When Michael was safely out of Tom’s sight, he dashed back to his house in a hurry. He knew it was risky to leave Freddy with Tom alone like that, but he had no other logical choice in the matter.
“I mean” Michael thought to himself “I could have told Freddy to run off, but then Tom would have just gone after him. Plus, I did promise Tom that I’d give Buddy back to him if I found him. I don’t need him on my bad side right now. We have enough enemies as it is.”
When he reached the house, Michael bolted inside. Chris, startled, jumped up and screamed.
“Woah!” he yelled, as he turned to look at Michael. “Jesus, you gave me quite a scare. What’s going on? Where’s Freddy?”
“Tom spotted us out on the walk and took him back” Michael replied nervously.
Chris slapped his forehead and groaned loudly.
“Oh man. That’s not good, Mr. Scavolini. Now we have another problem on our hands.”
“I didn’t have another choice though, Chris. Once Tom spotted us, I had to give him back. If I didn’t, then it’d bring us even more trouble with him chasing after us.”
“Well, we have to get Freddy back from him. Where does Tom live?”
“He—“
Before Michael could answer Chris’ question, they heard a knock on the door.
“That’s probably Sofya” Michael noted, as he went to go answer it.
Standing outside the door was indeed Sofya. She had a small duffel bag strung on one side of her shoulder. She dressed in more appropriate clothes, more to Michael’s liking.
“Did you find him yet?” Sofya asked shortly, as Michael led her inside.
“We did” Michael replied nervously, as he closed the door behind her “but—“
“But what?”
Sofya stared into Michael’s eyes, before she got extremely angry at him.
“Are you fucking serious?!” Sofya shrieked.
“Woah, calm down miss” Chris replied, as he walked over to greet her.
“You let someone else take Freddy?! What the fuck?!”
“I didn’t have another choice, Sofya” Michael confessed. “Freddy insisted upon going out and Tom spotted us on the walk.”
“You idiot! You should have kept him inside!”
Sofya groaned loudly and plopped herself on the couch.
“Um, Sofya?” Chris asked.
Sofya looked up at him and stood up to greet him.
“Uh, who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Chris” he replied, extending his hand to greet her. “But of course, we’ve..uhh….”
Chris began to blush, as Sofya looked at him curiously. Michael groaned by his side, knowing what was coming next in the conversation.
"We've what?” Sofya asked with genuine curiosity, as she sought to read his mind, while shaking his hand.
“Yes” Chris replied nervously, letting go of her grasp. “We've, uh…”
Chris let out a little chuckle, before he continued.
“We’ve hooked up before, at your father’s house that one time. We had a foursome with some of the other guys from school and another guy stroked his meat while he watched us go at it. Remember?”
“I don’t recall” Sofya lied convincingly, as she gained the visual of Chris fucking her in the ass.
It was part of a humiliating past for her, in her mind. She was a horny girl and had the loads of hundreds of men inside of her. Although she couldn’t recall most of them, she did remember this particular hook up. That was because Sofya had taken three dicks at once; in her pussy, her ass and her mouth. She had never done that before, at least in the recollections she still had, seeing as her father had wiped away most of her memories long ago. She never had another threesome or foursome like that since.
“Heh, it’s probably best that you don’t. But still, it’s nice to see you again, Sofya.”
“You’re Freddy’s bodyguard, right?”
“That I am. That’s why I was hired to be here.”
“The one I told you to shield from your amnesia spell” Michael added sternly.
“I did the fucking best I could do, Michael” Sofya replied defensively. “At least you were able to break the amnesia spell on him, it seems. Meanwhile…”
Sofya accusingly poked her finger in Michael’s chest.
“You found Freddy and then lost him again.”
“I didn’t lose him, Sofya!” Michael replied. “He just got taken from me. I know where he is. We just have to work on getting him back.”
“Well, let’s get right on that, then. Time is a wasting. Where does this guy Tom live?”
