Lost and Found

Cesse began to enjoy the short spell spent playing with this funny dog. It was a nice diversion from her daily ordeal. She envied him. Most dogs—and most other animals, really—lived such simple, carefree lives. And thanks to the surplus of animal lovers in town, most of them didn't have to worry a great deal about the source of their next meal. Which was more than Cecily could say for herself. It was too bad there wasn't a surplus of homeless 34-year-old brunette lovers around.

A short time later, she was no longer feeling the need to rest. And she couldn't make anything happen for herself just sitting still, so she had to get up again and at least start walking...somewhere. She pushed herself back to her feet, about the time the dachshund ran behind the oak she'd visited, and returned with a stick in his mouth.

Aw, he wants to play, thought Cessy. Okay, fella, I'll give you one good throw. She took the stick and flung it as far into the clearing as she could. The dog barked gleefully, chasing off after it. Cesse slung her purse back over her shoulder, tried to decide which way to head, and picked a route. But not before the pup returned once more with the stick, dropping it at her feet.

She chuckled at the small wiener dog's happy, worry-free demeanor. She threw the stick again, turned and started away, but back he came with it yet one more time, dropping it, running circles around her feet.

She threw it back into the clearing for the third time, to the same result.

Cecily sighed. She wasn't making much progress here. She wouldn't object to spending the day playing with a dog, but she had bigger, more pressing concerns on her mind. She didn't want to abandon this pup—wherever he'd come from—especially what with it being so adorable and very pleased to meet her. But she couldn't just stay here with it either.

This time she wound up and pretended to throw the stick, but kept it in her hand. The dog ran for a few seconds before halting, whipping its head back and forth, and darting its eyes all about, finally realizing it hadn't actually been cast for him to fetch this time. He was confused. He turned back to see the woman departing with his toy.

Cesse heard him running to meet up with her yet again. As was the nature of canines, he wasn't peeved she'd tricked him with the fake throw. He just wanted to keep playing.

Hm, she thought in amusement. It seemed she wasn't getting rid of him. Well, all right...looks like I've a partner in crime...as it were.

The dog followed alongside as she walked, sans destination. At least with a dog by her side, she might appear somewhat less conspicuous. He hopped about from her left to right, trying to grab at the stick, engaging in the normal repertoire of dog activities. He barked, he circled her ankles, he chased his tail, he made puppy love to her leg, he licked and scratched himself, he chased squirrels and bunnies around.

One of them ran into the street. He quickly followed, unaware a car was coming.

"St—doggie!" Cesse called. "Hey! Stop! Come back here!"

Fortunately, the loyal pup thought more of Cesse than the rapidly escaping squirrel scurrying over the pavement. Besides, she had the stick. He returned to her side, oblivious to the oncoming car, contentedly panting and wagging.

Soon they reached an intersection, so Cecily showed him the proper way to cross a street. They waited for the signal, and went. Once on the other side, Cesse had to stop for a breather. The seemingly never pooped Energizer Puppy barked at her and trotted off in another direction, turning around and yapping for her to follow. He kept running.

"Do—..." Cecily sighed in pursuit. Following his lead seemed as good an idea as any right now, and perhaps he'd have better luck finding a source of fortune than she'd been. He was making it difficult, however.

"Doggie, slow down!"

He led her in a 360° pattern, slowing every so often so she could catch up, at last taking her to an area where she'd been earlier the same morning. She panted along with him, catching her breath, before she recognized where they were.

Resting against a telephone pole for support, she looked up. The crisscrossing street signs informed her that they had just reached the corner of 41st and Boulder Street.

She looked back down. The wiener pup was hopping repeatedly into the air, excitedly barking and yipping at her.

"Hey! Hey, what's gotten into you, fella?" Cessy wanted to know. "What're we doing here?"

The dog circumnavigated the telephone pole halfway, lifted his leg, and marked it.

Cecily made a perfectly blended face of amusement and unpleasantness.

"I see," she noted.

Raising her gaze to give the dog some privacy, Cesse saw something else she'd noticed before. This was the same telephone pole on which she'd seen this very poster. There was also a black and white photo on it, which now looked much more familiar. This time she paid closer attention.

LOST DOG, it read. 3-YEAR-OLD MALE, BROWN AND BLACK DACHSHUND. ANSWERS TO THE NAME OF HOLLAWEENIE.

