Five Bestselling Travel Memoirs Box Set

by Twead, Victoria

  “Just take it,” she directed, holding the phone out. Throwing my shoulders back in the most proper posture I could assume, I took it like a lady in a weak attempt to preserve my own dignity. Conveying an outward air of disinterest, I jumped up onto the kitchen counter and handed responsibility for breakfast over to Terri, along with the fork and spatula. It could have been my inner turmoil or simply the step back from the stove, but the phone felt chillingly cold. As I put the receiver to my ear, tremors resulting from the stress of the past weeks rushed through me again.

  I’d been spending every moment I could away from home, seeking refuge in the comfort and ease of Terri’s house. Her place was the exact opposite of the recent chaos at home. Home – the word lingered in my mind. There were only a few short months left to call it “home.” After that came a mind-numbing fog, graying the road ahead of me. Here at Terri’s, it was quiet. I could more easily pretend everything was normal – there were no boxes, no maps, no ringing telephones, and most of all, no tears.

  Mom’s voice snapped me back to the present. “Somebody found Harrison!” she said the moment she heard me come on the phone. I exhaled deeply, releasing the tension I’d been holding in. I looked over at Terri, who by now was wondering what I was smiling about. “Harrison,” I whispered as I bit down on my lower lip. That was the only news that could possibly have brought me happiness. My dog, the love of my life, was safe! I jumped down from the counter as Terri dished out the food.

  Up until now, Christmas had been my favourite season, but this year it was when we had to sell our four female Maltese to another breeder and say goodbye. Christmas Eve should’ve been a day where the hearth glowed as red as the lights gleaming through the frosted windows, bringing warmth and security to the home. Instead, it was the day Harrison had gone looking for his family alone. The joyful season had not brought warmth or happiness or laughter as it had in the past. As I sat in front of the rain-streaked window, it was like looking out from the inside of a glass fountain. I could only imagine the worst for my helpless, little blue dog, out there in the rain, searching in vain.

  Unable to keep most of our stuff now that we were leaving, we first had to find homes for all our pets. People always said our house was like a zoo. At the time we had a peach-faced lovebird who, ironically, talked more than Verbal, our African Grey parrot; a tortoise; a pair of king snakes; two very large, salt-water fish tanks; and five Maltese dogs. I had also personally bred rabbits, hamsters and lizards then sold the babies to local pet stores in order to earn my own money. Now I had to hand each one over, giving them up in order to do something I never wanted in the first place. Not only did I not want it, I resented the heck out of it! This was by far the hardest step of the process, but it was at least some comfort to know that we found a home where all the female dogs were able to stay together under one roof. It was truly all just too much to bear.

  Harrison had lost his family because of this trip, too. It was miserably wet the night he’d disappeared. He did not flee to avoid the negative energy flying around at home, though I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. I’d have run away right alongside him, were that the case, but he had not run away. He had gone on a desperate, heroic hunt to find his lost harem. He was a dog on a mission, a mission I knew to be doomed because Hazel, Hope, Hayley, and Hiccup were already on their way to another breeder in Alberta, an entire province away. Surely he had to give up some time. Surely he had to come home to sleep, to eat, to reassure me. I’d mentally repeated this mantra for the past few days. So why wasn’t he back?!!!

  “When is he coming home?” I exploded, hounding Mom for an answer.

  “A woman named Kathy says she found him,” she explained as I sat down at the round glass table with my freshly cooked meal. Oh, it smelled so good! My fork stopped midway to my gaping mouth at what I heard next. “But listen, this woman, she’s really fallen in love with Harrison. She wants to keep him.” My fork slowly returned to the plate, but I was rendered speechless. This was a direct blow that sent my mind spinning and tears flowing. As swiftly as it had come, the joy of Harrison’s return was gone again, unwelcomed and unfamiliar to the disheartened soul I’d become. Days had passed without any sign of the little guy, and I finally knew why. He was being held captive, and if he had been able, he would have come home. At least she had found him instead of a cat-eating coyote, or an awful bear that had uncharacteristically stirred from a winter’s slumber.

