Beauty Returns

by Sylvia McNicoll

  Mom shrugs her shoulders. “People seem to do whatever they want these days.”

  We roll into the driveway, and I jump out of the car. I just have to see Magic. I almost expect her to have transformed into some rabies-crazed beast, drooling white foam, but it’s still loveable old Magic who comes to the door and throws her paws over my shoulder when I bend down to her.

  “She can’t have bitten Teal; you know that, Mom.”

  Mom shrugs her shoulders as she hangs up her coat. We head into the kitchen where Dad sits waiting. He repeats all the stuff about the teeth marks, but I just shake my head.

  “Liz, I’ve seen that dog with Rolph. She’s snapped at him a couple of times.”

  “So has everyone! Rolph never takes care of Teal. He sleeps on the couch and lets him wander and get into everything.”

  My parents look unconvinced. “He still drinks, too.”

  My father winces, then takes a breath. “Alcoholic or not, he can’t have imagined the marks, Liz. We’ve already called Canine Vision. We’re taking her back on Monday.”

  “Oh my god! What will they do to her? They won’t use her to breed if they think she’s aggressive.”

  My father looks towards my mother, who doesn’t say anything, just shrugs her shoulders.

  That’s when it hits me. They’ll put Magic down. Nobody has any use for a dog that bites.

  “You can’t let them take her!” I tell them and hug Magic so hard she yelps. “I’m sorry, girl.”

  I loosen my arms and turn towards Dad. “Did you see that? I choked her, but she didn’t snap or growl. Rolph’s got to be lying.” Magic woofs, as if to agree, but then I hear car doors slamming and realize she’s announcing someone’s arrival.

  “That’ll be Rolph and Debra back from the hospital now,” Dad says.

  Debra walks in with Teal, who’s gurgling and happy. He’s wearing a blue and red snowsuit with a matching court-jester hat that jingles.

  “He’s fine. No need for a fuss.” Debra hands him to Rolph as she throws her duffle coat over a hook.

  “This time, he’s fine.” Rolph looks rumpled again— doesn’t he ever shave anymore? His down-filled vest probably cost a bundle, but without the sleeves it can’t be keeping him warm in this weather; and the way it puffs out his chest makes him look ridiculous.

  I want to throw something at him. “They’re going to kill Magic because of you.”

  “What? I’m not telling them what to do with that animal. I just refuse to subject my son to its moods. I have plenty of room in my apartment. Teal can live with me.”

  I see the look Debra gives him and understand something else is going on, though what, I don’t know. I see the expression on his face—he seems satisfied, maybe even happy, about the evening’s events.

  “Come on, Magic.” I double slap the top of my leg. “You can sleep in my room tonight. You’ll be safe there.”

  We both take off into my room, escaping any more lectures. As fast as the tears fall down my face, Magic licks them off. I think angry little-kid thoughts for a while, about how we should run away. Then Magic would be safe, and they’d all be sorry. But it’s no good. I’m adult enough now to know I couldn’t make it work. Where could I stay with a dog; how could I feed her?

  But I can’t sleep, either. I toss and turn, and wish it were a decent hour so I could call Alicia and tell her how awful my life has turned in one day. My eyes feel gritty and heavy, but I’m all charged up with energy that doesn’t know where to go. Finally, at five o’clock in the morning, I decide to sneak downstairs and e-mail Alicia. Who knows, she might be online, too, and then we can message each other.

  Stumbling over a stuffed hippopotamus at the bottom of the stairs, I make my way to the computer. I nearly trip again over the iron. Then I slump down on the plastic garden chair in front of the computer. I sigh and stare at the computer screen while the e-mail program opens. I click on the new message. How do I even begin to describe what may happen to Magic? It’s too depressing to put in words.

  I swallow hard and stare off into space. That’s when I notice the little round lens of the webcam. Is it supposed to be on the desk like that? I thought Dad clipped it to the screen. It’s like an alien, watching me. Is that red light supposed to be on? Someone must have been fooling with it. Oh my gosh, the security button’s activated.