Cesse looked down.

"...H—...Hollaweenie?"

Sure enough, the dog, now through peeing, leapt into the air, barking extra loudly.

Whoa! Son of a...

Somehow, this obviously very bright dachshund pup had led her right back to the spot where she'd seen his missing poster. She exhaled in astonishment.

How...how...astonishing.

She read the rest of the poster under his picture.

DESPERATELY MISSED. IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL 555-1710, OR RETURN TO 16730 RANDALL'S VIEW TERRACE, TWELVE PINES COUNTY. VERY GENEROUS REWARD OFFERED.

"WOW!" Cessy whispered. "Oh my gosh!" She looked down again, just to make sure.

"Hollaweenie?"

The pup again barked and leapt on his hind legs, pawing at her thighs over the dress. Yep, this was he all right.

Cecily couldn't believe it. "Holy cow!" she whispered. She looked back at the poster again. It was true. It was him. She'd found a lost dog!

Actually, he had found her.

And in boldface, right in the poster, there was a very generous reward involved.

Under more normal circumstances Cecily Helmsley was not the kind of person who would care about a reward, but due to circumstances which were out of her hands, such an offering proved pretty necessary at the immediate moment.

Well, her mission now couldn't be clearer. It looked like today she would actually have something to do. An aim, and a destination, courtesy of this brilliant, adorable dachshund. How...mindblowingly serendipitous!

Cesse looked back down at Hollaweenie, becoming excited. She tore off as much of the poster from the pole as would come, careful to keep all vital information together in one clean piece. She read it over a few times.

"Do you know how to get to your owner's house, boy?" she asked.

The patently intelligent dachshund turned a couple of circles before once more whipping his head back and forth. Finally, he barked, and began prancing off.

Cecily followed. "Oh, good boy! Good boy!" she praised, jogging after.

She certainly meant to encourage him, but couldn't be sure if he was in fact leading her the right way. After all, if he could get home on his own, he probably would have been back long ago, and this lost dog poster would never have been needed to be made. Still, she followed.

She ran the address through her head again and again. 16730 Randall's View Terrace. It sounded only vaguely familiar, like a street she would've driven through just as a detour, because the street she usually took was closed off. What was more, it sounded upscale. Which could also possibly mean...

No...no no no, Cessy, she told herself. Don't start with that. We know what it says, but we can't get our hopes too high. Let's just get the little guy home first and foremost, and see what happens. What's most important is reuniting him with his owner.

This was hard without a more efficient form of transportation. Cecily might have been keeping it clean and green hoofing it along, so to speak, but couldn't exactly make time stop while she found her way. Not that she had any appointments to keep in the meantime.

Finally, Hollaweenie slowed down and seemed to lose his way. Cesse sensed this was inevitable, so she began looking for other individuals who might be able to guide them. Soon she spotted one, a gentleman walking down the sidewalk sorting his mail.

"Pardon me, sir?" she called to him. The man turned in her direction.

"Hi!" she waved. "'Scuse me, sorry to bother you, but, could you, perhaps, please tell me how to get to Randall's View Terrace?"

He thought a second. "Hm, that's in the Hect's development property," he recalled. "Yeah, now that I think of it, it's just been there for a year or two. Let's see now, from here you go, eh..."

He turned to point southeast. "About a mile or so down Cadway Street until you get to the Twelve Pines Circle, then I...believe at that point you bang a left, keep going for another block or two, and you should be nearby Hect's right about then."

A mile, huh? That was actually closer than Cesse figured she was to this address, yet her feet were still starting to nag her for a little rest. The gentleman was just finishing as she looked back up to him.

"That's really all I know off the top of my head, though; sorry I can't be of more help."

"Oh, no, that is a lot of help!" Cesse replied. "See, I found this lost dog here, right?" She gestured to Hollaweenie wandering about sniffing things he found interesting, and showed the man the poster. "And according to this, his owner lives there. We've been trying to find the way for a while. If it's a mile from here, that's a pretty good distance, but I guess it could be more, too; it could be five miles."

The gentleman watched as Hollaweenie ran around examining things on the ground and giving chase to more small animals.