  “Kathy has another dog that Harrison gets along really well with. I told her about our trip and how you still had to find a home for him.”

  “But Uncle Gord already said he’d take him!” I protested. I knew if my uncle took him I’d always be able to see him, but now a complete stranger wanted to take him.

  “Just listen for a minute, Savannah. She really wants to keep him, and she only lives one street up from us. You’ll be able to go over and see him whenever you want. She seems like a really nice lady, and she’s become really attached to him,” Mom continued. “Plus, Gordon doesn’t really want him. He’s just trying to help.”

  Pushing my now lukewarm eggs round and round on my plate, I sighed. I didn’t have an appetite anyway. This kind of stress always threw me off my food, no matter how good it smelled. I was really being put on the spot. I had to make this heart-breaking choice for both Harrison, who had no voice but mine, and for me. I felt like a peach weighted down by an oversized pit balanced precariously upon the branches of an olive tree. I hit unfathomable emotional lows and plummeted dizzyingly towards the stones below.

  “He’s your dog, so it’s your decision. I’m not going to make it for you. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I think it would be the best thing for everyone, and it’s the grown-up thing to do.” Once again, Terri was there to comfort me when I got off the phone.

  “Savannah, this is stupid! You don’t have to give her your dog. They have no right to guilt trip you like this. Just don’t do it,” she advised. She could clearly see I didn’t want to lose my dog but I didn’t like the thought of Harrison unnecessarily breaking two hearts instead of one, and he’d clearly won this Kathy woman’s heart. I choked back tears, torn by the apparent reality that Mom was probably right. Making one last desperate attempt to enjoy what was left of my morning, I forced a bit of breakfast into my mouth and looked up at Terri in complete despair as I felt the distinct crunch of an egg shell.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The absence of Harrison’s nails clinking on the tiles and hardwood floors behind me was deafening and depressed me even more.

  “What’s up with her?” Ammon asked as he entered the front hallway.

  “She’s upset about Harrison,” Mom informed him.

  “You mean ‘Dumb Harry One Ball’?” Ammon corrected to his satisfaction, implying the dog was only half a man for more than just wearing ribbons and being dyed pink or blue half the time. “Well, it does seem a bit messed up,” Ammon added.

  Being the only person I know who truly dislikes dogs, I was actually taken aback by Ammon’s empathy. Even he did not feel right about it. Meanwhile, I paced anxiously by the door, waiting for Kathy to bring him back. I missed him so much.

  “I’m not just giving him away. You promise she’s going to let me see him, right?” I asked Mom again before she arrived.

  “Yes, that’s what she said. She even kind of implied that you could have him back after the year.”

  “Because I don’t want to give him away. If she isn’t going to let me see him, I’m not letting him go,” I clarified for the umpteenth time. Then, before I knew it, I was on the floor in Mom’s sitting room with my back against the wall, discussing conditions and agreements regarding Harrison. Across the room, Kathy stood in front of the fireplace with him in her arms, a sight that made my heart twist. She was a middle-aged woman, divorced with two children, friendly and very average, from what I could tell. She had the kind of face you wouldn’t remember or recognize in a crowd. Kathy’s other dog, Charlie, pranc
ed in circles at her feet. His eyes bulged severely from his squished Shiatsu face as his neck cranked back further to look up at Harrison jealously. Setting Harrison down, she spoke adoringly of him and their week together.

  “I’m going to take really good care of him. You don’t need to worry about a thing, darling,” she continued, not noticing as Harrison secretly made his way across the wood floor to duck his head beneath my bent knees. He looked out from beneath my legs, his big, sad eyes prompting the most gut-wrenching sense of guilt I’d ever experienced. But what more can I do to make this right? It’s not permanent. Don’t make this any harder on us! My nostrils flared as I took a shaky breath and reached down to scratch the top of his head. While I took a few more minutes to comfort Harrison, Mom did the talking.