“Actually, we should wait to go over there.”
“Why?”
“Because Tom is a stubborn asshole and he won’t hand over Freddy so easily.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Michael. Leave the dealing with Tom part to me. I’ve dealt with stubborn assholes my whole life. I dealt with my father for centuries and he was the most stubborn asshole I've ever met. I’m also dealing with you after all, now aren’t I?”
Michael growled at her, as Chris put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Easy, Mr. Scavolini” Chris said reassuringly.
“Mr. Scavolini?" Sofya asked with a chuckle. “Really, Michael? You’re having your high school classmate refer to you by your last name? What kind of arrogant prick—“
“He offered!” Michael replied.
“Let’s not talk about this right now” Chris said, trying to change the subject. “Let’s work on getting Freddy back from that guy Tom.”
“I’ll put my things upstairs” Sofya said “and then we can head out and go over there.”
Sofya ran up into Evan’s bedroom and dropped her things on the floor. She quickly headed back downstairs, before she stopped and had a thought.
“Wait a second” she said aloud. “Let me make sure Freddy is actually where you say he is. I don’t want to go over there to find out the mayor or someone else has already stolen him from Tom.”
“How are you going to do that without your crystal ball?” Michael asked sarcastically.
“I have my ways” she replied, ignoring his snark.
“And if we get him back?” Chris asked. “Won’t Tom just come here to try to get his dog back from us? If we don’t have a way to change Freddy back into himself again as soon as we get him, then we risk Tom finding us and calling the cops.”
Sofya paused for a moment, before she realized the validity of Chris’ argument.
“You have a good point, Chris” she said. “I should probably test out what I’ve been working on this morning first and then we can go over there and retrieve Freddy.”
“What have you been working on, exactly?” Michael asked curiously.
“A transformation spell. I was going through this old book of animal spells and found one that transforms people into and back from being an animal. It may not necessarily break the curse Freddy is still under, but it can help to change him back if he needs it, without having the ring.”
“That doesn’t break the curse, though. All it does it changes him back. Since the mayor still has the ring, all he has to do is keep reading the inscription and then Freddy changes back into a dog again. We still have to get the ring back, in addition to getting Freddy back from Tom.”
“Let’s work on one thing at a time” Chris suggested.
“Thank you, my dear” Sofya replied, as he rubbed Chris’ black beard with her fingers.
Chris blushed at her show of affection, as Sofya turned to look at Michael.
“So for this spell to to work, I’m going to need a volunteer.”
“Don’t look at me” Michael said curtly. “I’m not risking any side effects of your magic.”
Michael and Sofya stared at Chris, who gulped as he was being eyed by them. Sighing in resignation, he shrugged his shoulders and slapped his thighs.
“Well” he said defeatedly “I guess it’s gotta be me, then. My job is to protect Freddy, after all. Any way I can do that, I’m down for it. What do I gotta do, Sofya?”
“Well” she replied “you’re going to have to take off your clothes.”
“Uh…is that really necessary?”
“I mean, no, technically it’s not. However, if you want to be able to wear those clothes again when you change back, then you ought to shed them off before I do this.”
Chris gulped nervously, as he looked out the window of the living room.
“You mind if we go somewhere more private to do this?” Chris asked nervously. “You know, so people can’t see me naked?”
“Sure” Michael replied, as he gently grabbed onto Chris' arm and led him upstairs. “Let’s go into my bedroom, so we can do this in private.”
“Suit yourself” Sofya said with a shrug.
The three of them went up into Michael’s bedroom. Michael closed the door behind them and lowered the blinds of the windows.
“The coast is clear” Michael said.
Chris sighed, as he took off his shirt and placed it on top of the bed.
“Wow” Sofya noted with a surprised tone in her voice. “You might possibly be the hairiest mother fucker I have ever seen in my entire life.”
Chris chuckled, as he took off his pants.