  Idly, I push the hot key to see what the thing’s been recording. I see Teal’s face large, his features distorted. Teal must have fooled around with it. That would prove that he’s completely unsupervised when Rolph rolls up on the couch for his nap.

  I watch as Teal takes his wobbly two-step from the computer desk to the ironing board. I didn’t leave that out yesterday, did I? Teal stumbles and grabs the cord of the iron.

  Golden fur fills the picture now, and in the last fuzzy image, Magic grabs Teal by the arm and yanks him out of the way of the iron. I look behind me to where the ironing board still stands. The iron is lying on its side on the floor.

  Magic is a hero, and Rolph would let her be destroyed for it.

  I rush to Debra’s room and pound on her door. “Deb, come here, you have to come see this.”

  “What, what?” She opens the door to her room. “Is Teal crying?”

  “No, Deb. You have to come see what the webcam recorded.”

  She rubs her eyes and sighs. “Liz, honestly. Do you have any idea how little sleep I get since Teal was born?”

  “But they’re taking Magic away today—and she’s innocent.”

  “Fine, let’s see what couldn’t wait till a decent hour.”

  She slips on a bathrobe and hugs it closely around her as she follows me to the computer.

  I sit at the keyboard and replay the scene where Magic rescues Teal. Debra stares at it and says nothing.

  “Whenever Rolph looks after Teal, he just switches on the television and falls asleep,” I explain. “I told him to at least let Magic out of her crate so she could look after him—and she did!”

  Another heavy sigh. “I know Rolph is not perfect.”

  “Not perfect, he’s a liar. He still drinks, too; do you know that?”

  “I do indeed.”

  I turn and squint at her, not understanding. Why wouldn’t she just get rid of this jerk?

  “You only want to see the bad in him, Liz. Rolph really thinks Magic is dangerous. That’s the truth, as he sees it.”

  “Deb, Rolph is dangerous. He can’t be around Teal.”

  “Rolph is his father, and no matter what, Teal has a right to have access to his dad. That’s what the lawyer told me.”

  “You talked to a lawyer?” I ask her quietly.

  “Yes, and I know what you’re thinking. But listen to me: Rolph wants us to try living together as a family again.”

  “You can’t, Deb. He’s just going to hit you again.”

  “He never hit me, Liz.” She stares back into my eyes, unblinking.

  “Oh, come on. That lame story about him opening the door into your face.”

  “He was drunk, and it was an accident,” Debra tells me.

  “You can’t go.”

  “I have to. Liz, I love him. I always have. I think we can work things out. He has a contract here in Canada again. There won’t be so much pressure on him. And if we don’t live together, Teal will have to go alone to him on weekends and for overnight visits during the week.”

  “That’s what the lawyer said?”

  Debra nods.

  “Maybe we should show him the webcam recording.”

  “It won’t make a difference to our plans. I’ve made up my mind.”

  “So you’re leaving and taking Teal with you?”

  I can’t breathe, my chest hurts so much. All the times that kid ruined my life, and now, when I’ll be totally free, it feels like something is cracking up inside me.

  “But we’re staying right here in Oakville. It won’t be like before. You can always come to visit us.”

  “Sure. It will be ju
st perfect.” I’m not going to cry. I won’t let myself. I might never stop. “Have you told Mom?”

  Deb shakes her head.

  Funny, how neither of us worry about how Dad will take something. And he’s the one who renovated the basement so that Deb and Teal would have bedrooms. I buckle my mouth and think.

  “I’ve still got to tell them about the ironing board thing. Otherwise Canine Vision may put Magic down.”

  “Of course you do. Honestly, Liz. Rolph couldn’t have known about that.”

  I look at the upturned iron. “You’re right, he probably slept through the whole thing. Otherwise he would have cleaned up the evidence.” Then I think a selfish thought. “You’re going to tell them today, I mean, about moving out?”

  “Yup.”

  That meant everyone would be upset and annoyed at Debra and Rolph. My partying at the Comatose Palace would be forgotten.

  A ding from the computer signals someone’s messaging me.

  Playgirl: If you’re there, call me Liz. We have to talk.

  Debra sees the message.