  “Oh, of course! Savannah can call me anytime.” Kathy smiled as she turned to me. “If you want to see him, we’ll arrange a date. You don’t have to worry about a thing. You can even have him come over for sleepovers. We live just up the street.” Turning back to Mom, she continued, “And I gave you my address. You know where that is, right?”

  “Yes, yes. It’s really close, only a block,” Mom confirmed. With everything apparently having been said, not much remained to be done.

  “Ok, so I guess we’ll be keeping in touch and seeing you soon,” Mom gestured her towards the door.

  “Oh wait, I need to get a few things first,” I said, running off to my bedroom. Harrison dashed behind me as I raced upstairs to collect the few items lying around which I knew would be useless to me now. Grabbing his few coats in one hand, bundling his booties, brush, spare collars, and a leash in the other, I glanced around my room. Everything I could think of, every trace of him, was gone. I had to take a moment to regroup, but I couldn’t think too much about what was happening.

  As I approached the living room to face the hardest challenge of all, I heard her telling Mom, “When you get back from your trip, just make sure you give me a call. We’ll keep in touch.” Seeing me slide in, Harrison in tow, she reached for him at the same time I leaned down to pick him off the floor. Nearly bumping heads, I hesitated with my open hands in mid-grab. I lowered them and stood up, letting her take him. I had to fight this natural instinct. Attaching my favourite leash to his collar, I reached over and kissed the top of his head, gripping his ears in my hands. Just as he had sensed my sadness before, I deeply feared that he was confused and didn’t understand a thing about what was happening. I saw the question in his big brown eyes. I just got here. Why am I going back with this person? He wasn’t the type who bonded with just any human – he was very selective, like me. He had been such a loyal companion. I couldn’t believe I was sending him away after missing him so much already. How could I do this to him? How can I make him understand when I’m not sure if I understand it myself?

  Holding the door open, Kathy turned back one last time to reassure me, “Call me any time and we’ll arrange a date. We’ll come by and say hello when I take him on walks.” I smiled, but I didn’t dare try to choke a word out. Harrison paused and looked over his shoulder as he walked. Unsure, he needed a tug or two to get him to follow. Shutting the door, I spun on my heels and didn’t stop running until I had collapsed on Mom’s bed, whereupon I immediately burst into yet another flood of tears. Marshalling every last bit of strength I had to keep from running after him, I buried my face into a pillow, clenching it so hard it nearly split at the seams. I just wanted to evaporate into that pillow as I stifled my cries; there was no point in upsetting everyone else.

  I can’t do this. I can’t do this! It was the only way to anchor myself to the earth. Oh please Heavenly Father, I begged in silence, Please. Please. Please. I didn’t know what I was asking for, exactly; “please” was all I could think of. Then I heard a loud voice, rough and direct.

  “SAVANNAH!” Perhaps I was expecting God or some heavenly guidance, but what I got was Bree. “Do you want me to get him back? You don’t HAVE to do this.” She could hardly stand to see me in this state.

  Completely spastic by this time, I could not respond, but I felt her green eyes on me. The mere task of breathing was too much of a struggle between gasps and chokes. Unwilling to act without my approval, she became frustrated. Being somewhat claustrophobic with her own emotions, she reverted to anger, her usual way of dealing with pain.

  “I’m going to go get him,” Bree decided, enraged by my evident distress. I rolled onto my back, the pillow still attached to my face.

  “No, no, no,” I whispered through quivering lips. My mind spoke over my heart. I couldn’t rationalize getting him back so I couldn’t take him back. From the corner of my watery eyes, I could see that Mom was crying, too, but I quickly clenched them shut again. I had to reassure myself I hadn’t lost him forever, that it shouldn’t be as painful as it felt because I would see him soon. A part of me even felt stupid over the level of my grief, but I couldn’t avoid the gnawing pain. I did the right thing. I’m going to see him soon. He’ll be back soon. I did the right thing. I told myself over and over.