“I’ve heard that a lot the past few days. It seems everybody in this household has something to say about my hairiness. I’ve been thinking about trimming it after it’s safe for me to move back into my own apartment again.”
“Whatever floats your boat” Sofya replied.
“Maybe not right away” Michael replied. “Freddy likes it as it is and I’m sure you’ll find another woman who like it, too.”
“I guess” Chris replied, as he picked up his pants from the floor.
Michael watched intently, as Chris put his pants on the bed and then shucked off his underwear. When he was fully naked, Sofya took in the sight before her.
“Wow” she noted. “I really had sex with this?”
“Well” Chris replied, as he rubbed his hands through his thick, black chest hair. “It wasn’t quite this hairy when we were in high school. I was a hairy mother fucker then, but in my twenties, it just kind of exploded into this carpet of fur I have on my chest today."
“Not just your chest” Michael noted. “Also your back, shoulders, arms, legs and—“
“I think we get the point” Sofya interrupted. “Let me get to work.”
Sofya thought for a moment, as she eyed Chris up and down with a curious expression on her face. Chris gulped, as her eyes closely examined him. He felt uncomfortable in this moment, both being naked in front of her again and wondering what kind of spell she was about to cast on him. Since it was an animal spell, it likely meant he’d be joining Freddy in losing his humanity.
“You kind of look like a bear. Maybe I can change you into one of those?”
“Don’t!” Michael exclaimed.
“Jesus, Michael. Calm the fuck down.”
“Bears are too big and Chris will break all my stuff. Think of something smaller.”
Sofya shrugged her shoulders, as she thought of another idea.
“A gorilla, maybe?”
Chris gulped, as Michael nodded his head.
“Fine” Michael agreed.
Sofya closed her eyes and pointed her finger at Chris. Chris watched her nervously, as at first, nothing seemed to be happening.
“I’m concentrating on the image of a gorilla” Sofya said, as she continued to close her eyes. “I want to make sure I turn you into the right thing.”
“Oh great” Michael muttered to himself.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a flash of light came off of Sofya’s pointed finger. It flew off of her and landed on Chris. Chris felt warm, as his body glowed in the light. As quickly as it came, the light disappeared. Wondering what had happened, he quickly tried to examine himself.
“What was that?” Chris asked curiously.
“My magic” Sofya replied.
“Well, Sofya, it doesn't seem like it worked.”
“Not so fast, Chris” Michael replied. “Look at your hands! Look at your arms!”
Chris held up his arms and noticed them getting hairier than they already were. In an instant, his arms were covered in a thick black coat of hair. He gasped, as he hands turned black and grew in size.
“Oh my gooo ooo ooo” Chris tried to say, as he quickly lost his speech.
Michael stared in awe, while Sofya was less impressed. They watched Chris go through the transformation into a silverback gorilla. His body grew more hair than there already was on his arms, legs and back. However, hair seemed to shrink into his chest, as it became smooth. The hair on Chris’ face changed directions, growing denser on the top, with his beard sinking into his face on the bottom.
Chris felt unable to stand, as he fell down and held himself up on all fours. He let out a deep moan, as his spine twisted and turned to fit into the posture of an adult gorilla. His muscles expanded and his frame shrunk. He saw his penis shrink and his feet turn black. His legs became covered in hair like that on his arms.
Letting out of series of oops, Chris was almost done with his changes. The last thing to mutate was his face. His nose sunk into his face and became black slots. The skin on his face turned black. His eyebrows hung over his eyes, as his pupils turned darker. His teeth became sharper and more powerful than they were before. After some final shifts, the transformation was completed.
Looking over his new body, the gorilla stood up to face Michael and Sofya. His piercing eyes penetrated their souls, as he scowled at them angrily with a frown on its face.
“Woah” Michael said in amazement.
The gorilla ooped, as he proudly banged his chest. Surveying the room, he sniffed the air loudly.
“That’s incredible” Michael commented.
“I’m quite impressed with myself, actually” Sofya commended herself.
