Allyson amusingly grinned before saying, “They are.”
“I want to go there,” Ellen urged.
“Alright,” Allyson agreed. “That’s fine. And if we’re not getting any costumes here, we’re good to go.”
Ellen nodded before she and Allyson made their way to the checkout lines. Soon after they stepped into the checkout line behind someone being checked out, Ellen scanned the store.
“He’s most likely gone by now,” Allyson informed.
“Who?” Ellen asked innocently.
Allyson gave Ellen a look as if to say, ‘You’re not fooling anyone.’
“Okay, fine, I’m looking for Everett,” Ellen admitted. “I don’t want him anywhere near Sonya.”
Allyson grinned before saying, “I doubt that Everett is fool enough to cross a mother bear protecting her cub.”
Ellen shot Allyson a smirk before questioning, “You think I’m being overly protective?”
Allyson showed an inch with her thumb and index finger while saying, “Just a little bit.”
“Okay, true, I’m being overly protective,” Ellen admitted. “But Everett knows about us and…”
“He suspects,” Allyson quickly corrected. Ellen shot her a curious look. “He doesn’t know for sure, and if necessary, proving that he is insane over this issue will be easy if you don’t overreact to it yourself.”
Ellen thought for a second before agreeing, “You’re right.” Ellen’s eyes teared up as she continued to say, “Sonya is my brother’s daughter and I don’t think that I can handle it if something would happen to her.”
Allyson gave Ellen a consoling hug and during the hug, she said, “Sonya has my parents, my sister and me watching her while we’re at daycare. You, Harris and me after daycare and school. So I honestly don’t think that an evil sprite would get the chance to do anything to Sonya.”
In a more cheerful tone, Ellen said, “I hope you’re right… and that, that theory—the sprite theory—doesn’t get tested.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Allyson confessed before breaking the hug.
“Next,” the cashier called loudly.
“Right,” Allyson said before moving up with the items to be purchased.
Out in the parking lot, Megan was putting on her seat belt in the backseat as Everett was taking the front passenger seat.
Kristen, Everett’s stepmother, was seated at the driver’s seat and she waited patiently for Everett and Megan to get situated.
Kristen had moved to Savannah, Georgia from Seattle, Washington at the age of sixteen, so like with Ellen’s Midwestern accent and Harris’s English accent, Kristen’s accent had given her away that she wasn’t originally from the south when she asked Megan, “Did you get a costume that you like, Sweetie?”
“I did,” Megan agreed before seeing a large German Sheppard that was barely more than a year old running towards the store in the next aisle over. She strained to look at the dog while saying, “Mom, Sergeant is running loose.”
“I know,” Kristen said.
“Where’s RJ?” Megan asked.
Kristen gestured across the lot towards two twenty-something-year-old men who were puffing, wheezing and chugging along far behind the dog before saying, “Way over there. Sergeant is a danger to strangers, and RJ and Todd are useless at controlling Sergeant when Sergeant slips out of his collar.”
“Should I get out and help RJ and Todd?” Everett asked.
Kristen thought for a second before saying, “I doubt that you’ll catch him, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to chase him away from the store anyway.”
Ellen while pushing Sonya in her stroller and Allyson while pushing the shopping cart of the purchased items were exiting the store as Sergeant approached.
Ellen spotted the dog as he was approaching fast.
“Take Sonya!” Ellen shouted as she flipped on the stroller brakes with her foot.
“Wha…?” Allyson was only able to get out before spotting the large German Sheppard that was heading her way.
“Take Sonya!” Ellen repeated as she moved quickly and laterally away from Sonya and Allyson. She then began randomly alternating between making smooching noises, patting her leg, whistling for the dog to come and calling out in a gentle voice, “Here, nice puppy. Come to me.”
Sergeant’s ears perked up, and as he stared intensely at Ellen, he slowed down to a cautious walk.
Everett had stopped walking at the front bumper of Kristen’s car and intensely stared at the sight of Ellen calling Sergeant to her.
“What are you waiting for?” Kristen asked.
