them here and pushed them into the current that will take them into the rest of their lives. When Noah and Dan turn around, they will see us standing on the shore, growing smaller and smaller, waving and waving good-bye.
The only night in the last six and a half years that Oogy did not sleep with the boys was the night before each left for college. Dan left a week before Noah, and the night before Dan left, Oogy slept alone in Dan’s room, on the clothes Dan had laid out on his bed to be packed in the morning for school. The same thing happened the night before Noah left: Oogy slept alone in Noah’s room on the clothes he was going to pack for college.
He knew, somehow, that something out of the ordinary was occurring. At first I thought that he was trying to absorb the boys’ scents so that he would have something to remember them by. Then it occurred to me that maybe Oogy might instead be leaving his scent to tell other dogs that the humans wearing these clothes were his. That they were already spoken for. He was imprinting their clothing as he had imprinted himself upon our lives.
During one visit to the first park Oogy and I frequented, we emerged from the trees into the parking lot by the creek to see two young men seated on the flatbed of a truck from which a small bulldozer had been off-loaded to clean up the busted glass, old tires, pieces of masonry, and other debris strewn about. They were wearing jeans, work boots, and orange T-shirts of the company they worked for. The one in charge was built like a fireplug. He had the sleeves of his T-shirt cut off; his arms were fully covered with multi-colored tattoos. A black bandana held back his long, dark hair and he sported thick hoop earrings a thick layer of stubble on his jaw. In another time he could have been a pirate.
He said, “Hello, pup. What’s your name?” I told him and, as there was no threat, unclipped the leash so that Oogy could wander. The tattooed man asked what had happened, and when I told him the story, which included what Oogy had been bred for, he remarked, “Oh, he’s Dogo.”
I told him that he was one of fewer than a half-dozen people I had met who had recognized the breed. We talked a few minutes longer, and then I told him Oogy and I had to leave, as I needed to get home to start dinner and to help with homework. At that, the man jumped off the flatbed where he had been sitting and walked over to Oogy. He went down on his knees and took Oogy’s face in his hands. He ran his hands over Oogy’s face and smoothed back his ear. He rubbed his right thumb over the scar.
Then he nodded slowly, looked into Oogy’s eyes, and said, “You made it, dude.”
And he had.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to:
My family and friends, who always knew I could do this and without whose loving support I couldn’t have;
Those encountered along the way who contributed to the marvelous adventures in which I have been lucky enough to participate;
Those who shared their wisdom so that I had at least a fighting chance to understand how and why my life has unfolded as it has;
Dr. James Bianco and Diane Klein and the staff at Ardmore Animal Hospital, who made this possible and were never too busy to answer my questions;
Kent Wolf, my agent, who believed in this story even when he had no idea if I could tell it; and,
Emily Griffin, my editor, who challenged me and taught me and helped me say what I wanted to say and, in so doing, made me a better writer.
This book would not have been possible without any of you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1 Morning
CHAPTER 2 The Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes
CHAPTER 3 The Stork
CHAPTER 4 Doors
CHAPTER 5 The Arrival
CHAPTER 6 The Third Twin
CHAPTER 7 Surprises
CHAPTER 8 A Special One
CHAPTER 9 Signs
CHAPTER 10 The Rescuer
EPILOGUE The Journey Boats
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
oogy
the only a family could love
LARRY LEVIN
New York Boston
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Laurence Levin
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com
www.twitter.com/grandcentralpub
First eBook Edition: October 2010
Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-446-57487-7
Begin Reading
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1 Morning
CHAPTER 2 The Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes
CHAPTER 3 The Stork
CHAPTER 4 Doors
CHAPTER 5 The Arrival
CHAPTER 6 The Third Twin
CHAPTER 7 Surprises
CHAPTER 8 A Special One
CHAPTER 9 Signs
CHAPTER 10 The Rescuer
EPILOGUE The Journey Boats
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
