Michael opened the door to discover his father and mother standing there, with rain pouring outside in bucket loads. His mother looked at him nervously while his father looked like he was about to explode.
“Michael!!!!!” his father’s voice boomed so loud that the neighbors could hear it.
“Dad?” Michael replied nervously.
“What did I tell you about bringing that dog into the house again?!”
“Dad, I was just about to let him out…”
Michael’s father stepped in and got into his face. His mother followed him in as Fido trotted outside the door, upset with the rain that coated his fur.
“You’re grounded, young man!” his father yelled. “Go to you room right now!”
“Dad, I have to get the dog out of here first…” Michael responded nervously, as he could feel himself shake in fear.
“You had all night to do so and you promised me that that dog wouldn’t be back in my house! You were out until well past 1 AM! Not only did you stay out well past your bedtime, which I only allowed so you could safely get the dog as far away from here as possible, but the dog came back and you let it in the house!!!”
“Dad, please let me move the dog to another location.”
“No! Your mother will take care of…Achoo!”
“Honey” Michael’s mother came up to her husband in an effort to calm him down.
Fido whined as he stood outside the door in the pouring rain, not wanting to aggravate his boyfriend’s father anymore by going back inside.
“Achoo!” his father sneezed.
“I thought you guys weren’t supposed to be back until this evening” Michael said nervously.
“We were” his mother replied “but the event got cancelled due to the rain.”
“Achoo!” his father sneezed again.
“Please mom” Michael begged. “Let me try to move the dog somewhere else. He may not react well if you do it.”
Fido whined as he looked up at Michael.
“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt your mother” Freddy thought to himself. “Maybe we should just let her move me and we can try this idea again later.”
“No!” Michael’s father boomed.
“Honey” his mother said, gently patting his back. “I think it’d be best if we let him try it again. And as soon as he comes home, he’ll go to his room.”
“No, Irene! You’re not…Achoo!”
“Dad” Michael called.
“No!” he snapped.
Michael’s mother slapped her husband across the face as he looked at her in rage. He was about to grab her, but he restrained himself.
“What the fuck was that for?!” his father yelled.
“That’s for you not controlling your temper. And language, Ralph! If you expect Michael not to curse in this house, then you can’t be going around cursing either.”
Michael’s father composed himself for a moment before his wife continued.
“I agree that Michael broke the rules and he should be grounded.”
“But Mom?”
“Michael” she snapped.
Michael stood quietly as he listened to her talk.
“However” she continued “you're allergic to the dog and can’t touch it. I don’t want to touch it in case it bites me or I get fleas all over my skin.”
“He doesn’t have fleas” Michael said quietly.
His mother glared at him, which caused him to look down at this feet.
“I also don’t want to send it to the pound” she continued “because I know it will be euthanized and it doesn’t deserve that. Let Michael find another place to keep it and then let him come back home to go to his room. If the dog comes back again, we’ll just let it stay outside and then we’ll figure out what to do with it from there.”
Michael’s father composed himself before letting out another sneeze.
“Fine!” his father snapped. “But Michael!”
His father looked to him with a serious expression on his face.
“Once you get that dog to a secure place, you are to march right upstairs and go to your room. Understand me? No lingering around to hang out with your friends or Freddy. Once you get back, you’re only allowed out of your room to use the bathroom and to eat your meals at the table this weekend. And you’re to come right home after school all this week.”
Michael continued to look down at his feet before he looked back up again at his father. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
“Yes, Dad” he quietly replied as he walked out the door.
Michael’s father stared at him angrily as he left the house. When the door was closed, his wife walked up to him and slapped him on the face again.
“Hey!” he snapped at her as he rubbed his cheek.
“That’s a reminder slap that on Monday, after work, you’re going to the therapist’s office. You can’t keep acting like a maniac in my home.”
“Our home!”
Another slap.
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking to you. You may be my husband, but let me remind you, I am ten years your senior.”
“We’re equal in this relationship.”
