The Then Story

           Mommy's scared and I don't know why. Daddy tells me he's going to walk me for the last time in three days. That doesn't make sense. Daddy doesn't want me to have accidents in our home, so why wouldn't he take me out? Then, we watch these weird people on something Mommy calls “The TWC”. The TV shows maps with weird colors on it and the lady on the TV says Hurricanes start off the coast of Africa. What's a hurricaine? Daddy calls someone Daddy calls the landlord to ask some weird thing about how much wind the windows can take and how much wind a hurricaine has and something about shudders. Something. 

           Then, Mommy and Daddy start filling up all the bathtubs with cold water. Weird. Then, they just leave the water in the tubs and never get in. They also fill containers Daddy has in the garage with water. Then, more weird things happen. Daddy brings the outside plants in pots in the house and starts bringing all the things he has in the garage in the house. Big things. He brings in each piece of his drumsets, he brings in the boxes with organized papers, and then, when everything's in, Mommy parks her car in the garage and says she wish Daddy would throw his things away so she could just leave her car there where it belongs. They fight about this all the time.

           Then, Mommy and Daddy check all the windows are closed and locked and check the doors are locked. They then turn on TWC. Then, Daddy takes out cans of food from the pantry and makes sure his manual can opener works, which it does. He then makes sure I have enough food and water, which I do. He then takes me aside and says, “Hurricaine Ida is coming. So, we're all going to have to stay inside. You'll have accidents, but I'll clean them up and it isn't a big deal.”

           I'm a good dog. I always wait to go outside. Then, after a few hours, I see the wind increase. The trees start swaying faster. I see a few objects, like trash cans and other people's plants, blowing around like tennis balls. I get scared, so I hide underneath a blanket. Mommy uncovers me and takes me to the couch with the TV so she and Daddy can pet me and help me relax. 

           Then, the TV and the lights turn off. Daddy goes through the stuff he brought in from the garage and finds an AM/FM radio and turns the dials on it. We then hear someone talking about the weather and saying names of counties which have something called, “Mandatory evacuations” and the man on the radio tells us where to evacuate to if we have to leave. The radio says not all places accept families with pets. 

           Then, one of the trees outside is fighting the winds and loses. It comes out of the ground and falls near our house. Then, Daddy does something weird with me. He puts me in the sink and says, “Go potty, Kliapy”. I look at him like he's nuts. Go potty? In the place where they wash their hands? Ew. See, us dogs are smart. When I look out the window and see winds and rain like that, I don't want to be walked, so I stop eating and stop drinking until the storm passes so I don't have to go outside. But, Daddy doesn't understand. He keeps me in the sink for an hour before he gives up and puts me back on the floor. Daddy sighs and says, “I guess I'll just have to clean it up when it happens”. 

           Mom and Dad listen to the radio all day. It starts giving me a headache, so I go into the bedroom where I have a bed and take a nap. Then, the phone rings and I wake up. Why does the phone always ring when Mommy and Daddy start going into the shower or when I'm taking a nap? But, I can feel the bad vibrations from the telephone and Mommy starts crying and Daddy hugs her to comfort her. I rub against her leg to let her know I'm comforting her, too. I try to understand what Mommy is saying to Daddy but it doesn't make sense, since she's crying. 

           Then, the lights and the TV come back on, but it's still windy outside. Then, though, Mommy speaks clearer. It turns out, Bobby was living in something called an RV and in this storm, a tree fell onto the RV and Mommy's daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren got hurt. Mommy said they couldn't even get ambulances because of the hurricaine. Mommy said her family was being moved to an emergency medical center where Mommy's daughter could get help and the daughter's family would be safe. Mommy didn't stop crying for three hours. I licked her tears up, which tasted salty. It was yummy and Mommy hugged me tight. 

           Daddy turned the radio off and Mommy and Daddy kept watching the TV. They'd go to the bathroom every few hours, but I kept it in like a good doggy should. Then, after a few days, the wind stopped and the sun came out. Everything was the same, but everything was different. See, once the TV said it was clear, I got walked outside and I smelled the grass where all the dogs marked their territory, but all of the marks were washed out by the storm. My marks on the trees were also washed out by the storm. Then, after the walk, Mommy and Daddy took me on a ride in their car. When we got to the hospital, they put my special tag on and we came in. We went to see Mommy's daughter and her family. Mommy's daughter was hooked up to a weird machine that went “meep, meep”.  Mommy and Daddy stayed with the daughter and her family. Each one of them took her hand and said words to her. Then, they put me on the bed. I smelled her face which smelled like sweat and tears so I licked it, since it smelled yummy and Mommy and Daddy told me I was a good dog. The seasons changed every year but this season's season change was weird. This place where the family moved to doesn't have any snow, ice, hail, etc., but they have these weird hurricaines. If my family knew about these hurricaines, I bet you they would have stayed in our old home. We stayed in this place for a few days and Mommy and Daddy and their family all said prayers. 

           Then, after a few weeks, the daughter woke up, but she sounded drunk. The doctors told our family she would need a lot of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and other rehab and they couldn't promise she'd make a full recovery. Then, Mommy and Daddy took me home, they both showered and they slept. I was a good dog, but couldn't help the daughter. I was a good dog.