Everett gestured before describing what he was seeing.
Ellen had moved next to the parked cars, and after reaching twenty-five feet from Allyson and Sonya, she got onto both knees. While resting her butt on the heels of her feet, Ellen patted her upper legs and continued randomly between making smooching noises and saying in a gentle voice, “Here, boy or girl. Come here.”
Sergeant cautiously moved closer to Ellen and after stepping twenty feet from her, he stopped and made a non-threatening multi-syllable growl that sounded more like a garbled complaint.
“Really?” Ellen questioned in a tone as if she was speaking to a child. “Your day sounds lousy. So why don’t you come over here and tell me about it? Come here.”
Allyson while standing near the entrance with Sonya, and Everett near Kristen’s car watched curiously as Ellen coaxed Sergeant closer to her with gentle talking and patting her legs.
Sergeant was fifteen feet from Ellen when he began wagging his tail in a friendly manner.
Once Sergeant was close enough, Ellen eased out her left hand with her palm down to a few inches from Sergeant’s nose while allowing him to sniff her. Sergeant sniffed Ellen’s hand followed by licking her hand.
“That’s a good puppy,” Ellen said while stroking Sergeant’s nose and mouth area with her fingers and slowly moving her stroking motions towards the top of his head. “That’s a good puppy.”
Sergeant had moved closer to Ellen as well and began licking the side of her face. Ellen slightly giggled from being licked in the face and within seconds her light stroking motions turned into petting motions at Sergeant’s neck and back.
When Everett saw that Sergeant had been stopped, he turned and got back into the car.
Once Everett had taken his seat, Megan questioned, “Didn’t you tell me once that anyone who likes animals can’t be bad?”
“What’s your point?!” Everett snapped.
“I’m just trying to figure out why you think that, that girl is bad when Sergeant trusts her,” Megan said.
“You know that girl?” Kristen asked.
“She just joined my gym class today… in fact, she had just moved here from Kansas City, Missouri. And, Megan, there are exceptions to almost every rule.”
“You don’t like that girl,” Kristen accused.
“She has a pink aura,” Everett informed. “And I’d told you what that means.”
Kristen rolled her eyes as Megan said, “You’d never told me.”
“And I won’t until you’re old enough to understand it,” Everett retorted.
“Okay, well, in spite of the girl’s pink aura and your belief to what that means, she had defused a potentially bad situation,” Kristen said before starting the car. “Let’s go home.”
After a brief time of Sergeant licking Ellen’s jaw and cheek, Sergeant abruptly stopped and turned to look at the approaching two men. RJ had an enraged expression across his face.
In an infuriated tone RJ uttered, “Come here, Sergeant!” Without moving from Ellen’s side, Sergeant whined. “Sergeant! Come here!
When Sergeant flinched from the shouting, Ellen accused, “You’re spooking him!”
While RJ and Todd moved closer, RJ promised, “I’ll do more than that when I get my hands on him.”
“Don’t you hurt Sergeant!” Ellen ordered as she went to stand up.
“
Kid, thank you for stopping him,” RJ said patiently as he and Todd were stepping up. “Although, I don’t know how you did that without getting bit. Nevertheless Sergeant is my concern.”
“Sergeant is a nice dog, and you should treat him like one,” Ellen encouraged.
RJ chuckled before saying, “Sergeant is being trained to be a guard dog. He’s not supposed to be a nice dog.”
“You have a guard dog in training off his leash?” Ellen demanded to know.
“He pulled out of his collar,” RJ explained while he went to put Sergeant’s collar back on him. A leash was attached to the collar. “And again thank you for stopping him.”
“You can thank me by not disciplining him,” Ellen uttered. “He’s only what? A year old?”
RJ shot her an astonish look before correcting, “He’s fourteen months, but that was a good guess. A lot of people— especially ones your age—can’t tell the age of a dog.”
Ellen shrugged before saying, “I’ve been around enough dogs to tell the age of a dog without being too far off.”
“Yes, well, Sergeant and I are about to miss our training session at the pet store,” RJ informed. “I need to get in there.”