Suddenly, the gorilla snapped his face in their direction and bore out his sharp teeth.
“Oh shit” Michael said, as he stepped back to the bathroom door.
The gorilla angrily approached them, with an angry scowl on its face. Before it could lunge at him, Michael bolted out of its way. Breaking the bathroom door with its mighty power, the gorilla screamed loudly and grabbed things off the dresser to throw onto the floor.
“Holy shit!” Michael exclaimed. “Sofya, you have to do something!”
The gorilla threw an antique lamp, which Michael caught while falling to the floor. Angrily, the gorilla tried to lunge at Sofya.
“Oh no you don’t, Chris!” she exclaimed, as she let out a paralysis spell from her finger.
The gorilla shrieked when it was hit with the bolt of magic, before it fell to the floor and landed unconscious. Getting up from the floor, Michael put the antique lamp back on the dresser.
“Holy shit” Michael said, as he looked at the gorilla passed out on his bedroom floor. “That’s not good.”
“I’m not sure why that happened” Sofya responded, as she used her magic to fix the bathroom door and the other broken items.
Michael noticed this and decided to comment on it.
“That could have come in handy, when that crazy person threw a brick at our window.”
“If you had told me about this earlier” Sofya replied with an irritation in her voice “then I could have helped you out with that.”
Ignoring Michael’s looks, Sofya stared down at the gorilla that was Chris.
“I’m not entirely sure why he did that” Sofya replied, as he pointed her finger at it. “When he changes back, we’re going to find out.”
Sofya closed her eyes and let out another beam of light from her finger. It enveloped the gorilla, before changing it back into Freddy’s naked bodyguard. Moaning loudly on the floor, Chris got up and rubbed his head tenderly.
“What happened?” Chris asked, unconcerned with his nude state in that moment.
“We were about to ask you the same question” Sofya replied angrily. “What the fuck were you doing?”
“What do you remember?” Michael asked more calmly.
“Well” Chris replied, as he rubbed his head “the last thing I remember was my arms getting really hairy and my hands turning black. After that, I passed out and the next thing I remember was coming to just now.”
“That’s not good.”
“More than likely” Sofya commented “it means when Chris became a gorilla, he lost his consciousness in the process. There weren’t two identities, like with Freddy and the dog whose body he’s taking—“
“Two consciouses?” Michael asked curiously.
“Most likely. Didn’t you say some spirit came out of the dog when Freddy was shot?”
“I never told you that.”
“Oh.”
Sofya let out a little chuckle.
“I must have probed your mind too much. Sorry about that.”
“Grrr” Michael growled.
“Easy Mr. Scavolini” Chris said, as he put a gentle hand on Michael’s shoulder.
“What else have you probed out of my mind without my permission, Sofya?”
“Uh—“
“I—“
Before Sofya could answer, a knock could be heard on the door.
“I wonder who that could be?” Michael said curiously, as he tried to make his way downstairs.
“Wait!” Sofya called to him.
Michael looked at her and saw Chris putting back on his clothes.
“Don’t go alone. It’s too dangerous.”
“We’ll be by your side” Chris added, as he put back on his shirt. “We’ll protect you if it’s the mayor’s goons or someone who wants to hurt you.”
Michael nodded, as the three of them made their way down to the front door. When Michael opened it, he could see Josh standing there, looking slightly cleaner than the last time he saw him.
“Josh?” Michael asked curiously.
“Hi Michael” Josh replied. “Um, is Freddy home?”
Josh peered into the house and saw Chris and Sofya staring at him curiously.
“Who are they?” he asked.
“Uh…” Michael blurted out. “These are—“
“Sofya Roshkovich” she replied. “I lived in this town for a short time when Michael and I were in high school together.”
“And I’m Chris” he added. “You must be Freddy’s brother.”
“That I am” Josh replied, as he extended his hand to Chris. “Chris?”
“D’Salvo" he replied, as he extend his own hand to Josh.
