All afternoon, Michael had his phone by his side in his room waiting for Freddy to call him. Despite being distracted by his homework, Michael was getting nervous that he hadn’t heard from Freddy since this morning. What if he had turned back into a dog? What if he was ignoring him? He knew he felt a tinge of guilt over the predicament that he put Freddy in, but in all fairness to him, he warned him not to read the inscription. Playing with the ring he possessed, the thoughts kept getting more and more prevalent.
With the thoughts consuming him to the point of not being able to do anymore homework, Michael decided to take matters into his own hands and got up out of bed to head over to Freddy’s house to see what’s up. After he packed the ring and a few other items into his knapsack, he proceeded to head downstairs and past his parents sitting in the living room.
“Where are you going? his father asked him.
Michael wouldn’t say he had a very good relationship with his father. Although Freddy’s current relationship with his father was souring due to his canine state, Michael’s was strained man or beast. When Michael had come out to his parents and introduced Freddy as his boyfriend, the reaction was split between his parents. While his mother was cheerful and supportive, his father, who had before been a source of great encouragement and support in his life, became cold and distant.
Being an only child, Michael’s father dreaded the lack of grandchildren in his future and how his family lineage would die off. He also knew that while Michael had been bullied in school for being a nerd, being gay made things a thousand times worse. He had hoped to see that fate avoided, but with Michael and Freddy’s relationship growing more solid, there was nothing his father could do but pass silent judgement his way.
“Um, I’m going over to Freddy’s for a bit” Michael replied as he opened the front door.
“Are you going to be home for dinner?” his mother asked.
“What does it matter?” his father interjected. “One less mouth to feed for the night.”
“Ralph!”
“Sorry, Irene, but it’s not like money grows on trees and we’re not making more money these days.”
Michael’s father grunted as his son skulked outside and shut the door behind him.
“Hey!” his father called to him.
“Leave it!” his mother replied, disappointed at the way her husband was treating their only child.
On top of the worries he had over Freddy, Michael had to ruminate with the thoughts of his own problematic household on his walk. Maybe that’s why he always insisted on going to Freddy’s house instead of hosting him at his. Besides, they couldn’t engage in any fun with his father around. Freddy’s parents didn’t seem to mind when they did it…or maybe they didn’t notice.
As Michael approached Freddy’s house, he noticed that the car was in the driveway
“That must mean they are home” Michael thought to himself.
As he approached the door to ring the bell, Michael hesitated.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. If Freddy wanted me here, he would have said so. Maybe I’m being worried over nothing.”
Absentminded in his thoughts, Michael accidentally slipped his finger over the bell and rang it, sealing his fate to whatever lied behind the door. After a moment of waiting with nerves at a high, the door opened to Freddy’s mother looking nervously at him.
“Michael?” Freddy’s mother asked nervously. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh hello” Michael began. “Is Freddy home?”
“Um” Freddy’s mother let out while slowly panning over the neighborhood with her eyes. When she thought she was safe to be open, she leaned into Michael’s ear and whispered. “Fido isn’t here right now.”
“Fido?” Michael looked at her confused.
“Yes, Fido. That’s the name we’re calling Freddy while he’s a dog. His brother came home today and we had to come up with an excuse for why there was a dog in the house.”
“Has he changed back at all?”
“He did, this morning. But when we went to pick up Josh from school, we came back to find he’s a dog again.”
Michael gave her a sneer which Freddy’s mother recoiled at.
“You left him alone?” he asked with a dual sense of anger and nerves in his voice.
“Uh” Freddy’s mother responded stuttering as she tried to answer. “Yuh, yuh, yuh, yeah. We didn’t think bringing him to Josh’s school was a good idea if he changed into a dog on the way there or back. We didn’t expect for Josh to come home so soon, but his field trip got cancelled and we had to pick him up. We’re also hoping to keep the truth from his brother for as long as we can.”
“Well why didn’t someone stay with him? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Well, we were told by the school that we both had to go to pick him to talk about Josh’s behavior on the trip. And you were in school, so we couldn’t call you.”
Michael groaned in both anger and exasperation.
“So where is he now?”
“He’s at the dog park with his dad and Josh.”
“You took Freddy to a dog park!”
Freddy’s mother grabbed Michael by the shoulders and gave him a serious look.
“Calm down. You do not get to talk to me like this. I am your elder and Freddy’s mother.”
“Some—“ Michael began to say before Freddy’s mother gave him a look of warning of the consequences of saying something fresh. “Never mind. When did they leave?”
“About two hours ago, so they should probably be heading back soon.”
“Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to head over there and check for myself.”
Freddy’s mother let go of him as Michael motioned to leave.
“Alright, Michael. Stay safe.”
Michael nodded as he began to sprint his way over to the park. Although he wasn’t the runner that Freddy was, a track and field athlete on their school’s team, he could hold his own and got to the park in a few minutes time. Upon arriving, Michael began to scour the area in search of Freddy’s father and Josh. Not seeing any signs of them in the more crowded parts of the park, Michael headed back into the more secluded areas where he heard sobbing off in the distance.
Running to the crying child and his dad, Michael immediately recognized Freddy’s father and Josh.
“Hello!” Michael called out to Freddy’s father. “Where’s Fre—I mean, Fido?”
“Fido” Freddy’s father replied with a sharp emphasis “has gone missing.”
“He what?!” Michael exclaimed with panic in his voice.
“We were playing fetch with him and all was going well” Josh said as he spoke through tears and sobbing. “All of a sudden, some big dog starts barking at us and by the time he calms down, I turn around and find that Fido is gone.”
“We’ve been calling for him for a few minutes now” Freddy’s father added. “But we have no signs of him yet.”
“Mind if I join you?” Michael asked, doing his best to hide the concern in his voice.
“Sure.”
“How about this?” Michael gathered Josh and Freddy’s father together as they devised a plan.
“Why don’t we split up.”
Michael pointed to Josh.
“You and your dad go to the left and I’ll head off to the right. Whether we find him or not, let’s agree to rendezvous back here in 30 minutes. Got it?”
Josh and his father nodded as they took off in different directions.
“Fido!” Josh and his father called out as they headed to the left. “Fido! Where did you go?”
Michael headed to the right making far less noise. He had a feeling that if Freddy ran off like that, either there was a clue to be found or….something was driving him away. Either way, he wanted to be discrete in case danger approached.
As the two search parties diverged….