“I’m certain that you know about dogs since you are apparently training one, but you might get better results with Sergeant if you treat him like a partner and not a dumb work animal,” Ellen suggested.
“I’ll take your suggestion under advisement,” RJ said.
When Ellen just nodded, Todd asked, “Out of curiosity, why did you kneel down the way you did?”
“Dogs see strangers who are taller than they are as intimidating threats, which makes them more defensive and sometimes more aggressive,” Ellen began. “By eliminating my height, I had eliminated myself as being an intimidating threat.”
“Which you had put yourself in danger if Sergeant would have decided to attack,” RJ pointed out.
Ellen shrugged before saying, “I had to get Sergeant away from a two-week-old baby and that risk was worth the risk.”
“Mmm,” RJ began as he shot Allyson and the baby stroller a short glance. “What’s your name?”
“Ellen. Ellen Anderson.”
“I’m known as RJ and this is my cousin Todd.”
“Hi,” Ellen said with a slight wave.
RJ slightly grinned before questioning, “How old are you, Ellen?”
“I’m sixteen,” Ellen replied in a tone as if she didn’t know where he was going with his question.
“My brother Kent is the manager of the pet store,” RJ began. “And he’s always looking for hard working employees who like animals.” An acknowledging expression came across Ellen’s face. “You should apply for a job at the pet store; I’ll even put in a good word for you.”
“I’ll think about it,” Ellen said with a polite grin.
“Okay,” RJ said. “Anyway, thanks again, Ellen, for stopping Sergeant for me.”
“You’re welcome,” Ellen said.
RJ nodded in agreement before turning and walking away with Sergeant. Todd turned as well and walked beside RJ.
Allyson had a smile on her face as Ellen was rejoining her, and before Ellen could ask, Allyson informed, “I’m proud of you.”
Ellen grinned before saying, “Thanks.”
Allyson nodded before asking, “So what all were you and them discussing?”
“The dog’s name is Sergeant and we were discussing him —about how Sergeant shouldn’t have been off his leash since he’s being train as a guard dog. But RJ—Sergeant’s owner— was explaining to me that Sergeant had slipped out of his collar. RJ was also surprised that I was able to stop Sergeant the way I did without being bit. Also, since I’m sixteen and I like animals, RJ had offered to help me to get a job at the pet store.”
Allyson grinned before suggesting, “You should take the job if he can help you get it.”
“Oh no,” Ellen quickly said while shaking her head. Allyson shot Ellen a confused look as Ellen continued with, “The attraction that the animals seem to have for me would turn that store upside down in a heartbeat. In fact, you don’t want me stepping inside any pet store that sells pets, and I’m guessing Sonya will be the same way.”
Allyson amusingly grinned before saying, “That’s good to know. Anyway, we should get going.”
“Alright,” Ellen said as she took over at pushing Sonya’s stroller.
Ellen and Allyson casually talked as they walked to their SUV.
In Lester’s Pet Store, during Sergeant’s training session, Lester saw that Sergeant’s heart wasn’t in at obeying the attack commands that RJ was giving him.
“Stop! Stop!” Lester uttered.
“What?” RJ questioned while facing him.
“Aren’t you noticing how he’s acting?” Lester asked while walking towards RJ.
“I see that he’s acting sluggish, but that might be because of all those laps that he was doing in the parking lot,” RJ said as Lester joined him.
“You may be tired and winded from your unintended workout, but Sergeant isn’t,” Lester pointed out. “No, what I’m seeing is that Sergeant has lost his killer instinct.”
“What are you saying?” RJ quickly asked.
“Sergeant has been domesticated,” Lester informed. “Sure you can train him to lead the blind and for other purposes, but he’s been ruined as a guard dog.”
RJ thought for a moment before grumbling, “Ellen! What in hell did you do?”
“Ellen?” Lester questioned in a confused tone.
RJ sighed before explaining what had happened in the parking lot.
