Strays Like Us Read online

  I got down on my knees and let him jump on me for a minute. But he smelled so terrible that I had to push him away again. His toenails, which were as long as toothpicks, tore at my clothing, and chunks of dried mud fell from his fur in clumps. I stood back up. “I’m sorry, buddy. It’s nothing personal. I swear it isn’t.” I tried to keep petting his head, but he lunged as I got back up, desperate to touch me again. “It’s okay, Toby. I’m right here.” I could feel my throat tightening. “I’m not leaving.”

  “Margery had a rope!” Lardvark waved a white coil above her head as she jogged toward me. She stopped about halfway across the yard and threw it in my direction. Toby’s big eyes watched as the rope went sailing past him and his shed and landed near the bushes at the back of the yard. He paused for a second and then dashed toward it.

  “Oh!” Lardvark covered her mouth with her hands. “Holy guacamole.”

  “Man, you weren’t kidding when you said you had no aim.” I rolled my eyes. “You’ve got to stop throwing things.” I started to move toward the back of the yard but stopped as Toby bolted in our direction, the rope dangling from his mouth. I just stood there, staring, as he bounded toward me and dropped it at my feet.

  “Is that the rope?” Lardvark called.

  “Yes!” I knelt down again and petted Toby’s head. Maybe he was trained. Or had been, at some point. He certainly wasn’t wild, like Margery had said. “Good boy. What a good boy you are, Toby.” He licked my hands and arms and the outside of my coat. He didn’t stop even when I tried to pull the chain off his neck and it stuck because of the dried blood and hair attached to it.

  Maybe I let my guard down a little after that. Or maybe I gave Toby too much credit after seeing him fetch the rope. One thing was for sure: I definitely underestimated how strong he was. And how fast. Because as soon as I got that chain off his neck and slipped on the rope, he bolted. I grunted as the rope cut into my hand, and when Toby yanked on the other end, my shoulder just about dislocated from the socket. It hurt too much not to let go. I ran after him, yelling and screaming, but he was too fast.

  And as Lardvark and I watched, Toby raced across Mr. Carder’s yard, through Margery’s, and disappeared into the woods.

  “What do you mean, he’s gone?” Margery wiped her hands on a dish towel and stalked out of the kitchen. “Gone where?”

  “I don’t know!” I fought down a rising panic in my chest. “I barely got the rope around his neck, and he just ran!”

  “Well, of course he ran.” Margery snatched her leather jacket off a hook on the wall and tossed it over her shoulders. “What would you do if someone let you off a chain you’d been tied to for the last ten years?”

  Lardvark and I followed her down the front steps, then stopped abruptly as she wheeled back around again. “I can’t see a thing out here,” she muttered. “Hold on a minute while I get us some flashlights.” I winced as she slammed the door behind her, and shoved my hands in my pockets. This was the last thing she needed.

  “Do you think Mr. Carder will be upset with us?” Lardvark was wringing her hands. “I mean, if we can’t find him?”

  I was glad it was dark, because I could feel my face pale at Lardvark’s question. I hadn’t even thought of Mr. Carder’s reaction to his missing dog. Nor had the possibility of not finding Toby entered my mind. Now, considering both, I felt sick to my stomach. “We’ll find him,” I said firmly. “He knows his name. We’re just going to call and call until he comes back.” I shrugged. “How far could he go, really?”

  Lardvark looked at me, and I knew she was thinking the same thing. Toby could go as far as he wanted now that he was free. He could probably run all the way to Philadelphia if he tried. And who would blame him? If I were him, I’d run so far away from Mr. Carder that he’d never find me again. If only Toby could’ve been a little like that bird in our apartment in Philadelphia, weighing what he’d be giving up first before flying away. But maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he already knew.

  I closed my eyes and forced myself not to think about it.

  “All right.” Margery banged the door back open, tossing a flashlight to me and one to Lardvark. “Which direction did he run in, Fred?”