“And if you want to be treated that way, you’ll be treating me in kind.”
Michael’s father looked up as his wife’s face, which showed only seriousness in her expression.
“When Michael gets back here, after he’s had a little time to dry off and cool down, you are to talk to him about your feelings like rational adults. I will not have you yelling at him when all he’s trying to do is help you out. He made a mistake in letting the dog in the house again…”
“I could have died Irene! I…”
Yet another slap. A stern look on her face warned him not to interrupt her again.
“Yes, Ralph, I know. And I will clean up while you’re in the shower. But I believe him when he said that he was genuinely trying to get rid of the dog. It seemed very persistent and I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to try to send it away. And besides, you’re only lashing out of him like this because of how you feel about him being gay and about his boyfriend, Freddy.”
He looked at her as she continued to give him a serious scowl.
“I know what your underlying objections are, Ralph. I’ve heard them since we met twenty years ago. But he is your son and you will work through your issues with him. I will not allow you to damage your relationship with your only son. Your flesh and blood. Our baby boy.”
He looked down for a moment to process his thoughts.
“You’re right” he replied as he looked up at her again. “When Michael gets back, I’ll give him some space and then I’ll talk to him. It’s not easy, you know, with how I grew up. But for the sake of our family…for the sake of my son, my baby boy, I’ll do it.”
The two of them hugged as she went to get a vacuum cleaner to clean up the dog hair from the floor. Michael’s father stood for a moment, before he went to take off his clinging, wet clothes.
A few blocks down, Michael walked in the rain with Fido on a leash. They were soaked and they were unhappy about it. Michael wished he had had time to get a rain coat or an umbrella before he left the house. Fido didn’t seem to mind it as much, but he’d be shaking himself for the first time as a dog when he got inside of the wizard’s house. He only hoped Sofya didn’t react poorly to his canine instincts.
The boy and dog finally reached Sofya’s house. No lights were on, so Michael didn’t think she was home at first. However, he proceeded to the front door and rang the door bell. Fido nervously looked up as Michael gave a serious expression on his face. After a moment, the door opened to Sofya, carefully eyeing him over.
“Michael” she said coldly. “What are you doing here?”
“Sofya” he responded “I need to ask you a favor.”
“What makes you think I’m in any mood to do you a favor?”
Fido whined loudly as she laid down on the front steps.
“Because Freddy needs you to do this favor for him, too. Aren’t you willing to do a favor for him, if you won’t do one for me?”
Fido looked up with sadness in his eyes as Sofya stared at Michael.
“Fine. What do you need?”
“Freddy’s parents have been keeping this stray dog over the week.”
Michael pointed to the dog, who looked at her nervously.
“And they aren’t able to keep him any more” he continued “because the neighbor’s dog next door is in heat and he….”
Michael paused for a moment as he became disgusted by the thought.
“….he fu…mated with her.”
Fido whined loudly as he continued to look at Michael.
“Oh Michael” Freddy thought to himself. “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh my” Sofya said as she motioned the dog to her.
Fido got up and began to walk into the house. He shook himself as he splashed water all over Sofya, causing her to flinch.
“I’ve always wanted a dog” she continued, trying to dry herself off “but what makes you think this dog won’t act up? He didn’t exactly treat me very well the last time I saw him. And why can’t you keep him?”
“I can’t keep him” Michael responded “because my dad is allergic and now I’m grounded for having kept him in the house.”
“If you’re grounded, then why are you here?”
“So that I could drop off the dog. The minute I found a place to keep him, I have to go back home.”
“Well, I’ll take care of him for now. Are you sure that the dog doesn’t have another owner?”
“I have no clue, but if you happen…or I happen, to find one, we’ll just agree to hand him over to them.”
“Ok…” Sofya replied as she went to close the door.
“Wait…” Michael said.
Sofya paused for a moment and looked at Michael curiously.
“My parents aren’t letting me use the bathroom as punishment, so can I use yours? I’m about to explode.”