  “Just tell me if you made the right decision or not. Did you make the right decision!!?” Bree demanded, her words ringing in my already throbbing head.

  “I don’t know!” I screamed at her before once again weeping myself into a stupor. My gasping cries finally died down to nothing more than occasional whimpers before I fell into an exhausted slumber. I should have seen in those helpless eyes that he was telling me to hold him close and protect him. Had I known that was the last time I would ever see him, I’d have run out that door myself.

  Chapter 6: Shots

  Mom was consumed with buying backpacks and supplies, packing, having business meetings with Dad and arranging everything else that has to be done before you shut your life down. Our landlord miraculously allowed us to back out of the five-year lease agreement she’d signed only months before, when Dad moved out. Understandably amazed by Mom’s plan, he generously offered nothing but good wishes for us on our travels. Everything was falling perfectly into place, giving her even more blind-faith-driven confirmation that she was doing the right thing.

  Ammon, the devil’s commander-in-chief, was busy researching the most effective vaccines for tropical diseases I’d never even heard of, applying for visas, and planning the safest, most convenient travel routes. Bree was, well, Bree! She was still spending every last waking moment with Fernando who was making his own preparations for his two-year religious mission. I, on the other hand, was working my butt off to finish a few grade eight/nine correspondence courses.

  We were in the midst of getting a series of about twelve inoculations to protect us from all sorts of different viruses and illnesses – meningococcal meningitis, for example. Like, seriously, what the heck is that?! The four of us headed downtown to the health and travel clinic for yet another vaccination. I didn’t feel like talking during the drive or when the doctor came into the room where we waited; my heart still ached over Harrison’s loss to Kathy/Cruella de Vil (who had thus far ignored every one of my calls). Comparing her records against Ammon’s travel health log-book, the doctor brought us up to date. “Okay, so you’ve had the Japanese B encephalitis, typhoid, and hepatitis A and B. That was all of them?”

  “So far, yup,” Ammon responded.

  “You must be so excited about this big trip!” I looked away at this. “I’d love to get out of the office and get on the road again,” she continued with a sigh. I hadn’t ever realized how many people wanted to travel, and that awareness still amazed me. What could be so phenomenal about running around other peoples’ countries?

  “The nurse will be back in with the yellow fever and diphtheria vaccines shortly. You can pay at the front desk on your way out. I wish you guys the best of luck on your adventure.”

  Bree jumped up to grab more suckers before the door closed. She ended up with one in each hand and a few more in each pocket. I’d be raiding her stash later, but right now, she needed them more than I did.

&n
bsp; “Dip a theory? Diaper-ia? What did she say this one was?” Bree asked, her cheeks bulging like a chipmunk.

  “Diphtheria,” Ammon corrected patiently.

  “Seriously, that’s bizarre. What’s it for?” I asked.

  “It’s---” he began but then the nurse came in to prepare our inoculations, interrupting our conversation.

  Bree had, as usual, wrapped her ankles around her chair legs in anxious anticipation. Her white-knuckled fist grasped the now soggy stick of her second lollipop as she sucked even more frantically. I had actually been banking on her almost desperate fear of needles to save us from this crazy expedition, now that Ammon was apparently determined to keep on living. I was sure she would chicken out and run out of the office, sealing the deal and forcing us to stay put. But nooooo! Not this time. Where was her fear when I needed it? She was sitting there with arm extended, her pits sweating but present nonetheless. Her eyes rolled back as the white surgical gloves snapped into place around the nurse’s wrists and the wet cotton ball encased in her gloved hand swabbed Bree’s goose-bumped flesh clean.

  Bree came by her fear naturally enough. Mom was an avid needle hater too, so for her to be taking this step meant my hopes were truly shattered. This harebrained idea of hers is only going forward from here, not backwards. I mused, finally recognizing defeat, I’m really gonna have to find a way to survive this next year.