Lucy-Fur Strikes

 

“Well, kids, I have to go help your Daddy finish up moving his shop.”  Mom went to the Hoosier in the foyer to get each pup a piece of jerky, the usual way these things work.  JoLee was already in his crate, knowing Mom’s “leaving voice,” and Elbie and Lucy were both standing there at Mom’s feet looking imploring up at her, while Dad waited on the front porch.   

Mom gave each pup a piece of jerky and left, quietly closing the front door behind her. 
  

For a few minutes, the only sound was chewing, along with the TV.  Dad had left it on the Comedy Channel for some background noise. 
  

Then, Lucy stood and stretched.  “Well, this sucks,” she stated flatly.  “Mom’s been doing this all week!  This was ‘Going To The Lake Night.’  I need a run!”
   

Jo and Elbie just sighed.  Jo picked a piece of jerky from between his teeth with his paw.  “Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it, Lucy, so you might as well just get another nap in.  They’ll be back eventually – they always are!”  
 

Elbie jumped up in the Command Chair and put his head down on his paws, facing the front door so he would know the moment when Mom and Dad got home.  Jo jumped up on the couch, and got comfortable.  But Lucy was restless.  She grabbed a piece of rawhide, ran out the dog door and did a few laps around the Big Piney, and then came back in and flopped down on the floor in the living room.  “Are they back yet?”  she panted.  
 

“Nope, not yet.”  JoLee replied.  
 

“It’ll be a while longer, I suspect,” Elbie added.  
 

Lucy ran upstairs.  She was gone for a while – long enough for Elbie and Jo to wonder what she was up to.  Odd thumping and bumping noises could be heard.  When Lucy came back down, there were black shreds hanging from her lips.  
 

“What was that?”  Jo asked.  “Lucy, what have you been doing?”  
 

“Uh, nothing,” Lucy looked a little guilty, but more defiant.  “Nothing that Mom didn’t deserve, anyway!”  She ran back out the dog door.  Jo put his head back down and closed his eyes.  “I don’t even want to know what she’s been up to,” he said.  
 

The next time Lucy came running back in, she looked at the TV and said, “I don’t like that guy.  Why do we have to watch this stupid show, anyway?  I’m going to change channels!”  She snatched the remote up from the table next to Dad’s Biscuit Chair.  Jo’s eyes got big, and he said, “Lucy, I don’t think you should be - ”  
 

Just about then, there was a crunching noise.  Lucy threw the remote up in the air and caught it neatly, then bit down on it again.  Little pieces flew all over the living room carpet.  
 

“Hey, this is fun!”  Lucy grabbed another remote – this time the one for the volume.  (crunch, crunch)  
 

Elbie groaned.  “This is bad.  This is very bad.” 
 

“I don’t care.”  Lucy declared.  “They shouldn’t have been gone all day and then left us again.  She bit down on it again.  And again.  More little pieces of black plastic piled up around her. 
 

It wasn’t too much later when Jo heard the Dogmobile.  “Mom is here!  Mom is here!”  He jumped off the couch and ran for the front door, giving a sideways glance at the paper that was shredded all over the rug.  
 

Heavy steps on the porch, and then Mom and Dad both peered in the front door.  “Oh, no,” Mom sighed.  “What has she been up to?  I see Destruction.”  
 

It took most of the rest of the night for Mom to discover all of what Lucy-fur had done, and it wasn’t until she went to bed that she found one of her favorite socks as full of holes as Swiss cheese.  And Star’s blanket, that Auntie Jolie had made her – it was in the middle of the bedroom floor and it had holes in it, too.  Mom looked sad as she picked up the mess.  She stroked the top of Lucy’s head and said, “Well, I guess that’s what we get.  Luckily, the move’s almost over!”