Part 11 (1/2)

”Hey, I've got an idea!” Uncle Ted offered. ”Hey, Janet! Call the dog, will you?”

”Here, Thor!” Mom answered from the kitchen. Thor looked up but didn't move.

”Thor!” Mom repeated. ”C'mere!” Thor sat up at attention, but still didn't budge.

”Hey!” Dad snapped. He reached down and gave Thor a light slap on his rump. Thor looked around, startled. ”Get out there!” Dad said, annoyed. Thor stood up and sullenly walked into the kitchen. The slow click of his claws on the hardwood floor spoke eloquently of his reluctance to leave the living room. As soon as he was in the kitchen, Uncle Ted called, ”Now put him out!” Mom opened the kitchen door, and after some ordering, reordering, and angry foot-stomping, she dragged him onto the back stoop.

”Okay,” Uncle Ted said, rubbing his hands mischievously and hunkering down in front of the stereo cabinet. ”Where's the microphone for your ca.s.sette deck?” He and Mom had mailed each other ca.s.sette-letters back before there was e-mail, so he knew there was a mike around somewhere. Dad opened a drawer next to the cabinet and pulled out a cheap plastic Radio Shack microphone.

”Okay, here's what you do,” Ted said conspiratorially, explaining his plan in hushed tones as if there were a spy in the room.

Mom thought it was odd that Thor didn't want to go out. He always wanted to go out, and yet this time he'd resisted. And when she finally got him out, there was another surprise; instead of joining the kids, who were playing in the backyard, he ran around the house and onto the front porch, for no apparent reason.

Mom went back to the stove, turned down the gas under the instant mashed potatoes, and started toward the living room to see what was going on.

Dad and Uncle Ted were snickering in front of the ca.s.sette deck as she entered the room. Dad had the microphone in his hand. He was about to record something.

”Look at that,” Mom said, pointing to the window. Thor stood on the porch with his paws on the windowsill, watching them.

”What the . . ?” Dad said. He'd never seen Thor do anything like it before.

”Hm,” Uncle Ted said, sounding disappointed. ”We can't do this with him there. Let's see if the kids can get him to stay in the backyard.”

Mom gave Dad a look that said, What's going on here? but Dad just shrugged. He was having fun and obviously wanted to try whatever Uncle Ted had suggested.

It wasn't easy, but they finally got Teddy to drag Thor into the backyard on a leash, where Teddy tethered him to a fence post. Throughout the operation, Thor's eyes and ears never left the house. He thought he heard Dad calling him at one point, and he barked and strained at the leash, choking himself in the process. Brett wanted to unleash him, but Teddy wouldn't let him.

”He's doing it to himself,” Teddy said callously. ”If he doesn't want to choke, he can stop pulling.”

The m.u.f.fled sound of Dad's voice inside the house faded. Thor lay on the ground as close to the house as he could, with the leash pulled taut. He never once looked around at the kids playing in the yard.

Uncle Ted had not only insinuated himself into the Pack, he'd also managed to separate Thor from his Duty. Things were bad and getting worse. He watched the house and worried.

A few endless minutes pa.s.sed, and Mom stuck her head out the kitchen door.

”Okay, you can let him go!” she called. Brett undid the clasp at Thor's collar and he dashed across the yard and through the kitchen door, which Mom thoughtfully held open for him.

He ran into the living room in a state of high alert. When he saw everything was normal, he excitedly kissed Dad's hands and wagged his tail as if he hadn't seen him all day. He hardly glanced at Uncle Ted. His only concern was that Dad was okay.

Whatever they'd done, it didn't show. Everything looked and smelled the same as before. Dad and Uncle Ted sat in the same chairs, watching TV. Thor relaxed and made himself comfortable on the floor between them, and forgot about their mysterious behavior.

The rich soup of aromas from the kitchen became overwhelming and Mom called everyone in for dinner.

Thor lay on the floor a few feet from the table, ignoring the food in his dish. He didn't have much appet.i.te lately, and even the promise of table sc.r.a.ps for dessert couldn't arouse his interest.

”So what's the big secret?” Mom asked Uncle Ted after settling into her seat.

”You'll see,” Uncle Ted said, smiling mischievously. ”After dinner.”

Dad asked Uncle Ted about the Amazon Basin, where he had once spent over a year photographing insects, and the table conversation quickly led off into geography. The big secret was almost forgotten by the time everyone finished eating. Mom was collecting the plates when Uncle Ted brought the subject up.

