The evening breeze carried a hint of October chill to it as young man and German shepherd strolled the sidewalks in the suburban neighborhood. Freddie felt his senses even more alive than the first time he had experienced the canine transformation. He picked up on sounds he might never have noticed while humans. He heard the chattering of scolding squirrels from the upper branches of some of the treetops with their leaves turning from green to more radiant hues. He heard the trickling of water deep within the culverts running beneath the road. He heard the indistinct sounds of an anchor for the local evening news coming from a nearby home as they walked past.
"I think we'll need to bring your parents up to speed," Michael said in a revelation that stopped Freddie in his tracks.
One loud, emphatic bark to discourage Michael from barking up that particular tree.
"I know it could be embarrassing, but don't you think we will have to let them in on the secret?"
Again, he barked a single time and punctuated his disagreement with a low growl. "You're being stubborn, Freddie."
"Stubborn!" He looked up and began to bark furiously. He wasn't even aware until after he had poured out a few sentences that Michael had no way of hearing him. "I don't want my mom and dad knowing that I'm a dog! This is already humiliating that my boyfriend is seeing me like this!"
It wasn't too hard for Michael to guess the gist of Freddie's protest.
"This curse is random, and there may be times when you need them to know," Michael said. He tried to couch his words in a reasonable tone. At the same time, without even thinking about it, he patted Freddie's head and then moved his hand to scratch behind one ear.
"Oh no!" Freddie reacted like he had the first time that Michael had scratched his ears, only the pleasure from the action felt even more intense. His tail wagged rapidly and his jaws opened. He drooled as the insane scratching continued, dropping a puddle of dog slobber right on the concrete at Michael's feet. "Oh stop! Stop!"
Michael listened to the strangled whimpering noises, confused. The wagging tail seemed to indicate that Freddie liked having his ears scratched, but the whimpering sounded like some sort of desperate plea.
When the scratching stopped, Freddie felt both relief and disappointment. "Don't you like that?" Michael asked directly.
He barked twice. But then he barked once. "It's complicated!" Freddie wanted to express.
Michael straightened up. Not because of the barks but because a car had pulled into the driveway ahead of them. A familiar car and a familiar driveway.
They had reached Freddie's home at almost the exact moment that Freddie's parents pulled into the driveway.
A window rolled down and Freddie heard his mom's voice. "Hello Michael! Who is your furry friend?"
Freddie whimpered. "Please, don't tell her!"