“Ah! I remember you now. You were Freddy’s friend.”
Chris and Josh happily shook hands with each other briefly, before letting go.
“Yes I was. It’s nice to meet you, man. I don’t think we ever met growing up.”
“I think I saw you over at my place a couple of times, before Michael kind of pushed you out of the picture..”
Michael growled with a visible irritation in his facial expression. Chris gently put his hand on Michael’s shoulder and chuckled before he spoke up.
“Well, regardless, Freddy has said really great things about you and how you're doing these days.”
“Has he?” Josh asked curiously. “How can he when I’ve—“
“What are you doing here, Josh?” Michael asked curtly.
“Oh, heh. I was just wondering if he was home, that’s all.”
“He’s not here. Now if you don’t mind—“
“So Josh?” Sofya asked with a coo in her voice. “What are you up to these days?”
Michael turned to look at Sofya quizzically. She ignored his glances, as she continued to stare at Josh with a warm smile on her face.
“Well, funny you should ask that” Josh replied, while scratching his head. “I was coming by to see if Freddy was home because I wanted to ask him for a favor.”
“Oh no” Michael groaned in reply. “Not another favor. I can’t take anymore—“
“What kind of favor?” Sofya asked, as she smacked Michael’s shoulder.
Michael gave her a nasty look, as he tenderly rubbed the spot where she hit him.
“Well, I was hoping to borrow Evan for the day tomorrow.”
“What could you possibly need to do with my son Evan?” Michael asked curtly.
Sofya smacked his shoulder again.
“Well, I’m filming this commercial in town tomorrow. I got this production company to agree to locate the shoot here.”
“What kind of commercial is it?” Sofya asked.
“A dog food commercial.”
Michael raised his eyebrows at this comment.
“Oh interesting” Sofya said, feigning genuine interest. “Who did you get to star in it?”
“Well” Josh replied “I got the casting director to agree to hire this neighbor of yours, Tom, and his dog Buddy.”
Michael stared intently, as he pieced together what Sofya was doing.
“She must have read his mind” Michael thought to himself, as he looked at Josh. “That’s how she knew to press him on those questions.”
“Oh cool” Sofya said.
“So I have the dog now for the shoot” Josh continued “but I still need to cast the boy. The one I got booked dropped out at the last second and now I’m scrambling to find another one to replace him. I was hoping Freddy, or you, Michael, could help me out in a pinch and let me send over Evan’s details for tomorrow. I’d like him to star in the commercial with Buddy.”
Sofya smirked, as Michael thought for a moment, before he answered.
“Sure. You can use Evan for the shoot.”
“Great!” Josh replied, as he pulled out his communication device. “Let me send over some photos Freddy sent me of Evan and I’ll let you know what the CD has to say.”
“CD?” Chris asked.
“Casting director. It’s industry lingo.”
“Ah, ok.”
The three of them stared at Josh, as he waited to hear back from the casting director. When he got the word, Josh looked at them with a great, big smile on his face.
“He’s booked!” Josh exclaimed. “Thanks for helping me out in a pinch like this, Michael! I owe you one!”
Josh went to hug Michael, before he was aggressively pushed away.
“No!” Michael snapped. “Don’t do that!”
Josh shrugged his shoulders, before he walked back out of the doorway.
“I should be heading back to my apartment now” Josh said. “I need to get ready for an early call time tomorrow. I’ll send you the details over now, but be at the set for an 8:15 call time.”
“Wait!” Sofya called out to Josh.
Josh stopped and looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
“Do you need a lift home?” she asked. “You live quite far from here. You shouldn’t have to walk back all the home way by yourself.”
“Wait” Josh said. “How did you know where—”
“I’ll take you” Chris volunteered, as he got the keys to Freddy’s car. “Let’s go, bud.”
“Wait a second. If Freddy’s car is in the driveway, then why is he not here with you guys?”