  I pointed to the woods on the other side of Margery’s yard.

  “The woods.” Margery’s shoulders sagged. “Of course he did. Well, let’s get started. I think it would be smartest if we split up. All three of us looking in the same direction will just be a waste of manpower. Fred, why don’t you go left? Ardelia, you go right. And I’ll go straight down the middle.” She paused, glancing at Lardvark. “Hold on. Did you call your parents to let them know you’re staying for dinner?”

  Lardvark looked startled for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I called them just now.”

  I looked at her strangely. The only call she’d made was to 911 about Mr. Carder. Why was she lying?

  “Okay.” Margery squared her shoulders. “As long as they know where you are. A missing animal is one thing. I’m not going to be responsible for a missing kid, too.” She looked at her watch. “It’s six thirty. We’ll look for Toby for a half hour. Yell if you find him. Otherwise, we’ll all meet back here at seven. Deal?”

  I pushed Lardvark’s weird behavior to the back of my mind. Finding Toby was the most important thing right now. “Hold on.” I raced over into Mr. Carder’s yard, aiming my flashlight toward the bushes where Lardvark had lobbed the meat. It didn’t take long for me to make out the packet of bologna, which was shoved deep inside the bush itself. Toby wasn’t going to get away from me this time. Not if I had a stack of fresh meat to woo him home with. I grabbed the package quickly and ran back.

  “Let me guess,” Margery said, turning her flashlight on the white butcher paper package. “That’s my good German bologna.”

  I nodded.

  “And I suppose the salami has gone by the wayside, too?” She rubbed her chin as she shifted the flashlight to my face. “Or are you hiding that for another time?”

  I dropped my eyes.

  “But Fred didn’t give it to Toby,” Lardvark said hastily. “She told me all about you not wanting her to have contact with the dog and she didn’t. Not once.”

  “Mmmm-hmmm.” Margery moved her beam of light off me. “We can talk about this later. Let’s get going before it gets any darker. Everybody remember the direction they’re moving in?”

  Lardvark and I nodded. We followed Margery across the yard, staying a few steps behind her as she plunged through the middle of the woods.

  “See you in a bit.” I turned left, where Margery had directed me to go. To my relief, I could make out a rough path snaking through the brush. It would be easy to follow. “Just hang on to that rope if you find him. And then scream and holler.” I paused for a moment, waiting for Lardvark to answer.

  But she didn’t.

  And she didn’t turn right, where Margery had told her to go.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “I … I can’t go into those woods by myself.” Her voice was soft.

  “Sure you can,” I told her. “You have a flashlight. And they’re not really woods. It’s more just—”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “It’s still too dark. I can’t do it. Not by myself.”

  I stared at her for a moment as she fingered the edge of her coat. Man, oh man. This girl needed to get a backbone. Take some karate lessons or something.

  “Please,” she said. “Please, can I just come with you?”

  “I guess you’ll have to.” I started walking. “Come on.”

  We followed the trail back to Margery’s house in silence. Thirty long minutes of yelling and searching hadn’t brought Toby home. I felt sick to my stomach, thinking about how angry Mr. Carder would be when he heard the news about his dog. And more importantly, poor Toby was all alone out there in the dark. Where would he find shelter? Food? How would he stay warm? It wouldn’t be a huge stretch, after being left ou
tside for so long at Mr. Carder’s house, but it would still be hard. He wouldn’t know anything. Or anyone.

  Just before we reached the end of the trail, Lardvark turned and looked at me. “Can I ask you a question?”

  I knew what was coming. “I guess.”

  “Why are you staying with Margery?” she asked. “Did something happen to your parents?”

  I shrugged, trying not to show my irritation. “It’s complicated,” I said. “And it’s kind of personal. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lardvark said. “I can be nosy at times. I don’t mean to be.”

  I nodded, waving as Margery appeared up ahead. Her face was grim as she flicked off her flashlight. “Okay, girls, we’ve done what we could do for now. We’ll look again tomorrow. Let’s go eat.”

