Franklin opened the passenger door to his SUV and James hopped in.
“Hey, watch your tail,” Franklin said as he closed the door. James quickly rearranged himself before the door closed on his new appendage. Franklin got in driver’s side. “So, uh, I guess you believe me now.”
James gave him a side eye then turned and looked sulkily out the window.
“Listen,” Franklin said. “My parents are expecting me home, so how about I just message your mom from your Facebook account and tell her you’re staying at my place. Then we’ll smuggle you in and you can stay the night while I try to figure out how to change you back. Worst come to worst and I’ll ask Dian about it when my shift starts tomorrow. You’ll be back to normal in no time.”
James looked at him again, clearly worried. But the dog nodded.
“Awesome,” Franklin said. He reached out ang gave James a pat on the neck. James’ fur was soft and immediately Franklin wanted to bury his face in it. His hand lingered on James far longer than he intended and the husky glanced at him. “Sorry,” Franklin said. He petted the fur back into place and withdrew his hand.
After he messaged James’ mom, he turned on the car and drove them back to his house. James stared out the window the whole ride. When he could, Franklin would steal glances at him. For all the world, James looked just like a real dog. Franklin felt a tingle of happiness to be driving around with a dog like he owned him. Franklin tried to make conversation, but really, he was just talking to himself. James couldn’t respond, though he heard a few noises that may have been the dog equivalent of a witty retort or caustic comment.
They pulled into Franklin’s driveway. Through the windows they could see the living room lights were on. Franklin had been hoping that his parents had called it an early night. But clearly, they were waiting up for him.
“All right,” he said. “Here’s my game plan. You hide out in the yard until I can get my parents to bed. I’ll come get you as soon as I can.” James didn’t look happy, his ears turned back. “Would you rather I just march you in?” Franklin wasn’t sure if the question was meant to be sarcastic or not. “I mean, I could tell them you’re a stray.” James shifted from side to side as he considered his options. Finally, he shook his head. “Ok, we go with plan A.”
Franklin got out of the car and James had just hopped out after him when the front door opened and light pored across the boys. Franklins parents were standing in the door way, staring at them.
“Honey?” Franklin’s mom said.
“That’s a dog,” his father said, bluntly and unhelpfully.
“Uh, yeah,” Franklin said. “I found him on my drive home. I couldn’t leave him there.”
“Well, he seems clean enough,” Franklin’s mom said, uncertain.
“Yeah, he’s really clean,” Franklin said. He played off what she said, try to talk James into the house. “The poor thing, approached me in the parking lot after work. No collar, or anything. I think he needs something to eat.”
“Well, bring him in and you can tell us about your first day while we get some food for him to eat.”
Franklin turned to James and waved him forward. Together, they walked to the house.
“Wow,” Franklins mom said. “He’s such an obedient dog. You didn’t have to guide him. And he’s so pretty. He must be lost.” She crouched down and stared at James. He ears flipped back and his tail swept up between his legs. “Awe, he’s a bit skittish isn’t he. But look at those pretty blue eyes.” She reached out slowly and pet him. “Oh, and he’s so soft!”
Franklin felt a twinge of panic as his mother stroked his best friend.
“So, uh yeah,” Franklin said. “He’s here and I don’t want him to make a mess so I’ll take him up to my room now.”
“Oh no, Sweety,” Franklin’s mom said. “You need to tell us about your day.”
So, Franklin sat in front of the couch and James hurried over and took a seat next to him. He did his best to pretend the dog next to him was just a normal dog while his mother interrogated him about his day and his father made some ground beef for James. After what happened to James, Franklin decided not to tell his parents about the special nature of the things the thrift shop sold.
“So, yeah, it was a pretty standard day I guess.” James’ soft fur under his hand was a distraction that he didn’t want to tear himself away from. He tried to focus on his mom’s reply while he felt the subtle movements of James eating ground beef out of the bowl on the floor. Franklin yawned. “Gosh, I really am tired. Mind if we head to bed?”
“Awe, are you going to see if he’ll sleep with you?”
His mother’s awkward phrasing made Franklin blush. “Uh, any way goodnight.” He got up and James followed him quickly to his room. Once they were safely away from his parents, Franklin put his bag down and collapsed on the bed. James waited for a moment before giving a soft bark.
“I know, I just need a moment.” Franklin took a deep breath and sat up. “Ok, let’s take a look at the Speak and Say. James sat next to the bag, waiting for Franklin. Franklin pulled out the old toy and looked at it more closely.
It was a chunky round thing. On the side was the pull string and in the center was the arrow. Around the arrow were pictures of farm animals. Pig, goat, sheep, cattle, horse, donkey, chicken, cat, and of course dog. But there were some that franklin wasn’t expecting. There was also frog, duck, turkey, and a human farmer.
“I think we might be in luck,” Franklin said. “This is just a guess, but the arrow was on the dog when you pulled the string, so you turned into a dog. Maybe if the arrow is on the farmer, you’ll change back.” James didn’t look confident. “Hey, it’s better than nothing, right?” The dog rolled his eyes.
Bracing his fore paws against the toy, James grasped the pull string gently in his mouth while Franklin moved the arrow to the farmer. When they were all set, Franklin stepped away while James pushed the toy away with his paws. He let the string drop out of his mouth. The arrow spun.
“The famer says,” the toy said.
The golden husky sat back like he had been shocked. Franklin tried to taken in what was happening. All at once the fur receded and thinned, rear paws expanded into feet and hind legs lengthened into human teen boy legs. His torso flattened as the fur receded into a sparce covering of chest hair, his belly button reappearing. Toes lenthend into fingers as the fore paws expanded into hands. James’ muzzle flattened back into a human face as his ears shrank back from tall points into the round lobes they had been before dinner.
Franklin couldn’t stop himself from taking in the naked James. The blond hair over his lithe limbs, the narrow torso with a hint of pecs, shaggy blond hair over sparkling blue eyes, his body seemed too perfect. Then, in an instant, James’ clothes reappeared.
“Hi ya!” James almost shouted. “Oh, thank god.” He sprang to his feet and started giving himself a pat down.
Franklin sat back. He pondered what it meant that he owned such an awesome toy.
“Ok,” James said when he was done ascertaining the state of his physiology. “I believe you, the shop is cursed.”
“The shop isn’t cursed,” Franklin said. “Well, I don’t think it is. It’s the things they sell.”
“Either way,” James said. “This is major. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but it’s… wow.”
Franklin and James sat and talked quietly. They talked about how to get James out, what they could use the Speak and Say for, and what other things the shop might have.
“Being a dog was wild,” James said. “You have to try it.”
“Maybe I will,” Franklin said.
“It would be the perfect way to cuddle up to the jock you’re always ogling,” James said, smirking. “His social media feed is full of him cuddling cute dogs.”
I wish it was him cuddling cute boys, Franklin wanted to say. “I don’t think that’s what I’ll use it for.”
“Anyway, it’s way past time for me to be back home.” They snuck James out of the house under cover of darkness and Franklin gave him a quick ride back to the mall. “Seriously dude, think about it,” James said. “Find the right stuff in there and you’ll rule the world.”
Franklin shrugged. “But pick up the wrong thing and it’s game over for life.”
When Franklin got home, he told his parents a quick lie about getting a call from the dog’s rightful owners. It mollified them and he was able to go back to his room without any further delay. Finally, Franklin was able to stare at the Speak and Say and just sit with it. He idly thought about what animals he’d like to try.
But he was tired. The oddness of his day combined with a full day of work had left him exhausted. Franklin kicked off his clothes and slid under the covers, enjoying the smooth sheets against his skin.