  “You go ahead and call her; I’m going to try for some more sleep.”

  I pick up the downstairs phone and get Alicia first ring. I tell her everything about Magic and Teal, ending with how Debra will move back in with Rolph anyway. Just like our last phone call, Alicia doesn’t interrupt once. Odd—I almost think the phone is dead.

  “You there?” I ask.

  “Uh huh.” She still doesn’t say anything, and I can’t help wondering why not.

  “Is something wrong?” I finally ask.

  “Yes.” I hear her crying at the other end.

  “Alicia, tell me. What’s the matter?”

  “Scott and I…Scott and I…”

  I squeeze my eyes shut, and hope I’m not going to hear what I know she’s going to say.

  “Scott and I broke up. He’s gone back to Gwen again.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Kyle Alone

  Waking up in my bed with a stale, yeasty taste in my mouth and a pounding in my head, I realize we never should have gone to the Comatose Palace last night. For Liz and me, everything was wrong there. All those kids drinking—it’s not like that’s what I want to do.

  Not when I’m happy anyway. But after her mother took her away, I chugged away at a beer.

  “I can’t believe it. I don’t have my girlfriend or my dog,” I remember saying to some girl beside me as I took a swig from the bottle. I felt her squeezing my arm in sympathy, leaning onto my shoulder. Even through that beery haze, I knew I’d be screwing up my blood sugar. I remember singing on the way home, and then a pitch-black void, which I’ll call sleep, because I woke up from it right here in my own bed this morning.

  Ding-dong! Ding-dong! A doorbell and some voices. Shoot—what time is it? I press the button on my wristwatch. “The time is now 11:00.”

  Maddie’s talking to Mom. Mom calls out to me.

  Oh, my gosh, why is she here? I scramble up and holler for her to give me ten minutes. I get to the bathroom, wash up quickly, brush my teeth, and then gargle, hoping to get rid of the coating left on my tongue. Back in my room, I change into some different clothes and stuff the smelly beery ones under the bed. Then I reach for a needle on my bureau to test my blood. There’s a knock on my door now.

  “Come in, ow, damn.”

  “Your mother gave me a tray of breakfast for you. She said you should have eaten hours ago,” Maddie tells me.

  “Do you need help with that?”

  “What? I can manage.”

  “Let me,” she says softly. “I know how awful it is if you have to retest. Let me just put this tray down on your desk. There.” Her voice is near now, and she holds my finger closer to the glucometer. With her help, the blood lands right on target. She’s not squeamish about it. For her, it’s just good practice for when she studies medicine.

  “Sorry. Not ready for company. I had a late night.”

  “So I gathered,” she says and then clicks her tongue when she hears the blood reading. “You drank, too.”

  I slip the pen under my shirt and inject a higher dose than usual.

  “I’m stupid, Maddie. I do some really stupid things.”

  “Don’t we all.” Regret in her voice, after all this time.

  “Listen, your mother called me. She was worried about you—thinks you’re going to run yourself down again. Wanted me to come and visit. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. My mother just wants us to go out again. She likes you.”

  “And what about you, Kyle?” Maddie asks.

  I inhale deeply. Her cologne, Tangerine Sunrise, mingles with the smell of bacon and eggs. “I really love Liz.”

  “I thought so.”

  She’s quiet awhile, and for once I’m glad I can’t see someone’s face.

  “Is there any breakfast for you on the tray?” I ask.

  “No, I ate earlier. You eat. While I’m here, do you have all the rough work for your essay somewhere on a disk?”

  “Yeah, sure. None of that opening line and supporting statement stuff Veen wants. But we finished the paper at school, so it’s all on that disk in my backpack.”

  I sit on the bed, letting Maddie have the chair at the desk.

  “Your eggs are at twelve o’clock, there’s some bacon at three o’clock, and one toast at nine. I’m switching Perfect Paul off. I can’t think when he reads out loud.”

  “Me neither, unfortunately,” I say as I pick up my toast. I wonder about Elizabeth. What did her mother say when she caught her at the party? How did she even find out? I can’t even call her to talk about it.