“He—“ Michael tried to say.
“He went out for a long jog” Sofya replied with a warm smile. “He’ll be back later.”
“Well, wouldn’t he answer his communication device?” Josh asked. “I’ve been trying to call him all day, but he hasn’t been answering.”
“It’s off” Sofya lied.
“Maybe I should stick around to wait for him to get back?” Josh offered.
“No!” Michael shrieked.
Josh cocked his face, as Michael let out a little laugh.
“It’s not worth it to wait up for him” he continued. “He may not be back until late. You should just go home now, Josh.”
Josh shrugged his shoulders, as Chris took him into Freddy’s car. Michael closed the front door and watched them drive off down the street.
“I’m assuming—“ Michael tried to say.
“Yes” Sofya answered. “I did.”
“So what’s our game plan?”
Michael walked into the living room to sit down on the couch. Sofya chose to continue standing.
“We wait until morning” Sofya replied.
“Is it really wise though to let Freddy stay with Tom for so long?” Michael asked. “I think Freddy is going to want to be rescued as soon as possible.”
“I think trying to barge into Tom’s place may be too risky of a mission for us to undertake without knowing how to change Freddy back right away first. If the amnesia spell wasn’t as effective as I originally thought, then I don’t want the police to be tipped off as to our whereabouts. I’d rather create doubts about the dog’s disappearance in a public setting. That way, we can take him and then shift the blame to somebody else when he goes missing.”
Sofya looked down at Michael, who was looking at his lap.
“Speaking of the amnesia spell” she continued “how come Freddy’s brother wasn’t effected by it? You didn’t ask me to condition him for protection.”
“He doesn’t technically live in the town’s limits” Michael replied. “Freddy got him an apartment just outside the lines that are drawn around our town.”
“Ah, gotcha. Yeah, that makes sense. I could tell he lived a distance from here when I was going through his mind. I thought it might have been his familial bond that kept his memory of Freddy in tact. Speaking of which, get a hold of your son right away. Let’s see if I was able to protect him from the amnesia spell and let him know about our plans tomorrow.”
“Oh right” Michael agreed, as he pulled up his communication device. “Evan is with my mother right now. Let me tell him what his new plans are for tomorrow.”
At Michael’s mother’s house, she began to prepare a macaroni and cheese dinner for her grandson, Evan. She had so much fun spending time with him that weekend, playing cards, watching movies and catching up on how things were going. She knew that she’d need to get down to serious business tomorrow, though, as home schooling had to start on Monday. Little did she know, however, that that would never come to pass.
As she was cooking dinner, Michael’s mother heard her communication device ring on the counter. Seeing Michael’s name come up, she happily answered the call.
“Michael!” she exclaimed happily. “It’s so good to hear from you, dear. How are things going at home?”
“Alright mom” Michael replied. “Listen, is Evan around? I need to talk to him about something.”
“Don’t you want to hear how I’m doing first?”
“I do, but I have to ask him something about his papa.”
“Papa? Michael, you’re a single dad. Unless you have a new man in your life you haven’t told me about yet.”
Michael looked at Sofya and rolled his eyes. She could read his mind, so she knew that his mother had forgotten about Freddy.
“No mom, look. Let me talk to Evan first and then I’ll have him put you back on the call.”
“Alright, sweetie. Hold on one second. Evan!”
Michael’s mother called out to her grandson, who hurriedly ran into the kitchen.
“Yes grandma” Evan replied.
“Your dad is on the line for you. Take the call, please.”
“Ok, grandma.”
Evan took her communication device and spoke up.
“Hi dad” Evan said. “I’m doing ok over here. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Hi Evan” Michael replied. “Listen, you’re going to have a little change of plans for tomorrow.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Well, your uncle Josh—“
“Uncle Josh? Who is Uncle Josh? I didn’t know you had a brother. I thought you were an only child.”
“He is” Michael’s mother replied.
“No” Michael replied. “Your Papa Freddy’s brother Josh.”