  We went inside. And maybe it was because I was tired. Or cold. Or maybe it was the click of the door behind me, which kind of signaled once and for all that we hadn’t found Toby, who was missing now because I hadn’t been able to hang on to his stupid rope. Whatever it was, I found myself clenching my teeth. I wanted to hit something. Or someone.

  Instead, I turned on Lardvark. “Why’d you lie before about calling your parents?”

  Margery stopped taking off her leather jacket, one arm still in the sleeve.

  Lardvark’s face paled. “I didn’t lie.”

  “Yes, you did.” I could feel my anger building, a spark catching. “You told Margery you called them when she was inside. But you didn’t call anyone.”

  Margery walked toward us. “Your parents don’t know you’re here?”

  Lardvark bit her lip. She stared at the floor and shifted on one foot.

  “Please answer me.” Margery’s voice was so stern that even I felt a little nervous.

  Behind us, in the kitchen, the phone rang. Margery blinked. “I am going to answer this phone, and when I get back, I would like an answer.” She pointed a thick finger at Lardvark. “An honest one this time.”

  Lardvark raised her head as Margery disappeared from the room. Her eyes were wet. “Why would you do that?”

  “Why would you lie?” I shot back. “Especially about something like that? That’s just dumb.”

  “You don’t know anything,” Lardvark whispered.

  “Fred!” Margery’s voice drifted out from the kitchen. “It’s for you!”

  Me? Who would be calling me?

  “Fred!”

  I walked into the kitchen, leaving Lardvark behind. The weird thing was, ratting her out hadn’t made me feel better. In fact, I just felt angrier. And what did “you don’t know anything” mean?

  Margery held out the receiver.

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “Your mother,” she said. “And she says she only has five minutes. Come on, take it.”

  “Mom?”

  “Sweetie! Hi! How are you?”

  As Margery left the kitchen to give me some privacy, I sat down so that my legs wouldn’t give out beneath me. “I’m okay. How are you?”

  “I’m all right. Tired, mostly. It’s hard to sleep in here. It gets pretty noisy at night.”

  I lowered my voice. “So you’re still in …” But I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. I just couldn’t do it.

  “Yeah, I’m still here. I couldn’t post bail. You know what bail is, right?”

  “The money you have to pay to get out of there?”

  “Right. I don’t have it, so I have to wait in here until my hearing.” She sighed. “It’s okay, though. I’m trying to make the most of it. You know, just like I’ve always told you. Make the most of things, or things will make—”

  “The most of you,” I finished.

  She laughed softly. “Exactly.”

  “Mom, what happened? Why did they arrest you?”

  “Oh, they thought I stole some pills.” She sighed again. “To be fair, it kind of looked like I did. I was helping out the pharmacist—you know how I sometimes do? And she asked me to go put the pill bottles into the baskets lined up in the back. There were a few, though, that needed to go in the front, so I put them in my pocket so I wouldn’t forget them and … Oh, honey, it was so stupid. I just wasn’t thinking.”

  I knew it.

  They’d gotten it all wrong. Mom would never have stolen pills. It had all been a huge mistake. But there was still something I didn’t understand. “If it was just an accident, then why’d they put you in jail?”

  “Because they don’t believe it was an accident yet. But I’ll get to tell them everything at my hearing. It won’t be long.” She took a breath. “How about you? They told me you’re staying with a really nice woman named Margery?”

  “Yeah.” I studied the metal chair across the table from me. Counted the petals along one of the flowers etched into the back of it. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. “She lives in Lancaster.”

  “Oh, honey,” Mom said. “That’s over an hour away! Why so far?”

  “I don’t know. That’s just how it turned out, I guess.”

  “Well, how is it? She’s being nice to you, right?”

  “Yeah.” I paused. “She rides a motorcycle. That’s what we rode on back to her house.”

  “You had a helmet on, I hope.”