"Aw, lost, huh?" he asked. "Poor little guy. Well, that's too bad, but if you wanna give me a minute, I could run inside my apartment real quick and Google the directions for ya, if that'd be more helpful."

Cesse was touched. "You would?? How sweet! Sure, here's the poster."

She gave him a little time. Certainly enough, true to his word, he returned a short while later with some printed out pages. The next he said utterly floored her.

"...Y'know, if it'd make things easier too, I could give you a ride over, so you and the little tyke don't have to hitch. The homeless need all the breaks they can get, after all."

Cecily's mouth collapsed open.

"How...how did you know?"

The gent gave her a look up and down that basically answered her question. But he exercised tact in his response.

"Takes one to know one."

Her brows arched.

"My name is George Carlin, ma'am—I know...I know, I know. But for a short time last year, just before Christmas, I was actually homeless myself."

"Wow, no kidding?"

"Honest to goodness. I'll tell you more about it on the way. But in a nutshell, these two wonderful girls saved my life. In and around some of the most bizarre circumstances I've ever encountered," he chuckled, "They got my apartment lease reinstated."

"Oh my gosh, that's fantastic!" remarked Cesse. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," said George, guiding her to his car. "At that point, I was seriously drained of hope too. It really helped restore my faith in humanity. Ever since, I've been inspired to help anyone down on their luck when I get the opportunity."

Cecily smiled warmly. "That's so awesome," she benevolently opined. She rapped the stick on her thigh to get Hollaweenie's attention. "Here, boy! C'mere! C'mon, we've got a ride! We don't have to walk anymore!"

She buckled them together in the passenger seat and held him securely. Luckily, the dachshund didn't mind sitting on her lap. George drove them slow and easy, but the motion proved still daunting to Hollaweenie, who became quite vocal along the trip. Cessy tried to soothe him down with petting and stroking, but ended up considerably lucky he didn't bite, claw or draw her blood.

"Oh, wow!" Cesse exclaimed as they pulled into Randall's View Terrace. It was a nest of luxury homes shrouded in foliage. Most of the residences were identically beautiful, as close as could be without being connected. It seemed that such impressive landscape of property separated the adults from the children, so to speak. "This place is beautiful!"

George voiced agreement. Cesse now had two thoughts occupying her mind. The first was hopeful, that if one of these luxury buildings was Hollaweenie's home, this reward the poster advertised may be more generous than anticipated. The second, however, made her apprehensive: Oh, gosh, I forgot...I look like hell. In such a fine neighborhood as this, she could be an even sorer thumb than normal. She hoped she didn't disturb the peace here in her raggedy, destitute state. She was at least secluded by George's car until they reached their destination. They scanned the even-numbered addresses until they found it.

"Oh—here it is," noted George, pulling alongside and parking. "One-sixty-seven-thirty."

"That's what it says!" confirmed Cessy. She reached to open the door. "Well, shall we?"

George leaned forward and retrieved his wallet. "Actually, Miss, I apologize, but I'm afraid I've reached my free time limit. I've got another engagement to keep, but—"

He opened his wallet and removed a business card.

"Here, I'd like you to have this. There's all my contact info. If you need any more help or support with anything...or y'know, would just like some company, feel free."

"Oh, thank you, George!" said Cecily. "No kidding, thank you so, so much. I was so fortunate to meet you. Really, you couldn't have been more helpful. God bless you."

George shrugged with a smile. "Shucks, ma'am, it was nothing."

"Okay, boy," Cessy said, rubbing and scratching Hollaweenie's head. "We're here. Let's take you back home!"

*****

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014, 3:47 p.m.

George didn't want to leave Cecily alone in case the owner wasn't home, so they agreed on a cue. If she heard someone coming to the door, Cesse would flip around and throw him a wave goodbye. Which was what happened.

The door opened just as George's car was pulling away. On the other side stood a blonde woman in her mid-30s, wearing a light blue sweater with matching jeans and socks. When she saw the two of them, Cesse barely had time to get a word out.

"Uh, hi there," Cesse began to introduce herself, holding the dog in her arms. "Is thi—"

The woman gasped, and flung open the outside door, almost knocking Cecily on her tush.

"Weenie!!" she cried euphorically. "Oh my gosh, my baby!"