“I don’t have a papa. You’re my only dad.”
Michael glared at Sofya, who glared right back at him.
“Of course you do, Evan. I’m your dad and Freddy is your papa.”
“Dad, are you feeling alright?”
“I’m perfectly fine, Evan. Your—“
“Dad, you’re my only parent. You’ve raised me all alone since my birth.”
Michael groaned, before he continued speaking.
“Never mind about that for now, Evan. Listen, I got you cast in a dog food commercial that’s filming in the dog park tomorrow.”
“Oh boy! Are you serious?!”
Evan jumped for joy, as he ran over to his grandma.
“Grandma! Grandma! Guess what?!”
“What is it, Evan? she replied with a smile.
“Dad got me booked in a commercial for tomorrow!”
“Oh that’s wonderful, Evan! That’s such exciting news.”
“Listen, Evan” Michael continued. “I’m going to be over by a little before 8 tomorrow. You think you can be ready for me to pick you up by then?”
“Yes dad” Evan replied happily. “Tell me about the commercial, first! Tell me about the commercial!”
“Well, it’s a dog food commercial and you’ll be playing with this German Shepherd dog.”
“Oh boy! That sounds awesome! I’ve always wanted to play with a dog!”
“Yeah. You might recognize him, too. It’s our neighbor Tom’s dog, Buddy.”
“Buddy?” Evan said, as his mind started to recall something he hadn’t thought about before. “Buddy.”
“Yes, Evan” Michael replied curiously. “Buddy. Tom’s dog Buddy. Bud-dee. The German shepherd dog.”
“Buddy.”
Evan felt himself convulse for a moment, before a realization had hit him.
“Oh!!!!!!” he exclaimed. “Buddy! The one pa—“
“Yes Evan” Michael replied hurriedly, relieved that Evan finally seemed to snap out of his amnesia. “That Buddy.”
“Gotcha. Ok, well I’ll be ready for the shoot by the time you come over in the morning tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it, dad. Better than crummy home schooling.”
“Hey!” Michael’s mother snapped. “Home schooling would have been just as fun.”
“Yeah right. Grandma, why don’t you talk to my dad now?”
“Sure thing, Evan.”
“Love you dad.”
“Love you too, Evan. See you tomorrow.”
Evan handed the communication device back to his grandma, who happily spoke up.
“That’s such exciting news, Michael!” she said. “My grandson is going to be starring in a commercial.”
“I know” Michael replied “I’m excited about it too. Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to come by with us tomorrow. I know technically there’s only one chaperone allowed for the child actor on set…”
Michael glanced at Sofya, who could tell what he was thinking and nodded her head in approval.
“However, I bet I can get them to make an exception for you as a guest of the star.”
“That sounds wonderful!” his mother replied excitedly. “I get to be on the set of a tv commercial. I can’t wait to go.”
“I’m looking forward to taking you, mom. It’ll be a real treat.”
“Well, let me finish making dinner for Evan and get him ready for the shoot tomorrow. I’ll see you at a little before 8.”
“Yup. Bye mom. Love you.”
“Love you too, Michael.”
Michael ended the call and looked up at Sofya.
“You’re thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.
“Yup” she replied. “Your mother can watch Evan if we need to make a quick escape with Freddy. It’s actually not a bad idea, but I’m just worried about leaving Freddy all alone with that guy Tom until then.”
“I’m also worried about Freddy having to be some trick pony for Josh’s stupid commercial. It’s bad enough that he’s a dog, but now he’s going to have to do a bunch of tricks in front of all of those cameras and with Evan playing the part of the kid. Man, is he going to hate this.”
“I actually don’t think he’ll mind so much, to be honest with you. If this is Josh’s project, then maybe Freddy will feel compelled to help out his brother.”
“I guess. Still, I’m just worried about what Tom might do to him while he’s sleeping over there. I hope he’s ok and he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
At Tom’s house…..