  “Okay, this is all good stuff,” Maddie says. “You have a few rougher versions of the piece, there’s some brainstorming here. I’ll print it all off as supporting documents to hand in with your essay.”

  “Would you print off another copy of the essay for me, too? Take the name off the header. I may give it to Elizabeth for her mother to read. She’s a college English teacher.”

  “And you need to take the name off because…?”

  I have to explain how Liz isn’t allowed to see me.

  “Too bad. I think mothers would really like you, if they gave you a chance.” I hear the smile in her voice. Maddie’s mom never liked her seeing “such an unhealthy boy,” as she put it.

  Is Maddie right, though? Is there some way I can get Mrs. Kerr to give me a chance, to let me go out with Liz without going behind her back?

  Monday morning, Mom drives me to pick up Beauty, and I can’t believe how happy I feel again. The dog slaps me to death with her tail and lathers my face with her tongue. I don’t cringe. I put my arm around her and lean into her fur.

  “It will be different, girl, this time. I promise it will be different.”

  And I start right away. It’s freezing outside, but I cover my hands and ears, and I take her for a walk. Mom bought me a special dog toy to throw in the park, and that’s where I take Beauty. I take her out of her harness and throw the hunk of hard rubber. Now I have to trust her to run back to me. I inhale deeply, feeling my nose hairs clump together with the frost. It’s the longest wait in the world—and then I feel her muzzle at my knee.

  “Beauty. Good girl!” I shout. “Great girl. You’re amazing.” I take the toy and throw it out far again.

  Seconds later, I sense someone close; it’s a warmth nearby, and the hint of peanut butter and must.

  “Can I try?” It’s Donald, as usual.

  “No! Wait till you get your own dog.” Beauty’s toy lands on my feet, and I pitch it again, high and far.

  “When is your Mom buying one anyway?”

  “Never. She says we don’t have the money to feed an extra mouth.”

  “Gee, that’s too bad.” I feel sorry that I snapped at him and want to make everything better for him. “Listen, Donald, maybe you can talk to your mother about fostering a dog for Canine Vision Canada. You know, like Liz does? Then she wouldn’t have to pay
anything. They take care of food, vet fees, everything.”

  “Our landlord doesn’t allow pets.”

  Beauty nudges my legs.

  “Geez, you’re back fast!” I sound like I’m mad at the dog, but really, it’s Donald’s mom I’m annoyed with. Why would she promise the kid a dog when they weren’t allowed to have one? I throw the toy much harder this time, and I hear it crash against a tree.

  “We were supposed to move in with her boyfriend. He has a house. She said he’d get me a dog as long as I was nice. But they broke up.”

  Again, I want to say something to make him feel better. “You never know, they may get back together again.”

  “No! They can’t. I hate him!”

  I reach over and grab for his shoulder, just to pat it and make him know I care.

  “Listen, Donald. Can you see if Beauty found the toy okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s on her way back.”

  “Good. Listen, I can’t let you help me with Beauty, because I’m the only one who can play with her from now on.”

  “Sure, okay.”

  “But Elizabeth’s going to come to the park with Magic. She doesn’t mind if you throw the stick for her.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup. And you know what you can help me with? I’m really hungry. Do you want to show Beauty and me the way to the doughnut shop? I’ll let you pick one for yourself, too.”

  I know I can’t fix Donald’s world with a doughnut, but it helps him forget for a little while. We talk about all our favourite courtroom television shows. Donald really does want to be a lawyer; it has nothing to do with me whatsoever.

  Next day at school, I put a copy of my essay along with the backup rough work on Mr. Veen’s desk.

  “I’ll look at it, but I won’t assign a grade,” he tells me. “I told the whole class I wouldn’t accept essays late. But go ahead and make your case with the office. They may give you special treatment.”

  I want to slug him, but I’d probably swing into empty space. Instead my fist opens and closes till I feel myself being yanked away.

  “Let’s go to the office,” Maddie says.

  “Forward, Beauty. “Maddie drags us off immediately, and, downstairs, starts to make my case with the vice principal, Mrs. Liu.