“That’s quite a cruel punishment. Your parents must be sadomasochistic. Fine, come in…”
Sofya let Michael in as he stepped into her house. Fido looked up at him as Michael motioned him with his head to run in. Fido nodded and ran happily, barking while Sofya chased after him. Michael took the opportunity to pull out plastic bag he had remembered to leave in his jeans from the night before. They were the bugs. He had only remembered to bring five of the six of them, forgetting that one of them was still in the box.
Michael looked inside cautiously before walking over to a painting hanging on the left wall. He peered over to make sure Sofya wasn’t looking and then attempted to place the bug on the back of it.
“I hope I figured out how to do this correctly” Michael thought to himself.
Michael took the bug and placed it on the back of the painting. He gently pushed into it and it made a slight pop as it stuck to the back. A tiny light went on to indicate it was successful.
“Perfect” he thought to himself as he put the painting back against the wall.
Michael began to walk into the house as he looked to see if anything else had changed since last night. He didn’t notice any major improvements, but he did see the antique furniture looked more polished than before.
“That could have been a manual shining” he thought to himself. “Nothing out of the ordinary there.”
Michael made his way up as he looked to see a small crevice in the wall at the top of the stairs. Michael took out another bug and popped it into the space, one again successfully. Michael then proceeded down the hall and was once again attracted to the dark space that shrouded the door to Sofya’s father’s bedroom.
“Michael” the voice called to him.
This time, Michael was going to go in there to have a look for himself. Although he knew it was dangerous, he wanted to see what the wizard was hiding. Slowly, Michael crept down the hall as he became attracted to the door before him. When he arrived, he gulped as he put his hand to the knob and began to turn it. When it opened ajar, Michael peered in as he began to feel a rush of energy trying to consume him.
“Ah!” Michael said aloud, as he looked away, unable to peer into the room before him. “This energy is too powerful. I can’t keep this door open for very long, but I have to get a bug in there.”
Hurriedly, Michael managed to grab a bug and stuck it to the nearest surface; a dresser to the immediate left of the door. Michael stuck his hand in a few feet before firmly placing the bug to the back and pushing down on it tightly. When he felt it vibrate on his finger, he let go as he quickly pulled out his hand and slammed the door shut.
“What was that? Michael could hear Sofya ask from downstairs, as she made her way up to him.
“Uh nothing” he responded.
Michael looked to his hand to see it had changed. Where a normal teenage hand once was appeared to be the hand of an infant instead.
“Oh my God” Michael said quietly as he internally freaked out.
It was an unbelievable sight. It was as if his his hand reversed to the way it was when he was just a few months old. Before he could process this thought, he heard Sofya walk towards him. He quietly moved his baby hand behind his back and looked to her.
“Michael” she said “how many times are you going to keep forgetting. The bathroom door is here.”
Sofya pointed Michael to a door she was opening as he nodded and walked towards it, careful to keep his baby hand hidden from her.
“And why is your hand behind your back?” she asked.
“Uh” Michael responded, unsure of what to say.
“What are you hiding from me? Did you steal something from my father’s room?”
“No, I….”
Sofya pulled his hand out to see that it was normal with nothing in it. Michael looked down, astonished that it had returned to the way it was before.
“Holy shit” Michael thought to himself.
“Finish your business and go, please” Sofya said as she started to make her way downstairs.
“Wait” he called to her as she turned around to face him.
“What is it, Michael?” she replied impatiently, with irritation in her voice.
“When did you say the plumbing was…”
“Oh my fucking God! How many times are you going to keep asking me this, you fucking weird ass OCD freak? You know what, I’m not answering this anymore….”
Sofya stormed downstairs in a huff as Michael stood in silence for a moment. Composing himself, he made his way into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He didn’t really have to go. He just needed to use it as ruse to get inside her house in order to bug it. He still wanted to bug her dining room and the kitchen, so Michael splashed some water on his face before leaving and heading back downstairs.