”Okay,” he explained, ”the best way to do this is to move the table, so we can all see the living room from our seats. That way, we can act like nothing is going on while we watch.” He and Dad lifted the table and scooted it into position as the kids followed with their chairs. Brett got Mom's chair for her while she put the last dishes in the dishwasher.

”Ted,” Uncle Ted said (winning a few points with his nephew by not calling him ”Teddy” or ”Little Ted”), ”would you go into the living room and press the 'play' b.u.t.ton on the ca.s.sette deck? Everything is set up, so all you have to do is start the tape, then come back and have a seat. Janet, come on and sit down.”

Teddy did as he was asked and joined the family at the table. No sound came from the stereo.

Then, about thirty seconds later, Thor was startled by the sound of Dad's voice in the living room.

”Here, Thor!” it called out cheerily. ”C'mere, Thor!” Thor scrambled to his feet, looked briefly at Dad, then dashed to the living room, looked around, and looked back into the kitchen, where Dad sat smiling at the table. From behind him in the living room, Dad called again. ”Thor! Come here! C'mere, Thor!”

Thor ran to the left stereo speaker and peered at it quizzically with his head c.o.c.ked at a forty-five degree angle. Except for the difference in breed and color, he looked just like Nipper, the dog in the old RCA Victor trademark, ”His Master's Voice.” But just as Thor was examining the left speaker, Dad's voice said, ”Over here, Thor!” from the right one.

Thor jumped and ran to the right speaker, just as Dad's voice came out of the left speaker again. ”No, no. Over here!” Thor stayed put and looked into the kitchen, where Dad sat at the table, laughing with the rest of the Pack. ”Come here, Thor!” Dad's voice said from behind him. Thor spun around and barked angrily at the speaker. The Pack laughed so hard they appeared to be in pain. Tears rolled down Mom's cheeks, and Brett was literally rolling on the floor, holding his stomach.

As Dad's voice continued to beckon him, first to one speaker then to the other, Thor decided the correct response was to ignore the stereo as he'd always done. It wasn't easy. The voice in the speakers wasn't Dad, and yet it sounded just like him. The timing, the inflections, the pitch and timbre . . . But it still wasn't Dad. Dad was in the kitchen, in plain sight. With great difficulty, Thor resolved to ignore the phantom voice of Dad.

Besides, he didn't like being laughed at.

Thor did plenty of things that made the Pack laugh, but it was never like this.

The first time he pulled Teddy's b.u.t.tons off for teasing him, Dad had just about laughed himself to death. But Dad's laughter wasn't ridiculing him - on the contrary, it told Thor that Dad was proud of him, impressed by his resourcefulness.

This laughter was different; it said that the Pack was amused by his confusion.

Thor did nothing to show his feelings, but inwardly he was mortified.

He walked back into the kitchen, ignoring the laughter and trying to act as if nothing had happened, while the tape-recorded calls continued to beckon from the living room. Thor grunted and plopped down sulkily on the floor, and Dad told Teddy to turn off the stereo.

”That's the funniest thing I ever saw,” Dad said as he wiped tears from his face.

”Yeah,” Uncle Ted agreed. ”It was nice to get a little reprieve, too.”

Dad looked at him oddly.

”What do you mean?”

”Haven't you noticed?” Uncle Ted asked.

”Noticed what?” Mom said.

”Watch,” Uncle Ted said. He got up and nonchalantly walked to the living room window, where he stood gazing at the street. A few seconds later, Thor got up as if he were bored and just looking for a change of scene. He wandered into the living room and lay down on the floor with a view of Uncle Ted.

As soon as Thor made himself comfortable, Uncle Ted turned away from the window and walked back into the kitchen. Thor immediately got up and followed him back, with his nose not more than six inches behind Uncle Ted's heels. Thor never took his eyes off the floor the whole time.

Uncle Ted sat down, and Thor dropped himself onto the floor. Uncle Ted got up and walked back to the living room. After a moment's pause, Thor got up and followed. Before Thor had a chance to sit down in the living room, Uncle Ted came back into the kitchen. Thor followed so closely that Mom was afraid Uncle Ted might accidentally kick Thor's nose with his heels. Uncle Ted sat back down, and Thor sat behind his chair.

”What the h.e.l.l is going on here?” Dad asked without a trace of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice. He'd never seen the dog do anything like it before.