After hearing what Ellen had done, Lester cleared his throat and said, “It sounds like Ellen has a way of gaining a dog’s trust, so my advice is begin again with a new dog and this time don’t let Ellen anywhere near him or her.”
“Great,” RJ said jadedly. “Well, I guess I should get Sergeant home.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get a new dog,” Lester said. RJ waved ‘bye’ before walking away with Sergeant.
At the party store, Allyson while carrying Sonya and Ellen were browsing the adult female costumes.
When they came to a witch’s costume Allyson pointed to it while saying, “You would look good in that.”
“I won’t be dressing up as a witch during Halloween,” Ellen said.
“Why?” Allyson quickly asked.
“With my luck, Jessica or even Everett would think that I’m flaunting what I am, and I don’t want to give them any reason to think that,” Ellen explained.
“You’re thinking too much into this,” Allyson accused. “After all, costumes are only costumes.”
“Still, I’m not dressing up as a witch,” Ellen said firmly.
“Suit yourself,” Allyson said while giving up.
Ellen and Allyson took the time to look at all the adult costumes before Ellen chose a vampire costume. For Sonya— Ellen and Allyson agreed on a pea-in-a-pod costume. Allyson guessed on what Harris might wear and decided to go with batman and batgirl for Harris and herself.
Everett was taking out the trash to the curb when his neighbor RJ returned home. Everett casually walked up to RJ’s car, and when RJ and Todd were getting out, Everett joked, “Did you two and Sergeant have a nice run?”
RJ and Todd shot Everett a curious look before Todd asked, “Who told you?”
“I was there with Megan and Mom,” Everett informed. “I caught the tail end of the show. In fact, I was getting ready to help, but then… Helen… or whatever her name is, stopped Sergeant.”
“Her name is Ellen,” RJ corrected.
“Right, Ellen is her name,” Everett agreed. “I knew it sounded like Helen.”
“So how do you know her?” RJ questioned.
“She transferred to my school today from… from a school in Kansas City,” Everett said sullenly. “She’s now in my gym class.”
“You talk as if you don’t like her,” Todd pointed out.
“I have my r
easons,” Everett quickly said.
“She seems to be a nice person. I know she has a magic touch with dogs.” Everett looked away quickly as if he knew something that they didn’t. RJ didn’t notice Everett’s response as he continued with, “And that magic touch had cost me about seven hundred dollars.”
Everett shot RJ a curious look before asking, “What do you mean?”
“Ellen was only around Sergeant for… I don’t know, five minutes at the most,” RJ began. “And in those five minutes she turned Sergeant from a potential guard dog to a lovable pet.”
Everett crossed his arms while mumbling slightly audible, “I wonder if she thought that we wouldn’t notice… either that or she didn’t care if we notice.”
“What?” RJ questioned in a confused tone.
Everett shot RJ an embarrassed grin before saying, “I was just thinking out loud. So just ignore me.”
“Okay,” RJ said in a confused tone. He then shook it off. “Anyway, I have a thoroughbred German Sheppard with papers for sale, if you know who would like to buy one.”
“You… you’re going to sell Sergeant?” Everett asked in a concerned tone.
“I’m about a month away from opening my store and I bought Sergeant for that,” RJ pointed out.
“Yeah… but couldn’t you breed him and sell the puppies?” Everett suggested.
“I think what you’re meaning is to use Sergeant as a stud, and for me to collect the stud fees,” RJ corrected. Everett made a gesture as if he had acknowledged the correction. “And I don’t know anything about breeding dogs, and I’m not really interested to learn. But whoever buys Sergeant could use him as a stud. In fact, I might put that on the flyer. ‘A stud dog for sale’. What do you think?”
Everett shrugged with a grin before saying, “Works for me.”
RJ gestured towards the house before saying, “Okay, well, I’m going to get Sergeant inside.”
Everett nodded before saying, “I have homework to do anyway.”
RJ nodded before Everett turned and walked away. Once RJ got Sergeant out of the car, he walked the dog into the house. Todd followed them in and shut the door behind him.
Chapter Fifteen
Legacy Page 25