After he made his way down, Michael briefly turned to the dining room as he carefully looked it over. Finding another painting on the wall, he was about to place the fourth bug on it before spotting a small crack in the wall.
“That’s better” he thought to himself as he went to place it in that spot instead.
When he was done, he turned to head into the kitchen. When he entered, he spotted Fido lapping up water from a bowl with his tongue as Sofya tried to find something for him to eat.
“I don’t have any dog food in the house at the moment” Sofya said as she turned to face Michael. “Do you or Freddy’s parents have any?”
Fido whined as he looked up at Michael.
“Please no” Freddy thought to himself. “Please don’t let her feed me any more dog food. I don’t think I can eat it again.”
“I don’t think so…” Michael reluctantly replied.
“Ugh” Sofya groaned. “I’ll have to ask my dad to buy me some while he’s out. I’ll be right back”
Sofya walked out of the room to look for her phone. After a brief silence, Michael peered down to look at Fido who looked back at up him.
“You’ll be ok alone for the next day or so?” he asked.
Freddy didn’t know for sure, but he didn’t want to alarm Michael either. To try to ease his concern, Fido nodded his head slowly.
“Ok” he continued. “I’m going to…find the last place for…it.”
He held up the bug to show Fido.
“And then…” he continued “I’m going to go.”
Fido watched as Michael peered around the room, before finding a crack in a small crevice of a cabinet. Walking over to it, he got on his tippy toes to stick the last bug into it.
“That should about cover it” Michael said aloud as he came back down to a normal standing position.
Just as he finished placing the bug, Michael saw Sofya walking back into the kitchen.
“I spoke to my dad and he said he’ll get some dog food when he comes home tonight. You should make yourself scarce. Some boys from school are coming over soon and I don’t want you around when they get here.”
Fido whined upon hearing this, knowing which boys Sofya was referring to…his friends.
“Alright Sofya. Text me if you need any help. And if Freddy’s parents have something for you, I’ll bring it over to you.”
“Wait” Sofya said. “I thought you said you were grounded.”
Michael slapped his head before he responded.
“You’re right, ugh. Stupid dad. Why does he have to be allergic to dogs?”
"It's not a big deal. I'm sure my father will get me anything that I may need for him."
Sofya escorted Michael to the front door as Fido trotted behind them.
“I hope I can keep the dog for as long as I can” she said “but I’m warning you, if this dog acts up again, I’ll have no choice but to send him to the pound.”
Fido whined loudly upon hearing this. That was the last place he wanted to be right now. Well, besides being dead…which would happen if he were to be euthanized.
“I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior” Michael replied. “Right boy?”
Fido was about to nod his head before realizing that dogs don’t do that. After Michael and Sofya looked at him nervously, he decided to bark twice to show his understanding.
“Good boy” Michael said as he pent down to scratch Fido, who appreciated the attention he was getting. “You be good now, you hear?”
Fido barked twice as Michael got up to face Sofya.
“Thanks for the help, Sofya.”
“You can tell Freddy he’s welcome later.”
Michael heard the emphasis on the word “he’s” and was not happy about that.
“Oh and Michael? Sofya continued.
“Yes?” he replied.
“The plumbing on this house was done almost two weeks ago.”
Michael looked at her curiously before he nodded and turned to walk in the rain. Her answer had changed again. That door, or that room, was manipulating time in some way. His changed hand and her changing answers confirmed it.
“Wait!” Sofya called to him.
Michael turned around to look at her as he began to get soaked.
“Do you want an umbrella?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine” he responded. “It’s just a short walk from here.”
Fido whined as Michael nodded and turned to walk onto the street.
“Bye Sofya” he called back to her.
“Bye Michael” she replied.
Sofya closed the door as Michael walked off into the distance. She could hear Fido whining as she bent down to pet him.
“You miss him, boy? she asked.
Fido barked twice before whining.
“It’ll be ok. Come on, let me show you around the house. Come on, boy. Come on in.”
Sofya got up as Fido followed her into the house.
Later that day…..