She bounded out and took both Hollaweenie and Cesse in a bear hug, ostensibly indifferent to squeezing a scraggly, disheveled, utterly unkempt 34-year-old homeless person. Cesse thought she heard the woman begin to cry. When the owner released them, Cesse indeed noticed the tears in her eyes at the return of her beloved pet.

Cecily let the happily panting, tail-wagging Hollaweenie down, chuckling as he scampered into the house. "I guess so!" she confirmed.

The grateful owner took Cesse by the hand. "Thank you so very much, ma'am! Please, please, come in!"

Cecily was surprised the woman was so eagerly unhesitant to take her into her home.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! You found my baby! You have no idea how grateful I am!"

The owner led her in. Cessy felt obligated to at least remove her shoes at the entrance. She was debating whether to come right out with the truth about herself when the grateful hostess spoke again.

"My goodness, I have been oh so scared and worried, thinking about what could've happened to my poor Hollaweenie," the owner confided in her. "You don't know how happy I am right now that he's all right. He's my world."

Her words and genuine emotion made Cecily feel so good inside. This was turning into the best day she'd had in weeks as well. She watched with charmed eyes as the owner played with the dog: tossing a ball for him to go fetch and bring back, teasing him with a feather on a string, taking his front paws and dancing with him. Cecily could easily see the owner missed the dog to tears and was beyond elated to have him back. One reason she could tell this was because she seemed to have forgotten her visitor was still there. Cesse wasn't sure if she should stay or go.

Then she remembered: Oh yes. The, eh...reward.

Not that she wanted to just presumptuously demand it. But hopefully this could afford her a nice dinner, possibly a place to stay a night or two...

In the meantime, she wanted to sit down somewhere, but not to spread her dirtiness to the lady's furniture. She'd also desperately love something to eat—or drink—but again, wouldn't assume hospitality. She watched her cheerfully go on frolicking with Hollaweenie, wondering how to go about this.

Excuse me, Miss...I'm homeless. Could I just, maybe...?

No.

"He, uh, he came up and found me in a field," Cesse called. "I had some fun with him too. He brought a stick and we played fetch."

The owner turned back to her. "Oh, yes! Of course!..."

About to remind herself she'd mentioned a handsome reward in the lost poster, she regarded Cecily up and down, and another thought took the wheel in her mind.

"...Oh, my...goodness...um..."

Cessy nodded. She knew. She was a mess. She slowly spilled out her detailed guts. As the story went on, the woman gasped, placing a concerned hand over her mouth.

"Oh, how awful," she sympathized from behind her fingers.

"Yeah, so..." Cecily shrugged sadly. "Be honest, I feel a little funny even just...being here, in your...extraordinarily beautiful home..." She motioned in the direction of the door. "Um...maybe I should just, uh..."

The woman stopped her. "Oh, goodness, no, please!" she entreated. "I mean...you've-you've just done this wonderfully...wonderful thing for me..." She tried to think. She wasn't terribly good with words, or articulating herself, but she knew what she wanted to convey. "...And the least I can do is to repay your kindness. Let me get you something to eat. And offer you my shower. You can bathe, and, I'll wash your clothes for you. Really, please, I want to. To say thank you. It's the least I can do. Please."

"Oh my...gosh..." said an overwhelmed Cecily. "But, I...I don't even know your name."

"It's Penelope. Penelope Isabel James. But, call me Penny, please."

"...Okay, well...hi, Penny. Cecily Helmsley. And, call me Cesse."

"You got it. So then, Cesse, my dear...what can I get you to eat?"

"Well...gosh, Penny, are you sure?"

"Oh, please don't say no, Cesse. I couldn't bear to turn you back out into the cold knowing you had nowhere to go."

Cesse had to admit she was stunned. Never once in her four months of homelessness had anyone come remotely close to be so kind to her, or to take care of her. But then, she'd hadn't the chance to do the anyone in question such a marvelous good deed. She obliged, and Penny took her and her anxiously thrilled appetite to the kitchen.

*****

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014, 5:38 p.m.

One piping hot chicken pot pie, one nice cold glass of milk, one nice cold creamsicle for dessert and one piping hot shower later, Cecily Helmsley literally felt like a new woman. It was hard to believe she even lived in her same skin. The pleasure continuing to flow through her after the water turned off was unreal. Unfathomable. She was...clean.