  “Yeah. A big, heavy one. It was kind of exciting, actually.”

  “I bet it was. What else is she like?”

  “Well, she’s pretty tall.” I paused. “And she works at a welding factory in town, I think. She’s a good cook, too.”

  Mom sighed. “I’m sorry that didn’t run in the family. I do wish I knew how to cook better.”

  I felt a rush of emotion then, and I bit my lip to hold it back. “I miss you, Mom.”

  “I miss you, too, angel. More than you know. But don’t worry. We’ll be together soon.” Her voice quavered a little. “Which reminds me. I need to ask you something.”

  The way her voice rose made my Mom radar flick on. “Okay,” I said carefully.

  Mom took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if you know this yet, but after my hearing about the pills is over, there’ll be another one, about you and me.”

  My heart sped up. “Why?”

  “Some judge will have to determine whether or not you can come back and live with me.”

  “Wait, why wouldn’t I?”

  “Oh, you will. It’ll be fine.” Mom paused. “But he’s probably going to ask you some things.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Well, about me. You know. At home.”

  I could feel my armpits start to sweat. My stomach flipped over and then back again, and I wondered if I would throw up right there on Margery’s kitchen floor. “What do they need to know?” I managed to say.

  Mom took another deep breath. “They’ll want information about me that only you can give.” She paused again, and in that moment, I knew what she was going to ask me.

  “Like what?” I asked anyway.

  “Like if you’ve ever seen anything other than the pills I get from the doctor. You know, at the apartment.”

  I closed my eyes tight. And then tighter still until the little plastic bottle I’d once found inside the pocket of Mom’s jean jacket disappeared.

  “Fred? If you just wouldn’t mention anything about that part …”

  “I’d never tell them that.”

  “No?” Mom’s voice wobbled.

  “No.” I stood up. “That’s no one’s business.”

  “Okay.” She sniffed, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. “Because it’ll change everything if you do, sweetie. Everything. I promise you that I will do better. I’ll go to meetings and do whatever I need to get well. For you. For us. I just …” I could hear her choke down a sob. “I just can’t do it without you. You’re my whole life. My home. My heart.” She blew her nose, and when she was finished, her voice sounded different. Steadier. “Listen, how about once this is all over, we move out of Philadelphia and go somewhere fresh and start over?
Just the two of us. It’ll be a whole new chapter. A whole new life. Somewhere far away, in a brand-new place.”

  I stared at the petals on the flower again while she talked. One. Two. Three. Four—

  “Fred?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded, thinking of our new life together up ahead. A whole new city. New neighbors and a new school and a new job for Mom, who would be healthy and happy again. It would be great. It would. “Yeah, it sounds awesome, Mom.”

  “Oh, honey.” She gave another quavering sigh. “Oh, you don’t know what this means to me. Thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I could hear a man’s voice yelling behind her. “Oh, sweetie, I have to go, okay? My time’s up. They’re going to cut me off. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Mom.”

  “I love you three.” She choked back another sob.

  “I love you four.”

  “I love you more.”

  And just like that, the phone went dead.

  It was hard to know if Margery had been eavesdropping, or if she just picked the right time to come back in the kitchen. Either way, two seconds after I hung up the phone, she appeared, smoothing down the hair on top of her head with her palms. Her cheeks were pink, and her lips looked dry and chapped.

  “Everything go okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” My brain felt fuzzy, like it was underwater. Had Mom said when the second hearing would be? A week? Two weeks? What if the judge didn’t believe what I told him? I wasn’t very good at lying. My voice shook. I had trouble keeping eye contact. Maybe I’d practice. Look in the mirror in my room and say what I needed to say out loud a few times. My mother only takes the medicine the doctor gives her. No, I’ve never seen anything else. Not once. Never.

  “I took your friend home,” Margery said, yanking the refrigerator door open. “I don’t know what her story is, but she cannot come back here again unless I talk to her mother or father myself and hear that they are okay with her being here.”